The City of Monterey Park has been working on a plan to spend $100 million of taxpayer money on the City’s most important downtown streets without engaging local residents. 

Most Monterey Park residents have never even heard of this $100 million plan, despite it being in the works since 2018 and likely the largest proposed city project in a generation.  

The proposed project will make Garvey Ave, Garfield Ave, and Atlantic Blvd more dangerous, more polluted, and less accessible by eliminating downtown street parking, encouraging more cut-through traffic, and making local streets even more dangerous. 

Specifically, the City proposes to do the following to Garvey, Atlantic, and Garfield:

• Eliminate street parking on Garvey, Atlantic, and Garfield;
• Widen these downtown streets into 6-lane speedways; 
• Install intelligent traffic signals to move more cars through town faster; and
• Spend $60 million on housing for cars, space that could otherwise be used to house local businesses and people (generating income for the City).

The intended goal of the project is to “reduce congestion.” However the science -- and common sense -- speak otherwise. Rather than reduce traffic, these changes will directly reduce quality of life for local residents.  

• Wider, faster streets will be more dangerous for Monterey Park residents. Many older adults and children walk to local shops, schools, and public places. They cross Garvey, Atlantic, and Garfield to reach these essential destinations. Almost every year a pedestrian is killed walking across these streets. More lanes means faster speeds, which will lead to more serious injuries or death. Any changes to downtown streets must consider the needs and safety of the many older adults, children, and mobility-impaired residents who walk along and walk across Garvey, Atlantic, and Garfield to access local businesses, schools, and public spaces. 
• Wider, faster streets will make it easier for people to treat downtown MPK like a highway. Mobile applications such as Waze and Google Maps send drivers the fastest way available, even if it’s off the real highway and only saves a minute. Making our streets a more inviting cut-through will encourage more cut-through traffic, not benefit local businesses or residents.
• Wider, faster streets will not make downtown Monterey Park a more desirable place to shop, dine, or visit for any length of time. The rise in e-commerce has hurt small businesses across the country. But people still want to have a place to dine and hang out, which is why it's important our city make our business district as friendly to walking as possible. Making our downtown streets more hostile to pedestrians will make it harder for businesses to thrive.
• Residents elsewhere have prompted their cities to renegotiate similar projects. The City of San Marino rejected its original $35 million award after residents recognized that making it easier for more cars to speed down Huntington Drive would provide no community benefit. The City of Pasadena is renegotiating a $135 million project award after residents spoke up, too. It’s not too late for Monterey Park to do so.

As a constituent who cares deeply about the health and safety of all residents of Monterey Park, I urge the City Council to hit the brakes on this project. The City needs to conduct robust community outreach before spending a once-in-a-lifetime amount of money on local mobility improvements. Seniors, parents, students, local business owners, and other key stakeholder groups need to be consulted on a project that would impact the community for decades. The City also needs to thoroughly evaluate the safety impacts of any changes that will increase the speed and volume of traffic on downtown streets.   

Want to make sure your voice is heard? Provide public comment directly to City Council by:

• Sending an email to mpclerk@montereypark.ca.gov by 6pm on Tuesday, March 16th
• Attending the meeting on Wednesday, March 17th at 6:30pm via Zoom. Enter Meeting ID  989 6660 0822