Sidewalks

Robert Chacon If the La Canada Flintridge City Council approves a $53,000 concrete repair contract tonight, business owners and shoppers will be walking easy beginning in April. Public Works Director Steve Castellanos has recommended that the City Council approve the contract with Glendale-based Vart Construction for concrete repair of at least 48 different locations in the city, most of them along business-lined Foothill Boulevard. The repairs are part of an annual effort by the city to repair concrete that has been lifted by tree roots, driveways damaged by weather and wear, and crumbling curbs and gutters.

Robert Chacon A long-simmering battle to bring sidewalks to some of La Canada Flint- ridge's residential streets is once again coming to a boiling point. This time, the focus is on Chevy Chase Drive between Descanso Drive and Foothill Boulevard, where some residents say sidewalks are needed to ensure the safety of pedestrians, but others oppose the notion, citing the desire to maintain the area's rural and rustic charm. Homes on this stretch of the street were built on large lots, and owners often kept their horses on the property.

Fred Ortega Children's safety beat out neighborhood charm Monday night when the City Council approved the installation Monday of sidewalks along La Canada Boulevard. La Canada Elementary School students will no longer have to walk to school along an uneven, rock-lined path. The council voted, 4-0, to install sidewalks, curbs and gutters on the west side of La Canada Boulevard, extending a walkway that already exists in front of the school north to Olive Lane.

Great Divide? I was raised in the Crescenta Valley. I have lived in both the unincorporated section of La Crescenta and the Glendale annex. I found it interesting that Janet Thompson explained that the Glendale annex section has a "human society" defined by street lights, police service and sidewalks. I guess we who live on the other side of Pennsylvania Avenue are nonhuman by default. It must be the street lights and the sidewalks, because we have great police service from the sheriff's department.

Fred Ortega The City Council will consider a proposal tonight to install sidewalks on La Canada Boulevard near La Canada Elementary School that some neighbors argue will hurt the look of the community. The proposal, which would also extend an existing loading zone in front of the school, would cost an estimated $500,000, city officials said. Parents, who say that the improvements are needed to protect children walking to and from the school, are going head-to-head with residents like Harriet Hughe, who say installing sidewalks would take away from the area's rural character.

It seems the complaints of the few carry more weight than the facts in most cases. This letter is in response to your headline story on Friday, Aug. 24, concerning the cutting of carob trees and replacing them with spindly trees. Obviously the complainers haven't experienced the many problems associated with the beautiful carob trees. Have they raked up pods from their lawns and from the streets in front of their houses? Have they experienced the ruining of the sidewalks?

LA CANADA ELEMENTARY TRAFFIC DEBATED The City Council continued its public hearing period on proposed construction of a student drop-off zone on La Canada Boulevard, behind La Canada Elementary. The council is considering several projects that would result in a less congested street during drop-off and pick-up times. Sidewalks that would make walking to school safer for some students are also being considered. The council heard comments from residents who are for and against sidewalks.

Local sidewalks to be cleaned The City Council has approved a recommendation from the Department of Public Works to expand an existing sidewalk cleaning contract to include the Montrose Shopping Park. The contract with Hydro Pressure Systems will now include quarterly washing and cleaning of sidewalks and fixtures along Honolulu Avenue between Verdugo and Sunset, on the north and south sides. The contract will also include debris pickup from gutters. The bulk of the contract, which now totals $442,546, will cover work in downtown Glendale.

Darleene Barrientos Smooth sidewalks, uncluttered treetops and smooth, green, working lampposts in the 2200 block of Honolulu Avenue are a preview of what's to come for the two remaining blocks of the Montrose Shopping Park. City workers erected several of the lampposts Tuesday along the 2300 block of Honolulu Avenue, while shoppers and strollers watched curiously as they walked to the shopping park's cafes and shops. When the lampposts are tested and found to be working properly, the city will repave the torn up and patched sidewalks, said John Drayman, secretary of the Montrose Shopping Park Assn.

Many of Glendale's neighborhoods were developed in the 1920s and '30s, when it was billed as one of the fastest-growing cities in the United States. Most of these residential areas have sidewalks that were laid when the houses were built. The custom then was for the contractor to embed a stamp (sometimes called a stencil) on the sidewalks, and these stamps have become a visible history of those who built the city. The history that those stamps preserve seems to be of interest to many people who use the city's sidewalks.

