Anaheim : Proposed Truck Route Taken Off La Palma Ave.

The city’s traffic engineer, Paul Singer, pleased hundreds of residents when he agreed to eliminate a portion of La Palma Avenue from a proposed ordinance establishing truck routes in the city.

But Tuesday, Singer was in trouble with City Council members, who were angry that they were not aware of the ordinance or of the residents’ opposition.

“They raked me over the coals, (but) there’s no way we can inform them of everything that’s going on,” Singer said, pointing out that his office deals with 400 to 600 items each month.

Singer met with more than 300 residents at St. Anthony Claret Parish on Monday night to respond to their concerns about traffic and pedestrian hazards on La Palma Avenue.

A community group held the meeting after learning through a survey that safety on La Palma Avenue was one of the major concerns of residents around the church, said Jo Valles, a member of the group. During dealings with the city regarding traffic signals and other concerns, the group learned that Singer’s office is working on a truck route ordinance, which included La Palma Avenue.

Singer agreed Monday night to remove the portion of La Palma Avenue from the Santa Ana Freeway to the Orange Freeway from the proposed ordinance, which will go before the council for approval by July. The city now has no specific truck routes, and the ordinance “will reduce indiscriminate truck travel throughout the city,” Singer said.

The heavily traveled La Palma Avenue, which extends east of Weir Canyon Road to Lakewood Drive, is one of the longest avenues in southern California, Singer said. In the neighborhood around the church, people often have problems backing out of their driveways onto La Palma. They also have complained about noise and speeding cars, and have voiced concerns about the safety of children walking to school.

“I can understand the concerns of the neighborhood. It is a major arterial highway,” Singer said.

Singer also agreed to repeat a study of a crosswalk directly across from the church at 1450 E. La Palma Ave. to determine whether a signal light should be installed. An earlier study indicated that a traffic signal was unnecessary, he said.