Speed Humps

A favorite pastime for the parents on our block is to sit in their Adirondack chairs on our front lawns and yell at speeding, rush-hour motorists using our street to shave 12 seconds off their drives home. We leap to our feet upon hearing the telltale roar of approaching speeders, hollering at them to slow down, doing our best not to spill a drop of Dewar's or whatever merlot is on sale at Fresh & Easy that week. The drivers rarely hear their hecklers through closed windows. But our playing children do. I, for one, gave up trying to set a good example for my children after the Birthday Clown Incident of '06. (She had it coming, by the way.)

Buck Wargo CITY HALL -- For residents north of downtown, more speed humps will have to wait. The Glendale City Council voted 3-2 Tuesday night to reject a plan to add as many as 18 speed humps in the Rossmoyne-Mountain area until more review of the plan is done by the council-appointed Transportation & Parking Commission. No timetable has been announced. The decision upset many residents who said more measures are needed now to further slow vehicles and reduce traffic volumes in front of their homes and protect children.

The City Council approved a slew of speed hump requests throughout the city on Tuesday night, despite concerns by at least two council members that the traffic-calming devices might slow down emergency response times, and residents' worries that the humps would simply divert traffic onto their streets. The $90,000 project will involve construction of 13 new speed humps and lumps on Coronado Drive, Doran Street, Geneva Street, Highland Avenue and South Street and the reconstruction of 12 existing speed humps on Ethel Street, Glenoaks Boulevard and Los Olivos Lane.

Buck Wargo CITY HALL -- Glendale could add as many as 18 speed humps to the 16 put in two years ago in neighborhoods north of downtown to slow vehicles down and reduce traffic in response to complaints from residents. The Glendale City Council and Glendale Transportation and Parking Commission will hold a joint meeting at 6 p.m. Tuesday to discuss a 1998 plan for calming traffic and new speed humps. The city is considering sending out a questionnaire to residents of those neighborhoods in the Rossmoyne-Mountain area to get their response to the 2-year-old plan that included 16 speed humps, more stop signs, parking restrictions and narrowing of streets.

A City Council discussion on installation of speed humps on streets throughout the city extended well into the night, with no decision being made as of Tuesday's deadline. A long report on proposed changes to the city's tree ordinance delayed the discussion on speed humps, which drew dozens of residents to City Council Chambers. Some even sat on chairs set up in the City Hall lobby, watching the proceedings on television. Public Works officials were requesting approval of a $90,000 contract to install the traffic calming devices on Coronado Drive, Doran Street, Geneva Street, Highland Avenue and South Street.

CITY HALL ? Altura Avenue resident Bill Dodson was standing in his garage on a rainy October morning when a pickup truck lost control, sped through his neighbor?s front yard and took out a fence before smashing into his house. The 2008 accident, which caused about $60,000 worth of damage to his house, was indicative of a larger speeding problem in his north Glendale neighborhood, Dodson told the city?s Transportation and Parking Commission on Monday. ?It?s a race track at times,?

CITY HALL ? Residents in a South Glendale neighborhood could get some relief from cars racing down a ?cut through? street off the Interstate Golden State (5) freeway after a commission approved the installation of two speed humps. In response to a petition from residents, the Transportation and Parking Commission on Monday unanimously approved the installation of two speed humps on West Elk Avenue between the offramp of the 5 Freeway and Pacific Avenue, were applicants say motorists frequently speed through the shortcut during morning and evening rush hours.

Fred Ortega Speed humps which some residents have already waited nearly a year for will take a little longer to be installed following a decision Tuesday by the City Council to postpone voting on the matter. Residents of three different neighborhoods in the city have asked for speed humps to slow and divert traffic in their neighborhoods in the past year. The first request was approved by city officials in July 2004 after neighborhood polls showed at least 75% of residents supported speed hump installation, Public Works Director Stephen Zurn said.

Buck Wargo FREEWAY SPORTS COMPLEX -- No freeway offramp and maybe no speed humps. That's the mood of residents along Fern Lane after Glendale officials floated proposals Wednesday night to cope with increasedtraffic in their neighborhood since nearby athletic fields opened 10 months ago. Many of the more than 60 people who attended the meeting Wednesday said a new offramp and onramp on the Glendale (2) Freeway would make the problem worse because it would bring more cars into their neighborhood.

