ANAHEIM : Council Rejects Wall Across Noisy Street

The City Council has rejected a request to build an 8-foot wall across a residential street to isolate residents from a neighborhood that they believe is the source of noise, traffic and other problems.

The council voted unanimously this week against a proposal from a group of homeowners in the Citron-Hall neighborhood for construction of a cinder-block wall across Julianna Avenue. The council also rejected two other plans for blocking off the street.

Mayor Fred Hunter told about two dozen homeowners from Julianna and Victor avenues that the city staff would study other ways to address the problems.

There has been friction on Julianna Avenue since the issue first arose in September. Residents who lived on the east side of Harbor Boulevard were nearly 100% in favor of the closure, according to a city staff report. Closure would eliminate traffic and muffle noise from the west side, residents believed.

But other residents living in apartments on the west side said they felt discriminated against because they had not been informed of the plan.

Also, many of them do not own cars and have said it would be a burden to have to walk around the block to go to stores, to jobs and to a park on Harbor Boulevard.

The traffic department conducted surveys showing that traffic through the neighborhood was 21% higher than that on comparable Anaheim residential streets during the morning rush hour and 73% higher than the standard during evenings.