Glendale pedestrians might get more room to stretch their legs along 70th Street if a proposed pedestrian plaza comes to fruition.
At the behest of the Local Ridgewood Development Corporation (LRDC), the Department of Transportation (DOT) is looking into closing the small portion of 70th Street between Cooper and Myrtle avenues to create the plaza.
The idea has already won funding through the Plaza Program in which the DOT partners with local nonprofits to create open spaces in neighborhoods. Theodore Renz, executive director of the LRDC, said this is a chance to highlight a
retail corridor in Glendale while fixing a traffic problem.
“This idea of closing this street was not the first time it was presented,” Renz said.
He’s brainstormed in the past with parts of Community Board 5 about closing off the 30-foot long, two-lane wide strip.
Last month, the LRDC and DOT presented the possibility at a public meeting and asked for the input of about 50 people there, Renz said.
DOT design consultants took the crowd’s ideas, and they will come back with a more substantive picture of what the plaza could look like at a meeting tentatively scheduled for April.
Despite the funding being in place, the project is likely more than a year away. In the meantime, Renz said, businesses have already
expressed interest—especially a local restaurant that would like to claim some of the area for outdoor seating. There are some opponents though.
Glendale residents walking through the area were worried about the already busy intersection becoming more packed.
“It’s a nice idea if I’m a pedestrian, but the traffic out here is bad as it is,” said Jack Nicolson, who lives nearby on Central Avenue.
A resident who lives on 78th Street and asked not to be named went a step further.
“I think it’s crazy,” he said. “It might cause an accident.”
Renz said the idea would simplify the intersection. It’s already a convergence of three streets, and this idea would eliminate the short space in front of the 70th Street signal that can back up Myrtle Avenue when people block the intersection.
The DOT already looked at traffic when they selected the LRDC proposal, but the next step includes hashing out the design and how exactly it will affect the area, Renz said.
So far, Glendale’s representative on the city council has been cautious but optimistic about the idea.
“The creation of a new plaza in Glendale must include public input and be welcomed by the community,” Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley said. “As future plans for the plaza are discussed, I’ll continue to work closely with Ted Renz of the Ridgewood Local Development Corp. and the DOT to ensure that any concerns from the Glendale community are answered.”
By Jeremiah Dobruck
Forum Newsgroup Photo by Jeremiah Dobruck
j.dobruck@theforumnewsgroup.com