CITY HALL — City transportation commissioners this week approved a slate of speed humps requested by residents fed up with motorists speeding through their streets. Residents from three Glendale neighborhoods had petitioned for the speed humps, which they hoped would improve dangerous conditions. “There are people going down that street going 65 mph,” Montrose Avenue resident George Anderson told the Glendale Transportation and Parking Commission on Monday. “We have children playing there …We have to stop this because some kid is going to get run over and killed.” Commissioners approved four speed humps on Montrose Avenue between New York and Pennsylvania avenues, three speed humps on Allen Avenue between Victory Boulevard and Lake Street and two speed humps on Cleveland Road between Glenoaks Boulevard and Zook Drive.

A favorite pastime for the parents on our block is to sit in their Adirondack chairs on our front lawns and yell at speeding, rush-hour motorists using our street to shave 12 seconds off their drives home. We leap to our feet upon hearing the telltale roar of approaching speeders, hollering at them to slow down, doing our best not to spill a drop of Dewar's or whatever merlot is on sale at Fresh & Easy that week. The drivers rarely hear their hecklers through closed windows. But our playing children do. I, for one, gave up trying to set a good example for my children after the Birthday Clown Incident of '06. (She had it coming, by the way.)

Only one genocide lacks recognition This is in response to the letter of Eva Garnier (?Commemorate all genocide victims? May 3). Many writers like Garnier, at various times, have expressed similar sentiments. Although some have ill intent, many simply do not see the obvious. The reason the Armenian Genocide and the Jewish Holocaust are on a different plane is this: Armenians were murdered because they were Armenians, and Jews were murdered because they were Jews. Both groups were targeted for extermination by the ruling, ethnically and religiously distinct majority, because they were different.

CITY HALL ? Altura Avenue resident Bill Dodson was standing in his garage on a rainy October morning when a pickup truck lost control, sped through his neighbor?s front yard and took out a fence before smashing into his house. The 2008 accident, which caused about $60,000 worth of damage to his house, was indicative of a larger speeding problem in his north Glendale neighborhood, Dodson told the city?s Transportation and Parking Commission on Monday. ?It?s a race track at times,?

For residents of one Montrose neighborhood, traffic collisions are an all too common occurrence. “It’s so constant, and everybody knows somebody, or two or three people who have had their car hit. It’s just rampant,” said Liz Langford, who lives at Waltonia Drive and Park Place. Langford — whose 1999 Toyota Corrolla was twice damaged by hit-and-drivers before being totaled — is one of more than a dozen residents who live near the intersection whose cars have been damaged or destroyed while parked in front of their homes.

CITY HALL ? Residents in a South Glendale neighborhood could get some relief from cars racing down a ?cut through? street off the Interstate Golden State (5) freeway after a commission approved the installation of two speed humps. In response to a petition from residents, the Transportation and Parking Commission on Monday unanimously approved the installation of two speed humps on West Elk Avenue between the offramp of the 5 Freeway and Pacific Avenue, were applicants say motorists frequently speed through the shortcut during morning and evening rush hours.

NORTHWEST GLENDALE — Some residents call Glenoaks Boulevard “The Raceway” due to the number of speeding motorists it attracts. But on Thursday, two teens took the street’s nickname literally — and suffered harsh results. Two 17-year-old boys, whom authorities did not identify, decided to engage in a street race on the long stretch of road traveling at a high rate of speed between lights, Glendale Police Sgt. Peter Pressnall said. When they approached Kenilworth Avenue about 5:27 p.m., one of the boys blew through a red light and crashed with a red Volkswagen Beetle that was headed north on Kenilworth, he said.

The Glendale Unified School District and City Council announced a massive joint plan this week to improve pedestrian safety around the cluster of schools on Glenwood Road, including parking meters, additional speed humps and a 50-foot-long median. Sadly, the proposed changes — which came in response to the Oct. 29 death of Toll Middle School student Meri Nalbandyan, who was struck by a distracted driver — weren’t the only reminder this week of the need for drivers to watch out for pedestrians, and vice versa.

GLENDALE — Officials plan to add a 50-foot-long median, parking meters and additional speed humps to address traffic safety concerns in the area around Toll Middle School. The changes, which have been approved by the City Council, would come on top of new stop signs and flashing red lights that were added last week to the crosswalk in front of Toll, where 11-year-old Meri Nalbandyan was struck and killed by a distracted driver Oct. 29, said Jano Baghdanian, the city’s traffic and transportation administrator.

SPEED HUMPS The City Council on Tuesday approved the installation of nine speed humps in various parts of the city to slow down traffic. Three speed humps are to be installed on Harvard Street between Pacific and Kenilworth avenues; three others on Alameda Avenue between Kenneth and Glenwood roads; and the final three on Patterson Avenue between Kenilworth Avenue and Concord Street. They were approved by the Transportation and Parking Commission in August. WHAT IT MEANS Each trio of speed humps is estimated to cost $12,000.