Buck Wargo
CITY HALL -- The closure of Glenwood Road is likely to turn into a
life-and-death debate Tuesday among Glendale City Council members.
The Glendale City Council is expected to follow a recommendation from
its transportation staff to keep Glenwood Road closed between Virginia
Avenue and Concord Street until July 11. That would allow more time for a
traffic study to evaluate the effects of diverting cars on nearby streets
and for the council to consider a permanent closure.
Glenwood Road in front of Hoover High School has been closed since the
May 5 beating and stabbing death of Raul Aguirre. Police Chief Russell
Siverling said that would prevent cruising and improve security of
students between the campuses of Hoover, Toll Middle School and Keppel
Elementary School.
Siverling has only the power to close the road on an emergency basis.
Council action is needed for any further closure.
The 6 p.m. meeting will be preceded at 5:30 p.m. by a joint meeting of
the council, Glendale Unified School District Board of Education and the
Glendale Community College Board of Trustees to talk about community
relations and tensions between ethnic groups and develop a strategy to
deal with them.
Based on comments at recent council and civic meetings and phone calls
to the city, the road closure debate should be a heated one, with several
hundred people expected to attend. Many parents of school children have
said the closure of the street would prevent cruising and save children's
lives.
Several neighborhood residents have said the closure would only divert
traffic to other streets and not lessen the danger to students. The city
considered closing the street in 1996 but did not act after a majority of
residents surveyed said they wanted it to remain open.
Schools Supt. Jim Brown is pushing for the city to close the street
through the end of summer school in early August. More than 3,000
students will be attending the three schools over the summer, he said.
"It is clear to me that the temporary closure of the portion of
Glenwood Road that bisects Hoover, Toll and Keppel schools is a
significant factor in being able to secure that area for students and
adults since Raul Aguirre's death," Brown stated in a letter to the
council.
The traffic plan the council will consider Tuesday would extend the
closure of Glenwood Road. Among the additions:
* The eastbound lane between Highland Avenue and Virginia Avenue would
be closed.
* Concord Street would be converted into a one-way southbound road
