STANTON : Firms Seek to Keep Beach Blvd. Parking

A group of Beach Boulevard merchants have told the City Council that plans to widen that street will drive them out of business.

“We depend on on-street parking,” said Eric Taylor, owner of the Modern Mariner boat store. “Without it, we’re lost.”

Howard Jones, who manages an apartment complex along Beach Boulevard, predicted that the widening will hurt the city’s economy. “It’s going to cost us an awful lot,” he said.

The remarks came at a recent public hearing at which the city considered a parking ban along most of Beach Boulevard, which would be necessary to turn the road into an eight-lane “super street.” Planners estimated that eliminating on-street parking along Beach Boulevard will cut travel time between Pacific Coast and Imperial highways by up to 30%.

After hearing the concerns of the merchants, the City Council unanimously decided to postpone a vote on the parking ban until May 8.

City Manager Terry Matz was asked if the Orange County Transportation Commission could grant Stanton an exception to the parking ban, but he said that was unlikely.

“I think it’s a done deal,” he said, adding that blueprints were “99% finished.” He said Stanton is the last city in which parking is allowed on Beach Boulevard.

Construction for the “super street” project is scheduled to begin Sept. 4.