Burbank OKs Golden Mall Traffic Plan

The Burbank City Council on Tuesday approved a specific plan for the opening the remainder of the pedestrian Golden Mall to automobiles, but the redesign has left some merchants less than pleased.

The council voted to open four blocks of the mall, which is located on San Fernando Boulevard, with a lane of traffic in both directions. Approximately 30 parallel parking spaces will be provided, and the mall will retain some of its ambiance, with planters, benches and canopies. Three blocks were opened to auto traffic last year.

Merchants have been clamoring for several years for the mall to be opened. They have said that business has suffered since 1967, when the mall was closed, and that shoppers have found it difficult to get to the stores. The mall is in the heart of the downtown redevelopment area targeted for renovation.

While merchants are happy with the city’s recent decision to open the mall, they said the redesign does not provide enough parking.

“Parking should have been a huge priority and it wasn’t,” said Morey Goodstein, the owner of Morey’s Shoes and Boutique. “Friday and Saturday nights, there’s not nearly enough parking around here. . . .”

The council chose the design over another configuration that would have provided 108 spaces of diagonal parking, a plan favored by the merchants.

Community Development Director William R. Kelly said a diagonal parking configuration would have impeded the flow of traffic. “The goal here is to restimulate downtown,” Kelly said, adding that the approved redesign would be “shopper friendly” and attract pedestrians to the area.

The project is estimated to cost $2.9 million. Kelly said he plans for construction to start by January, 1989, and be completed by June or July of 1989.

Not all of the merchants were unhappy with the design. “This is the smartest move the city could have made and the correct configuration,” said Ed Leifer, the owner of Ed’s Towne Shop. “When someone pulls out of a diagonal parking space, that stops everything in traffic. This way, people will be happier driving down there. Less is more.”