Parking Along Temple Avenue to End April 1

Students and others who park along Temple Avenue between Mt. San Antonio College and Cal Poly Pomona will not be able to do so anymore starting April 1.

Due to safety concerns, local agencies plan to restrict parking along the busy thoroughfare, according to a news release on the Cal Poly Pomona website.

Last year, Cal Poly students brought up the issue of parking on Temple at a “Pizza with the Presidents” event on campus.  Students wanted to know what could be done to improve safety on Temple, which has had a number of traffic accidents and other incidents in recent years, according to university officials.

Temple Avenue has two lanes in each direction that are separated by a raised median.  The posted speed limit is 50 mph.  The strip between the two campuses is unlighted at night and several crimes have been reported there, including a sexual assault in 2010, according to university officials.

The area also does not have a crosswalk beyond University Drive, so students must navigate past fast-moving traffic to get to the south side of the street.

Cal Poly officials reportedly began talking with representatives from Los Angeles County and the city of Pomona, which has jurisdiction over Temple, last summer about possible ways to improve safety.

After the discussions, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Works did a study that included analyzing traffic collision reports, conducting field observations, and looking at other related data, university officials said.  The study revealed a pattern of rear-end collisions during a five-year period ending last August, mostly the result of drivers slowing or stopping mid-block while waiting to pull into a parking space, according to the university.  The 22 accidents were evenly divided on both sides of the street.

That prompted the county’s Department of Public Works to recommend the total parking ban between University Drive and the Walnut city limit.  The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors approved the measure Feb. 5.

During his weekly video update Monday, Cal Poly President Michael Ortiz said that the university had suggested installing streetlights or increasing patrols in the area, but respects the county’s decision.

“The result isn’t what we were initially asking for, but we understand installing streetlights won’t make a difference in rear-end collisions that happen in broad daylight,” he said.

The restricted parking is expected to affect 150 to 180 cars out of the approximately 22,000 that come to campus on a busy day, according to Cal Poly.  The university’s Parking & Transportation Services is urging students to consider purchasing passes for campus lots or participating in the rideshare program.

Visit http://www.dsa.csupomona.edu/parking for more information on these programs.