News-Press Editorial: A plan that may bridge the crossing gap

A good compromise to the long-standing argument between the our city and the city of Los Angeles about what to do with the Doran Street railroad crossing has been posed by Glendale Councilman Ara Najarian. Rather than building an overpass at the crossing — or implementing any of the four alternatives already on the table — Najarian suggests constructing two bridges. One would take drivers over the Los Angeles River and the other would cross the Verdugo Wash.

Under Najarian’s proposal, the railroad crossing at Doran would be closed down entirely. Such a move would not only improve safety at what is known as one of the most dangerous railroad crossings in the county, but also could potentially mean that the nearly 100 trains passing through that stretch around the clock would no longer have to give warning horn blasts, thus providing residents of the neighboring Pelanconi Estates some noise relief they’ve long sought. The bridges would begin at the Atwater terminus of Doran and connect to Zoo Drive to the west and Fairmont Avenue to the north.

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FOR THE RECORD: An earlier version of this story stated Najarian’s proposal would eliminate train honking near the Doran Street railroad crossing. Instead, it might have such a result.

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As Najarian pointed out this week, the spans would offer trucks access to the 134 and 5 freeways while keeping them in Los Angeles and allow recreational users on foot, horseback or bicycle to get to Griffith Park easily.

We’ve been told the proposed overpass carries a price tag of at least $40 million. There are no estimates currently available for the two bridges Najarian has suggested, but we imagine they won’t come cheap, either. However, they are very appealing alternatives that appear to solve the issues associated with the Doran Street crossing and we urge the Metropolitan Transportation Authority to give this latest proposal due consideration.