Sign the Petition to Protect Our Neighborhoods
The nearby fires remind us how fragile our community is.
Keep our neighborhoods along the Verdugo Wash free from a raised concrete bike path that will only bring serious problems, such as fire, to our homes.
Threats to Our Neighborhoods
serious issues concerning the City’s proposal
Fire Danger
Threats to Wildlife
Increase in Crime
Public Safety
Loss of Privacy
New Taxes & Fees
The Reality of the City of Glendale's
Verdugo Wash Visioning Plan
Reality or Fantasy?
BACKGROUND
The City of Glendale is proposing an expensive, yet unfunded, bike and pedestrian path within the existing Verdugo Wash, which runs directly through a number of serene and established neighborhoods.
WHAT IS THE VWNC?
The Verdugo Wash Neighborhoods Coalition (VWNC) exists to inform the neighbors who are most impacted by this lofty but misguided project. It is important to note that the neighbors directly adjacent to the Wash have been excluded from these plans.
- Explain why the project is ill-advised and should be stopped in the most sensitive neighborhoods along the wash
- Show the reality of the major safety, economic, and environmental impacts the project will have on the neighborhoods
- Require that the City reveal the true costs of the plan and whether tax increases will be necessary to fund it
- Demand that the City explain how ongoing maintenance and security costs will be funded
- Determine why the City is pushing this project through with little involvement from the impacted neighborhoods
How Did We Get Here?
History of the Verdugo Wash
THE 1934 FLOOD
The concrete-lined Verdugo Wash was originally a lazy creek filled with pollywogs, frogs, reeds and sycamore trees, used as a watering hole by deer, coyotes, bears and other critters.
In 1934, a monster rainstorm dumped 14 inches of rain over a two-day period, and sent a wall of mud, boulders and debris down the canyons and into the Crescenta Valley, killing dozens and destroying hundreds of homes in La Crescenta and Montrose and flooding the Verdugo Woodlands and streets along East Glenoaks Boulevard.
THE RESPONSE TO THE FLOOD
To protect the Crescenta Valley and surrounding areas from future flooding, in 1937 the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the County of Los Angeles constructed numerous flood control channels throughout the area and encased the Verdugo Wash in concrete to carry rainwater and debris safely out to the Pacific Ocean.
NINETY YEARS LATER
In 2012, the Los Angeles County “Bicycle Master Plan” proposed over 800 miles of new bikeways throughout the County by 2032, including a path through the Verdugo Wash, running south to the LA River and north to Pacoima.
Also in 2012, the City of Glendale adopted its own Bicycle Transportation Plan which includes the Verdugo Wash Visioning project.
Who is Pushing This Plan?
Are the neighborhoods being represented?
Bureaucrats, persons who live nowhere near the Wash, special interests groups (such as recreational biking groups – many from outside our city) and some elected representatives have aligned to support the development of an expensive, yet unfunded, project.
Curiously, a recent City Staff Report stated “Given the broad reaching impacts of the Verdugo Wash, the project is incorporating a multi-faceted engagement process to solicit input from neighborhoods and stakeholders.”
The City did indeed form a “stakeholder” committee that includes some local and outside interests promoting bicycle enthusiasts. HOWEVER, the residents and neighborhoods along the wash – who will be impacted the most – are not represented on this City committee.
The Neighborhoods' Position
NEIGHBORHOODS and HOMEOWNERS along the Verdugo Wash are the REAL STAKEHOLDERS!
and they are being excluded!
The Verdugo Wash Neighborhoods Coalition is categorically opposed to the change in use of the Wash to a bicycle and pedestrian pathway in our neighborhoods.
Individuals and families who move to our neighborhoods have made an emotional and financial investment based on what is, not what may be.
Neighborhoods along the Verdugo Wash are being sold a plan with hidden costs and exposure to RISK.
This project will have a negative impact on:
- Security
- Privacy
- Neighborhood Character
- Homeowner costs for security and insurance
- Investment Value
Why Now?
Is there really a need?
Is this project something residents have been asking for? Most haven’t even heard of it!
- There are already 45 parks and recreational facilities in Glendale, all of which are currently facing infrastructure problems and deferred maintenance due to serious budgetary issues.
- To avert reducing services to its residents and business, Glendale raised its sales tax rate by .75% in 2019 to cover financial commitments, thus joining several other cities with one of the highest sales tax rates in California.
- Glendale has close to a $1 billion pension liability hitting over the next 20 years (that’s $50 million unfunded annually).
Is this project appropriate during our current economic climate where property owners continue to pay high taxes and increasing utility rates while our City has unfunded financial liabilities?
NOBODY FROM THE CITY…
- knows what this will cost!
- is concerned about the perpetual costs for maintenance and policing!
- is asking if this project is so necessary and relevant that funds, should they be found, be diverted from more worthwhile projects.
The City of Glendale has already spent $440,000 for preliminary plans, pretty pictures and a website to sell the vision, which will most likely wind up costing hundreds of millions of dollars to build.
The Reality of the City of Glendale's Visioning Plan
truths and realities
Cost vs. Benefit
Truths and Realities
Safety is Always Key
Safety is Always Key
- Fire danger is a real concern. There has already a small fence fire (adjacent to a home along the wash) set by a trail user. The fire was fortunately put out quickly, but next time, one errant cigarette butt could endanger lives, property and possibly an entire neighborhood!
- Imagine strangers walking or riding along the path and gazing into adjacent, previously private backyards. How will property owners feel, many of whom have made their largest personal investment, their home, for reasons of security and privacy?
- Additional concerns revolve around home security, burglary and vandalism to private property.
A bike and pedestrian path that is hidden from public view, not routinely patrolled, and not easily accessible by law enforcement. makes for an easy entrance and a quick getaway.
- How will the path be policed or made accessible to emergency service vehicles if someone is hurt?
- Who responds if someone is stranded or attacked, or the path becomes a place for criminal activity such as vandalism, drug use or loud parties?
- What is the financial and crime risk exposure to those living directly next to the path?
- What is the City’s and County’s liability for public safety and related costs that might arise?