Cracked and potholed streets don't just damage your car and annoy you, they also kill - causing accidents, slowing emergency response times, endangering pedestrians, even increasing the risk of West Nile virus by allowing stagnant pools of water to accumulate and become the breeding ground for mosquitoes. Those were among the arguments put forward last week to the Los Angeles City Council by the city's street services chief in urging members to put a measure on the May ballot to raise $3 billion from higher property taxes to repair the long-neglected 6,500 miles of mean streets.

I would like to substantiate Tom Campbell's comment in the Nov. 14 Mailbag about the sidewalk bicycle law in Glendale. On Nov. 11, I was walking along the sidewalk at Central and Maple after completing a workout at the gym. As I was strolling to my car, I heard the repeated ringing of a bell. It was a bicycle rider on the sidewalk - with a complete sense of propriety - “warning” me of his presence. Had I not been on an “endorphin high” after my gym workout I would have read him the riot act. The audacity!

Here is a traffic regulation violated so often in Glendale that I don't think many know it exists: 10.64.025, bicycle riding on sidewalks: “No person shall ride or operate a bicycle upon any public sidewalk in any business district within the city except where such sidewalk is officially designated as part of an established bicycle route. Pedestrians shall have the right of way on sidewalks. The prohibition in this section shall not apply to peace officers on bicycle patrol.” Not only is it violated often, but daily I see bicyclists traveling at speeds exceeding 20 mph on sidewalks, weaving around pedestrians.

A 39-year-old motorist was arrested this week after a Glendale police officer saw him allegedly crash into a parked car, flee the area, and then drive onto a sidewalk when he was ordered to stop. The motorist, Garo Kalindjian, reportedly admitted on Tuesday to taking Suboxone, a pill used to treat opiate addiction, before colliding, according to Glendale police reports. Kalindjian was taken into custody on suspicion of driving under the influence of drugs, police said. The officer was driving about 11:29 p.m. on the 1700 block of Broadview Drive when he saw Kalindjian driving toward him and close to the curb, police said.

Before insisting that increasing the number of bicycle lanes and "road diets" are the way to go, Glendale officials should consider appropriate safety issues. Cyclists must follow accepted traffic rules. I have seen too many cyclists who have blown through stop signs and traffic lights, impede right turns for autos and other cyclists, jump onto and off sidewalks, veer in front of car traffic without looking to go around a parked car; and ride side-by side talking and frequently meandering to the left.

A man made off with a woman's Louis Vuitton purse Wednesday after a brief struggle while she was walking on Monterey Road, police said. The purse snatching occurred about 12:25 p.m. just west of Jackson Street. Police were unable to locate the man - described as Asian, 18 years old, 5 foot 8 inches tall and clean shaven with a thin build and short black hair - after searching the neighborhood. He was also wearing a black shirt and pants, which were cut off at the shins.

The burning body of a man was found on an Altadena sidewalk early Sunday, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. A passerby spotted what appeared to be a burning object in the 2600 block of North Windsor Avenue about 6 a.m., said Deputy Lillian Peck, a Sheriff's Department spokeswoman. After approaching, the passerby realized that it was a human body and called 911, Peck said. Deputies and firefighters responded and pronounced the man dead at the scene.

Five people were hurt Saturday when an 18-year-old motorist crashed and pinned at least two pedestrians against the former Borders building, officials said. Two of the five people were listed in stable condition Monday at Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center, where one was being treated for fractures, and the other for a non-life-threatening head injury, said Glendale Fire Battalion Chief Greg Godfrey. Paramedics transported two other victims to Glendale Adventist Medical Center, where they were treated for minor injuries, he added.

Glendale will pay $125,000 as part of a settlement agreement with a man who fell over a raised sidewalk and permanently injured his left eye. The city has settled slip-and-fall cases before, but they rarely reach into six-figures. The injured man, Michael Donovan, claimed that as he carried a large container filled with leftovers from a dinner party at a friend's house to his car on June 21, 2009, he tripped and fell over a sidewalk that had been cracked and raised by a magnolia tree, according to court documents.

Many of Glendale's neighborhoods were developed in the 1920s and '30s, when it was billed as one of the fastest-growing cities in the United States. Most of these residential areas have sidewalks that were laid when the houses were built. The custom then was for the contractor to embed a stamp (sometimes called a stencil) on the sidewalks, and these stamps have become a visible history of those who built the city. The history that those stamps preserve seems to be of interest to many people who use the city's sidewalks.