Frustration with Fair Oaks Construction Present at City Council Meeting

Business owners frustrated with the impact of the Fair Oaks street improvement project made their feelings known at Tuesday night’s city council meeting, sharing fears ranging from dwindling customer traffic to whether or not some would even be able to stay afloat.

“I can’t believe the council couldn’t forsee this happening,” said Howard Finkelstein, director of the l at 721 Fair Oaks Ave. “I’ve had to lay off three of my personnel. My business may fold. All up and down Fair Oaks, every business I go into is empty.” 

Finkelstein and others made use of the meeting’s time for public comment to not only voice their worries, but also plead for possible solutions to the host of obstacles they say they face every day. Some of the chief issues mentioned included limited access to businesses as well as the strangled traffic along Fair Oaks, which can turn a lunch run into a lunch odyssey.

“You have an hour for lunch,” said Alex Ghomi, owner of the El Pollo Loco at 711 Fair Oaks Ave., who says he’s lost about 30 percent of his business.  “Do you want to waste 45 minutes trying to get it?”

The $4 million street improvement project will upgrade streetscapes and sidewalks on a section of Fair Oaks Avenue as well as the entire length of State Street. The city plans to install new medians, streetlights, banner poles, trees and landscaping and also reconstruct driveways and sidewalks. 

The project received $761,000 in federal stimulus money from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act in 2009 and $1.9 million in Rogan Bill funds, according to Gabriel Nevarez, the city's Public Works Project Manager. Other sources include Metro funds and local funds.

Wally Choi, the owner of on 1138 Fair Oaks Ave., said during his comments that the project might not be worth the trouble.

“We weren’t really notified at what was happening,” he said. “There was little input from the businesses. The lost business revenue will probably be equal to or greater than the cost of the project. We’re shooting ourselves in the foot.”

Lisa Quick, who works at at 1526 Mission St., said that she has witnessed a large decrease in customers during the week and on weekends.  She said many of the pharmacy’s patients are seniors who use walkers or need other kids of help for their mobility, and that the torn-up street limits their accessibility.

“This is one of the worst years we’ve had thus far. There are constant complaints. We have a restaurant … business is horrible. They are taking it out on us, and people are asking, ‘What’s going to happen to our business?’ People aren’t even going down Fair Oaks … I’m just hoping we can figure something out.”

Gail Dragna , the owner of on 725 Fair Oaks Ave., said she relies on walk-in traffic to her pet store, and that the construction is crippling her business.

“I’ve been in the city 35 years. I have not seen anything that affects business like what’s going on Fair Oaks,” she said. “When I tried to go to Wells Fargo … I could not get back to my store. Customers are outraged. Are you really trying to chase everyone from the city? You’re going to lose a lot of businesses in the city. I tried to believe in it and be nice, and hope it’ll be OK, but you know what? It’s not OK.”

Councilman David Sifuentes responded to the commenters, saying that he met with the city manager and public works director earlier this week to try and figure out ways to soften the blow of the Fair Oaks construction.

Matthew Sweeney, the city’s public works director, said some traffic relief is on the way, as the concrete paving on the west side of Fair Oaks should be finished in roughly a week, which should open up two lanes for southbound traffic. The work for the east side of the street, he said, is just starting, so residents and business owners are seeing an overlap. Sweeney also mentioned that traffic signals are being adjusted to help traffic flow, and there is also a “full-court press” planned in terms of police presence to help with individual traffic woes.

South Pasadena police chief Joe Payne said he was on the police force roughly 25 years ago when Fair Oaks was undergoing construction work. 

"It wasn't good then, and it's not good now," he said. "But we'll get through it."

Mayor Mike Ten also suggested setting aside time in future council meetings to discuss and provide an update on the project’s progress until its completion in August.

Other notes from the meeting: 

• The council chose to not update the plans for the Fair Oaks Avenue/SR-110 interchange project. Doing so would cost about $1 million, and the city is still several million dollars short on construction costs for the project. They are looking into other ways to close that gap, said assistant city manager Sergio Gonzalez.
• A façade improvement program will now be extended to businesses on Fair Oaks Avenue between Oxley and Mission streets.
• The council is also examining bringing back a resolution to create a housing authority.