By Mary O’KEEFE

At the Crescenta Valley Town Council meeting on Thursday, President Robbyn Battles explained the process of getting medians along Foothill Boulevard in the unincorporated area of Los Angeles County, La Crescenta.

“I have asked the [CV] Chamber of Commerce to give me a point person to stay in direct communication with [L.A. County Public Works and the CVTC],” Battles said. “We are hearing from businesses about concerns.”

Calvin “Kaipo” Chock, of the CVCOC, has been chosen to be that liaison between the County, CVTC and businesses.

Battles said he is the perfect choice because not only is he a member of the Chamber but also a business owner along Foothill Boulevard.

There has been $1 million allocated by the County of Los Angeles to provide the medians and other improvements along Foothill.

“One of the things Public Works is doing is [creating] a master plan for Foothill Boulevard,” Battles said.

Officials at Public Works sat down with Battles and Councilmember Desiree Rabinov, co-chair of the project with Battles, to discuss an initial presentation. As the group spoke they realized that some suggestions worked, some did not, and Battles and Rabinov had suggestions.

Battles suggested instead of going “back to the drawing board” with each suggestion, it was decided to create a master plan for the area.

“They are looking into giving us way signs,” Battles said.

The signs would be directional signs to Montrose and La Crescenta, for example.

“They are also looking at upgrades to bus shelters and bulb-outs for crosswalks,” she added.

However, the “big deal” will be the medians. They are not planning straight medians down the entire route of Foothill Boulevard, like La Cañada Flintridge, but more little ones that are placed in specific areas along the boulevard.

“The medians are going to be broken into pieces,” she said.

The reason for the medians is to slow traffic down and to beautify the boulevard. It is hoped that this will make Foothill more appealing to walk and shop along the area.

Due to the width of Foothill, which includes bike lanes, the medians will be smaller than those in La Cañada.

“[Right now] every block will have two pieces of medians,” Battles said. “Any plants that will be in the median will be drought-tolerant. In some areas we don’t have access to water.”

In those islands there will be rock.

Anyone with concerns or suggestions regarding the medians can send an email to
contact@thecvcouncilcom.

  Mary Okeefe