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Council aims to curb traffic
Meeting brings members of several transportation departments together to discuss ways to ease congestion in the city.
By Jeremy Oberstein
BURBANK — Hoping to ease congestion on Burbank’s freeways and streets, the City Council convened a joint session with three traffic committees, where details of the city’s traffic crunch and ideas to alleviate the rush were deliberated Tuesday at Buena Vista Library.
The meeting was held at the library to accommodate the nearly 30 members from the council, Traffic and Transportation Committee, Transportation Commission and Transit Services Task Force, as well as members of the public and city staff.
Burbank’s traffic problems emanate from a combination of driving alone, regional thoroughfares, commercial zones and the variance of vehicles associated with regional growth, said Greg Hermann, chief assistant community development director.
More than 70% of commuters drive alone to work, dwarfing the 10% that carpool and about 5% that use public transit, while overflow traffic from the Golden State (5) Freeway crawls along Glenoaks Boulevard during rush hour, he said.
Shopping centers, such as Costco and IKEA, have contributed to rush hour, as have large trucks driving through Burbank’s streets, Traffic Engineer Ken Johnson said.
“Truck traffic is a growing trend as the ports in Los Angeles and Long Beach continue to grow as they serve the western portion of the United States,” he said.
To help mitigate the effects of increased future traffic, Councilman David Gordon proposed limiting the development of commercial and business projects.
“Development has its benefits . . . but in increasing projects in Burbank, we need to be very careful,” he said.
“Should [Bob Hope] Airport expand, there will be tremendous traffic impacts. We need to take a long-term look because at the bottom of this is how it impacts the people of this city. We don’t need to put up walls around the city, but we need to be very vigilant in protecting what’s good here.”
To meet the demands of the region, where by 2030 more than 15 million people are projected to live in Southern California, and where travel time is expected to double during peak hours, the council and committees considered several options.
Paul Dyson, a member of the city’s Transportation Commission, called for an increase in public transportation.
“We need to have adequate transit service in our city,” he said. “Do we decide to step in and do this ourselves or get together with two or three neighboring cities that gives a regional level of mobility so low-income people can get around?”
Regional transportation could lessen the impact of the 86,000 people who commute to Burbank for work, he said.
Burbank is already building transit projects aimed at increasing capacity.
Caltrans is constructing a carpool lane along the Golden State Freeway through Burbank, which is expected to be completed in the next 18 months, and engineers are widening intersections and putting in left-turn lanes on local streets, Hermann said.
Left-turn lanes were introduced for the intersections of Buena Vista Street and Alameda Avenue and the southbound portion of Victory Boulevard and Alameda Avenue. And the intersection of Buena Vista Street and Winona Avenue will be widened, he said.
But left-turn lanes were not lauded by some on the Traffic and Transportation Committee.
“[The use of left-turn-only lights] kills through traffic and makes intersections slower,” member Ralph Herman said.
“They force people to use [alternative streets] and has made traffic worse.
While committee members mulled different options to ease congestion, Councilman Dave Golonski warned against widening roads.
“Increasing roadway capacity can increase roadway demand through induced demand,” he said.
“When we look at proposals to widen streets, like Hollywood Way, we have to scratch our heads and think about the long term and ask if it will reduce congestion.”
The public will have the opportunity to inject its opinion on ways to reduce traffic as the Community Development Department plans to hold community meetings, Hermann said.
Though no specific dates have been set, people will have the chance to weigh in on the city’s traffic mobility plans in about a month, Hermann said.
JEREMY OBERSTEIN covers City Hall and public safety. He may be reached at (818) 637-3242 or by e-mail at jeremy.oberstein@ latimes.com.
The meeting was held at the library to accommodate the nearly 30 members from the council, Traffic and Transportation Committee, Transportation Commission and Transit Services Task Force, as well as members of the public and city staff.
Burbank’s traffic problems emanate from a combination of driving alone, regional thoroughfares, commercial zones and the variance of vehicles associated with regional growth, said Greg Hermann, chief assistant community development director.
More than 70% of commuters drive alone to work, dwarfing the 10% that carpool and about 5% that use public transit, while overflow traffic from the Golden State (5) Freeway crawls along Glenoaks Boulevard during rush hour, he said.
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“Truck traffic is a growing trend as the ports in Los Angeles and Long Beach continue to grow as they serve the western portion of the United States,” he said.
To help mitigate the effects of increased future traffic, Councilman David Gordon proposed limiting the development of commercial and business projects.
“Development has its benefits . . . but in increasing projects in Burbank, we need to be very careful,” he said.
“Should [Bob Hope] Airport expand, there will be tremendous traffic impacts. We need to take a long-term look because at the bottom of this is how it impacts the people of this city. We don’t need to put up walls around the city, but we need to be very vigilant in protecting what’s good here.”
To meet the demands of the region, where by 2030 more than 15 million people are projected to live in Southern California, and where travel time is expected to double during peak hours, the council and committees considered several options.
Paul Dyson, a member of the city’s Transportation Commission, called for an increase in public transportation.
“We need to have adequate transit service in our city,” he said. “Do we decide to step in and do this ourselves or get together with two or three neighboring cities that gives a regional level of mobility so low-income people can get around?”
Regional transportation could lessen the impact of the 86,000 people who commute to Burbank for work, he said.
Burbank is already building transit projects aimed at increasing capacity.
Caltrans is constructing a carpool lane along the Golden State Freeway through Burbank, which is expected to be completed in the next 18 months, and engineers are widening intersections and putting in left-turn lanes on local streets, Hermann said.
Left-turn lanes were introduced for the intersections of Buena Vista Street and Alameda Avenue and the southbound portion of Victory Boulevard and Alameda Avenue. And the intersection of Buena Vista Street and Winona Avenue will be widened, he said.
But left-turn lanes were not lauded by some on the Traffic and Transportation Committee.
“[The use of left-turn-only lights] kills through traffic and makes intersections slower,” member Ralph Herman said.
“They force people to use [alternative streets] and has made traffic worse.
While committee members mulled different options to ease congestion, Councilman Dave Golonski warned against widening roads.
“Increasing roadway capacity can increase roadway demand through induced demand,” he said.
“When we look at proposals to widen streets, like Hollywood Way, we have to scratch our heads and think about the long term and ask if it will reduce congestion.”
The public will have the opportunity to inject its opinion on ways to reduce traffic as the Community Development Department plans to hold community meetings, Hermann said.
Though no specific dates have been set, people will have the chance to weigh in on the city’s traffic mobility plans in about a month, Hermann said.
JEREMY OBERSTEIN covers City Hall and public safety. He may be reached at (818) 637-3242 or by e-mail at jeremy.oberstein@ latimes.com.
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