City to Create Citizens Advisory Group for Monterey Road

President Gretchen Robinette stood before City Council Wednesday to suggest it implement an advisory group of community members to oversee future construction projects.

"The City has a serious credibility gap right now with residents.  ... It's time to learn from the mistakes that were made," she said during public comment. "We want to commend the council for creating the citizens sub-committee to regarding ADA and the design proposals. However, we can do more to ensure a successful construction project..."

"Why not establish a ... citizens advisory group for the entire Monterey Road project to review plans, specs, propose construction contracts and administer the plan?" she continued.  

City council members liked WISPPA's idea and went ahead with a motion that reflected it.

The Plan

City Council decided Wednesday to incorporate the following into the Bicycle Master Plan:

• Class 2 bike lanes for Monterey Road from the City's west boundary to Pasadena Ave/Monterey Road railroad tracks.
• Class 3 bike route on Monterey Road from the City's east boundary to Fair Oaks Avenue.

Neither of which will result in loss of street parking.

As for the middle segment of Monterey Road—from Pasadena to Fair Oaks Avenue—bike lanes are pending until the Citizens Advisory Group provides Council with construction recommendations.

"[The Citizens Advisory Group is] going to make design recommendations for the roadway, which in turn will affect the ultimate bike lane designation for that segment," Deputy Public Works Director Shin Furukawa told Patch after the meeting.

City staff will generate criteria regarding size, composition, task and meeting schedule for the Citizens Advisory Group. No decisions will be made until its created and additional questions are answered.

"Really, we do need to do traffic counts and look at the impact it will have," said Councilmember Philip Putnam.

"I do think there's a lot of work to do. ... We have to look at what's best for the City overall—what's best for the residents, what's best for the traffic flow, best for the schools. We have to consider all of this," he continued.

Is a Road Diet the Solution?

Councilmember Richard Schneider said Wednesday that he's is in favor of a road diet for Monterey Road, which would eliminate travel lanes—cutting the number from four to two—while maintaining parking and bicycle lanes.

"What could potentially happen on a road diet ... you would have a travel lane in each direction, you would have a center turn lane where you turn right or left, and then you would have bike lanes on each side and parking," Transportation Manager Dennis Woods said Wednesday.

Pasadena resident Wesley Reutimann, who frequently walks, drives and bikes down Monterey Road also likes the idea of a road diet.

"One of the reasons [Monterey Road is] dangerous is you dont have a left turning lane, which is one of the things the road diet addresses. It allows cars to pull out of fast-moving traffic so you don't have people slamming on their breaks in the left lane," he said Wednesday.

If interested in being a part of the Citizens Advisory Group, contact the City Clerk's office at (626) 403-7232.

[Editor's Update: The article originally stated Wesley Reutimann is a South Pas resident. Patch regrets the error.]