Duarte Report on Irwindale Stadium Plan : Concerns Over Traffic Raised

Irwindale has not adequately addressed traffic problems that a stadium in Irwindale would impose on surrounding communities, according to the Duarte Traffic and Safety Commission.

“A little more effort has to be put forth so the citizens of Duarte won’t be put off terribly if this goes through,” Commissioner Margaret Finlay said, adding that “we certainly want (the stadium) there.”

In a memorandum to the City Council, the commission called for bus lanes on major access roads and special train service from Los Angeles. The nearest depot is now in Pomona, where an Amtrak train arrives from Los Angeles every evening.

Irwindale City Manager Charles Martin did not return phone calls from The Times.

The recommendations came in response to a preliminary traffic report released in April by Barton-Aschman Associates of Pasadena as part of an environmental impact study on the proposed 70,000-seat stadium for the Los Angeles Raiders.

The environmental study found that half the estimated 22,000 vehicles approaching the stadium would come from the west, primarily on the Foothill Freeway.

Six thousand vehicles would come from the south via the 605 Freeway, and nearly 5,000 would come from the east on the Foothill Freeway.

The report also concluded that the intersection of the 605 Freeway and Mount Olive and Huntington drives in Duarte would be jammed because of stadium events.

The commission also found that proposals to build freeway on- and off-ramps near the stadium were not adequately addressed. Finlay said a proposal to add an exit ramp from the Foothill Freeway fell through because nearby existing ramps already cause many vehicles to cross lanes. But she added that an exit ramp on the northbound 605 Freeway should also be considered.

The commission called for non-football events to be scheduled after peak evening traffic hours and for the creation of a fund by the city of Irwindale to compensate Duarte for road deterioration due to increased traffic.

Other recommendations include developing a plan to direct pedestrians toward the stadium before games and studying widening the Huntington Drive bridge across the San Gabriel River to three lanes. The environmental report proposed providing three eastbound lanes on Huntington Drive at Mount Olive by using the parking lane for through traffic during stadium events.