Arcadia : Change in Restoration Plan

A $5-million project to revitalize Arcadia’s downtown may have to be altered if a study of traffic and parking reveals unforeseen problems, a city councilman warns.

After shop owners and residents raised concerns about the potential for traffic jams, the City Council last week voted unanimously to add an examination of traffic and parking patterns to an environmental study of the project.

The project would replace curbside parking bays in front of shops along Huntington Drive and Second Avenue with wider sidewalks, new landscaping and kiosks. Parking would be moved to the rear of the shops.

At last Tuesday’s council meeting, Councilman Robert Harbicht called for the city to halt expensive design work on the project until the study is completed in January.

“Fifteen thousand dollars a week is being shelled out for engineering and designs which could be useless,” said Harbicht, adding that the project may have to be scrapped or drastically altered.