Old Town Report (9/15/16 Issue)

Old Town Monrovia. – Photo By Monrovia Public Library / (CC BY 2.0)

By Pam Fitzpatrick

We had an unusually productive MOTAB meeting this morning – and for those of you who get crazy when you hear an acronym, that’s “Monrovia Old Town Advisory Board” to you. The meetings are held at 9:30 a.m. on the second Tuesday of each month in the council chambers and usually last about an hour – but this one was a good hour and half and well worth it. Here’s what’s happening in Old Town Monrovia …

Those of us who spend our time here in town know that crossing Myrtle Avenue at any time of day can be hazardous to your health – so, Board Member Soren Loft came up with an idea that the board approved: we will have two Flag Stands, one on either side of the 500 block crosswalk. The stands will hold flags which Old Town guests and business owners may choose to use to wave at cars when they are crossing the street. The stands will be placed out during the day, will be taken in at night, and there they will remain for a 90-day period to test their effectiveness.

The possibility of adding a “Wine Walk” to our Old Town event schedule was discussed and a small committee was formed to see how that might work. And then we had a presentation from the police department about the skateboarding problem in Old Town: not an easy problem to solve. Skateboards are not allowed on the sidewalks of Old Town – in fact, neither are any wheeled vehicles for reasons obvious to most, if not all of us. In order to make those reasons more obvious to the riders (which admittedly are mostly skateboarders), the Monrovia PD is using their new bicycle patrol to visit downtown several times during the week at different – unpredictable – times.

In the beginning, the object of the bicycle patrol will be to “stop and advise,” prior to enforcement. Each “stop and advise” will include recording the offender’s name and explaining the ordinance to them, as well as pointing out the posted signage which has been in place forever (well, almost). After several of these “stop and advises,” the officers will recognize repeat offenders and they will be ticketed.

Now on to more fun stuff: Board Chair Diane Balsamo of Prime Lending goes bananas when fall is approaching and we can finally discuss the upcoming Holiday Season without sighs of disapproval. I do love that about Diane! She and her sidekick, Millie Olivas of Teles Properties are not only the official Old Town Elves, but they work with city staff on the Holiday Decorating Committee and get real happy when we talk about new ideas to mark the upcoming celebration time. Thank you MOTAB – looks like there is a good chance for horse-drawn carriage rides this year!

If I tell you what the city’s parking study found out, you will undoubtedly say “baloney,” but hear me out: after seriously and professionally studying the parking in Old Town, city staff concludes that there is actually ample parking in the district. During daytime peak hours the parking is only 66 percent occupied and during Friday nights, only 74 percent occupied. The perceived problem may have more to do with distribution of the parking and use of the close- in parking by workers in Old Town. One of the suggestions was to add a 15-minute parking place in each block which would allow for quick pick-up of restaurant take-out orders or other quick trips to the local businesses.

Wonder what happened to the Mediterranean restaurant in the 300 block of Myrtle known as “Veranda?” Well, it now is a totally new restaurant – not the same owners – called “Seasoning Alley.” It smells really good in there, and new owners Armen and Jack would love to show you the great changes!

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