BURBANK : Council Drops Plans to Widen Street

Bowing to a groundswell of opposition, the Burbank City Council has dropped plans to widen Hollywood Way or its intersections and will instead look for other ways of improving traffic to Burbank Airport.

For two hours Tuesday, a packed City Council meeting was punctuated with applause as more than 20 people spoke against the plans.

Many speakers said the council had already decided on the widening project by accepting a $1.7-million grant from the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority.

The grant was accepted by the City Council in April to fund half the costs of study and design work for potential intersection improvements on Hollywood Way. City officials said the grant does not commit Burbank to the construction.

But merchants and residents said that widening the intersections would lead to widening the entire street.

“The impression this gives to the community is that this is a done deal,” said resident Carolyn Berlin.

“Which is the furthest from the truth,” Councilman Bob Bowne said. “It’s nothing we’ve voted on.”

Hollywood Way is a key route from the Ventura Freeway to the Burbank Airport. The route goes through the Magnolia Park section.

The council voted 5 to 0 Tuesday to drop the street or intersection widening as a option and use the money to study other possibilities to alleviate congestion. A citizens advisory committee will also be named, similar to a group that helped draw up the recently adopted Rancho Master Plan to protect that neighborhood.

Joining in the criticism was former councilman Tim Murphy, who voted against the grant while he was in office.

“It’s a pedestrian, village type of neighborhood,” Murphy said. “All that would disappear with the widening of Hollywood Way.”