FULLERTON : City Gives Go-Ahead to Railroad Underpass

After years of debate over whether to build an underpass at the railroad tracks on Highland Avenue, the City Council voted this week to go ahead with the project, despite objections from a number of merchants.

The underpass, which the city said earlier could be completed only by taking land from property owners, will not require eminent domain proceedings, according to the new plan. But it will steer customers away, some business owners said.

Connie Barron, owner of Freek’s Garage, has been one of the most outspoken opponents of the underpass. If it is built, she told the council Tuesday, her automotive shop will be hidden from passing motorists, and that will cost her potential clients and profit.

“This project is unneeded and will surely be damaging if not disastrous for our business,” Barron said.

A coalition of teachers, church leaders and community activists praised the decision, however, saying that it will ensure safer street crossings for motorists and pedestrians.

“I’m very pleased that the council has finally decided to move ahead with the underpass,” said Bob Ward, a former Fullerton mayor. Hundreds of school children and shoppers cross the railroad tracks daily, he said.

Mayor Julie Sa and council members Don Bankhead and Jan M. Flory, all of whom voted for the overpass, said the city will try to compensate Highland businesses affected by construction of the underpass, projected to take two years and cost $7 million.