New Panel to Replace 2 Parking Boards

The City Council this week approved an ordinance creating a new, seven-member Transportation and Parking Commission, which will address traffic congestion, parking problems and mass transit issues.

The unanimous vote of the five-member council abolished two advisory boards--the citywide Parking Commission and the Montrose Parking Board--that reviewed only parking issues and had no authority to set parking rules.

Some Montrose residents and business leaders had criticized the proposed dissolution of the boards, contending that a separate parking committee was needed because their north Glendale community too often was ignored by city officials.

The new commission is expected to play a key role in evaluating transportation issues such as proposed commuter rail, light-rail, trolley and bus projects. The panel also has the power to establish parking time limits on certain streets and approve preferential parking zones in residential neighborhoods, according to a city staff report.

Decisions by the appointed commissioners, who may serve three years each, can be appealed to the City Council. The commission has no authority in the city’s Redevelopment Area, which is controlled by the Glendale Redevelopment Agency, made up of the five council members.