Traffic Returns to Burbank Mall : Downtown: Many of the merchants at the ceremony said opening the Golden Mall to traffic would help reverse the decline of the area.

Out with the old, in with the new. That was the way one merchant put it Friday as he and hundreds of other Burbank residents joined in a ceremony to reopen the Golden Mall to vehicular traffic after 22 years.

Many of the 400 merchants and residents who attended the ribbon-cutting ceremony said reopening of the mall on San Fernando Road would help revitalize what had become a deteriorating downtown shopping district.

“I think this is the greatest thing that ever happened to Burbank,” said Ed Leifer, owner of Ed’s Towne Shop, one of the mainstays of the mall. “It’s going to help all the businesses. People will have more accessibility to the stores. . . . Before, people never even knew there was a shopping center here.”

Resident Dorothy Wagoner, 70, agreed. “It should have never been closed. It killed the businesses. I don’t see how people stood it.”

The ceremony, which included live music and refreshments, was attended by all five City Council members, state Sen. David Roberti (D-Los Angeles) and Los Angeles County Supervisor Mike Antonovich.

The mall, which stretches between Magnolia Boulevard and Olive Avenue, has been closed to traffic since 1967. Many Golden Mall merchants have said that after the closure, business steadily declined.

City officials say opening of the mall and a $250-million retail and office complex, under construction nearby, will help generate more revenue for the city and the merchants.

But some shoppers disagreed.

“I think people will just drive by and keep on going just like they did 20 years ago,” resident Margaret Whitaker said. “I liked it the way it was. People used to come down with their little ones and sit on the grass. It was really nice.”

After a brief speech, Mayor Robert R. Bowne was joined by Walt Disney Co. employees costumed as Mickey and Minnie Mouse for the official ribbon-cutting, which was followed by a parade of antique cars through the mall.

John Kessler, who has owned and operated Kessler Jewelers on the mall since 1967, seemed to sum up the general mood of merchants and residents during a brief speech.

“Today’s opening of the street, an official end of the Golden Mall, ushers in a new era, a time for great expectations,” he said. “We the merchants of this area welcome you all to the really beautiful downtown Burbank.”