ECHO PARK : Comment Sought on Glendale Boulevard

Reviving ages-old discussion of the “Glendale Corridor,” residents voiced hope and fear about the future of Glendale Boulevard at community meetings sponsored last week by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.

Residents expressed their long-held frustration over the abrupt end of the Glendale Freeway in Echo Park and the subsequent traffic jams and hazards it causes on Glendale Boulevard. Many expressed hope that transportation officials will finally heed their wishes to end the Glendale Freeway at the Golden State Freeway to stem the flow of vehicles into Echo Park.

But many residents said they remain fearful that the boulevard will be widened or otherwise modified to become an even more heavily used route into Downtown.

The transportation agency is seeking community comment on how to improve the boulevard from its northern point at the end of the Glendale Freeway to its southern terminus at Beverly Boulevard. In response to years of complaints, the agency allocated $300,000 for consultants to study the boulevard and come up with short-, medium- and long-range proposals on how to improve transportation, urban design and economic development along the corridor.

MTA officials and consultants said their goals are to improve the traffic flow and perhaps encourage more pedestrians along the boulevard.

At the two information-gathering meetings last week at Logan Street and Union Avenue schools, agency staff and consultants invited residents to fill out questionnaires and jot down suggestions on a large map of the area. The planners will take the residents’ comments and come up with preliminary ideas that will be presented at community meetings in January, with follow-up meetings in February and March.

“We’re looking for a community-based solution,” said Steve Brye, MTA project manager.

Many of the residents at the Logan Street School meeting Wednesday night advocated ending the freeway at the Golden State, saying that would divert Downtown-bound commuters from Echo Park. The northern end of Glendale Boulevard, they said, could be developed as a park.

But other residents said that cutting off the freeway would divert traffic onto other residential streets and that the solution lies in improving Glendale Boulevard itself.

Information: (213) 244-6731.