Saturday, October 20, 2012

Building a New Concrete Jungle

Our current city council in recent years has decided to change the landscape of our downtown with many new commercial and residential properties. These are properties, unfortunately, with inadequate parking and surrounding green belts. Controlled growth is nowhere to be found.

Now our downtown area will become the new concrete jungle with inadequate parks and parking, leading to increases in traffic congestion, gridlock and crime. Is this why we elected our current council members to change the landscape of our “jewel city” and to diminish our quality of life?
The increase in new construction will bring to the city increases in property taxes to help pay for the first and second obligations of government — unfunded and unsustainable wages and pensions of our city employees, but not the needed services like large urban parks, libraries and infrastructure maintenance for roads, sidewalks, water, sewer and electricity.
About 1,694 new apartment units will bring approximately 4,235 new residents to downtown Glendale. Traffic congestion will be even worse than it is today during rush hour at the main intersections near the 134 Freeway.
Our city manager and council members have told the public, “what’s done is done,” and they will let the next council fix our infrastructure mess. However, in reality, they were the ones who made the bad decisions and now they are acting as if someone else is responsible for the city’s problems.
Mike Mohill

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