YORBA LINDA : Residents Complain About Street Barrier

The city on Wednesday installed temporary barricades across Brooklyn Avenue at 4th Street, a move residents and fire officials say may put some residents in danger in case of fire or a medical emergency.

Battalion Chief Chuck Nicola said such a barricade “would seriously impede the ability of the Fire Department to respond to fire and medical emergencies.”

The council approved the closure in September, reacting to complaints from Brooklyn Avenue residents that motorists use their street to avoid traffic on Imperial Highway.

But residents of several other streets in the area said closing Brooklyn left them with only one way out of the area and would increase traffic on the rest of the streets.

About 50 of the residents gathered Thursday afternoon at the corner of 3rd Street and Wabash Avenue to protest the closure.

While they gathered, about a dozen motorists rounded the curve from 3rd Street, heading west out of the neighborhood. That change in traffic pattern is exactly what Wabash residents predicted would happen when the barrier went up.

Because the city did not erect signs warning motorists of the closure, there was confusion on both sides of the barrier.

About 4:15 p.m. Thursday, a motorist driving a red sports car west on Brooklyn from Prospect Avenue turned sharply to avoid the barrier, then sped up 3rd Street to Wabash, a narrow, one-way street.

Ten minutes later, another motorist in a large truck simply drove up the curb and around the barrier to get to the eastern side.

While the change in traffic pattern was the main concern for residents who live north of Brooklyn, they are now concerned about the threat of fire.

“It is unfathomable that the city would take this action,” said Ron Henry, who lives on Chicago Avenue. “There is overwhelming documentation not to (close Brooklyn).”

Henry said he would accept a temporary barricade during a trial period, but not when the risk of fire is at its peak.

“I have seen three major fires (in the area) since I moved in 6 1/2 years ago,” he said. “There is no immediate emergency to put up the barriers (but) there is an urgent situation with the threat of fires.”

On Tuesday, Henry asked the council to at least delay the closure until the fire season passes.

Councilman Henry W. Wedaa made a motion to delay the closure, but it was defeated. Mayor John M. Gullixson, and council members Daniel T. Welch and Barbara Kiley opposed Wedaa’s motion.

Fire official Nicola said the barricades will add 20 to 30 seconds to the response time of ambulances and firetrucks coming from Valencia Avenue in Placentia.

Although city engineer Roy Stephenson said the barricades could be removed in an emergency, Nicola said firefighters would not do that. He said firefighters would drive the longer route past the neighborhood then up Valley View Avenue and enter from the east.

This not only creates a minor delay but also limits the strategic placement of fire vehicles, Nicola said.

Street Closure: Residents say closure would hinder evacuation.