Traffic conditions at the intersection of Foothill Boulevard and Fifth Avenue have caused the city councils of Arcadia and Monrovia to approve a resolution for $30,670 to widen the intersection.
The city is asking residents to vote by mail by July 15 on a plan that would change the way the city splits the cost of street lighting. The city expects street lighting to cost about $1.15 million next year. Single-family homes on lighted streets would pay the most, $25.70 a year. Under the proposal, the assessments would no longer be tied to the value of a home but rather to the benefits that residents receive from street lights. If voters reject the plan, the current lighting assessment districts will expire in 2010. If that happens, the city will be responsible for paying the entire costs of street lighting.
The City Council has created three new lighting assessment zones to replace lighting districts established in the 1970s. Residents will be sent mail-in ballots later this year to decide whether or not to approve changes to fees for street lighting. Lighting costs about $1.15 million a year.
Arcadia City Council has voted to impose fees on developers to pay for intersection-widening projects. A chart shows the traffic count at developments, at intersections, and the fee structure.
Despite strong backing from the Santa Anita Oaks Homeowners Association, a proposal to replace existing street lights with new ornamental lights was overwhelmingly rejected by residents in a mail-in ballot election. All Arcadia residents will vote on new street lighting assessments in July. Under that measure, all households would pay one of three yearly assessment fees, depending on how they benefit from street lights.
Several blocks of Live Oak Avenue will be closed through Thursday while Edison crews remove street lights, traffic signals and wooden power poles that snapped under powerful overnight wind gusts Monday from the Santa Ana winds.
City officials have authorized for the first week of October a previously postponed mail-in vote on whether to reallocate street lighting assessment fees. Residents will vote on a reorganization that would make the payments correspond fairly to the benefits received.
The city was awarded $300,000 by the federal government to be used on a project to improve traffic flow along the Santa Anita Avenue corridor. The project calls for installing an underground conduit and interconnecting twelve intersections.
Arcadia City Council unanimously approved a plan to let the city of El Monte annex 5.19 acres of vacant land near Durfee Avenue and Clark Street. The plan is to have 34 units of homes developed there. Next, the matter goes to Los Angeles County Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO).
Police arrrested an Arcadia juvenile after he allegedly sideswiped a United States Mail carrier's vehicle and then fled the scene at Second Avenue and El Dorado. His license plate was left at the scene.
Arcadia City Council has put out a design contract for landscaping and streetscape design on Baldwin Avenue between Duarte Road and Naomi Avenue. The contract went to Willdan, not to exceed $64,410. Another project proposes widening of the street to four lanes, 75 feet from curb to curb, with landscaped median, curb parking and additional landscaping, along with street resurfacing, to cost $380,000.
Longden Avenue in Arcadia has had a lot of street construction over the last three years, including construction of wheelchair ramps, missing sidewalks, palm trees removed, and new 30 inch water main.
The environmental impact report (EIR) for the proposed Shops at Santa Anita is now available. The report must be reviewed by the City Council before the development can be built. The report includes traffic studies of certain intersections and the economic effect on Westfield Shoppingtown.
In response to concerns for traffic safety, students at Arcadia High School created an original traffic safety video entitled "Cars and Schools: Everybody's Business." The video will air on Arcadia's cable channel and on the school district's channel.
Arcadia mail-in voters reject proposal for new lighting assessment districts. Under the proposal, the single-family homes on well-lit streets would pay up for $24 a year. Those with "sporadic" lighting would pay up to $10.12 a year, while homes on streets without lights would pay nothing. The current lighting assessment districts expire in 2010. Out of 14,600 ballots sent out, about 1/3 were returned. The proposal failed by 70 votes. 2,457 ballots voted yes and 2,530 voted no.
Neighboring residents in Sierra Madre and Arcadia strive to solve traffic issues and pedestrian safety concerns near Sierra Vista Park at the intersection of Sierra Madre Boulevard and Monterey Lane in Sierra Madre.