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Pasadena Council Approves Rose Bowl Traffic Mitigation Project
News Nov 30, 2016
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Council hopes the project will ease congestion for residents throughout the rest of the city who are trying to make their way around town while major Rose Bowl events take place. – Photo by Terry Miller
Will streamline Colorado, Lincoln, and Orange Grove Boulevards
By Gus Herrera
With Thanksgiving firmly in the rear view mirror and the climax of the holiday season lurking but a few weeks down the road, residents of Pasadena are finding themselves fully entrenched in the annual winter slurry of traffic.
Most of this congestion can be attributed to the variety of events that seemingly never cease to emerge from the revolving door that is the Rose Bowl Stadium. If there is not a college football game, then there is almost always a concert or festival lying in wait – it is practically a miracle how the Brookside Golf Course can be ready for play early Sunday morning, after serving as a parking lot only a handful of hours prior.
As, arguably, Pasadena’s most historic monument and testament to fame, the Rose Bowl is also the city’s greatest catalyst for revenue and congestion. For the majority of the year, the City of Pasadena is one of the more quiet and tranquil Los Angeles suburbs and takes much pride in the exclusivity and peacefulness of its many unique neighborhoods.
Cyclists and motorists alike will benefit from the project – in addition to mitigating vehicular traffic, the newly-upgraded intersections will also be able to detect bicycles. – Photo by Terry Miller
But, during the holidays, Pasadena transforms into a destination city – primarily because of the Tournament of Roses and Rose Bowl Game.
Despite the winter wonderland this creates for local businesses and the platoon of new hotels springing up throughout the city, it is the residents who ultimately pay the price.
Thankfully, the cavalry is on its way – last week the Pasadena City Council approved a three-year project that will upgrade the city’s traffic systems along the major arterial corridors of Colorado Boulevard, Lincoln Boulevard, and Orange Grove Boulevard.
Formally titled “Mobility Corridors: Rose Bowl Access System,” the project hopes to “mitigate vehicular traffic that ingresses and egresses the Rose Bowl Stadium and facilities complex,” effectively streamlining major routes to-and-from the stadium via new intersection technology.
Not only will the project help ease freeway traffic on the I-210, the upgraded traffic systems will also particularly benefit local travelers who are attempting to make their way through the city while these high-profile events are taking place. The new intersections will also be able to detect bicycles, as well.
According to staff’s report, the project will entail the following:
– Implementation of 332-type traffic signal cabinets.
– Advance type-2070 traffic signal controllers.
– New vehicular detection systems.
– Advanced communication systems that will help facilitate connectivity within the city’s transportation management center.
The upgrades will be implemented along the following corridors:
– Fifteen intersections along Colorado Boulevard, from Hill Avenue to the easterly city limits.
– Seven intersections along Lincoln Boulevard, from Montana Street to Mountain Street.
– Six intersections along Orange Grove Boulevard, from Green Street to Columbia Street.
The design phase will begin in 2017 and construction is expected to be completed by the end of Fiscal Year 2020. The project’s total cost of $1.62 million is fully funded: 80 percent will be covered by a $1.29 million grant received from METRO, with the remaining 20 percent ($324,000) to be paid for with the Measure R half-cent sales tax, which was approved by LA voters in 2008.
Council Member John Kennedy lauded city staff for their work on the project, citing the difficulty of receiving the funds from METRO, “I’d like to publicly thank staff for their leadership … [the project] will hopefully benefit areas in Northwest Pasadena … we need to celebrate staff when they do good work.”
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