BURBANK : Equestrian Center Bridge Plan Revived

Burbank has resurrected an idea for a bridge linking the Los Angeles Equestrian Center directly to the Ventura Freeway, similar to one proposed in the mid-1980s but never built.

The bridge would cross the Los Angeles River and join the Forest Lawn interchange on the Ventura Freeway and is projected to cost $750,000 to $1 million, Burbank City Manager Robert Ovrom said.

“There are very active discussions going on about this right now,” Ovrom said.

However, while the bridge may be a good idea, it may be a low priority, said Allyn Rifkin, chief of the Los Angeles city transportation planning bureau.

“We’re really kind of waiting for the new (fiscal) year to see how much funds we’ll have to design this and move forward with it,” said Rifkin, who added that he has to worry about cutbacks brought on by state budget troubles.

Burbank Mayor George Battey Jr. and other Burbank officials have met with Rifkin about the bridge recently, Ovrom said. Rifkin said he sent a report on the meeting to 4th District Councilman John Ferraro. Ferraro is planning to meet July 12 with officials from the center about the idea, said Erin Rodewald, a spokeswoman for Ferraro.

Burbank might be willing to help pay for the bridge because it would ease traffic jams that form on Riverside Drive during major events at the center, Ovrom said.

Riverside Drive, a residential street in the city’s Rancho neighborhood and the only route to reach the center, is to be narrowed from four lanes to two in July. But police worry that the street narrowing, part of a neighborhood protection plan, will worsen the traffic problems during special events.

“Before the end of the calendar year, we’ll have a handle as to whether we all want to do this,” Ovrom said.

One other source of funding may be through the rent that the center pays to the city, Rifkin said.

The bridge had been proposed in the mid-1980s as part of a larger plan by former center owner Al Garcia, who went bankrupt after getting the support of both Burbank and Los Angeles, Rodewald said.

“We also think it will be good for Los Angeles and the equestrian center,” Ovrom said.