Post by mattapoisett on May 22, 2008 7:45:43 GMT -8
Incase it was missed.........
Mixed reviews for sound walls
Residents say they are an eyesore and target for taggers
By Fred Ortega, Staff Writer
Article Launched: 05/19/2008 08:55:51 PM PDT
SOUTH PASADENA - The Gold Line trains that run constantly along Hawthorne Street have never been much of a bother to resident Leonor Sanchez.
"It wasn't too bad before," said Sanchez, who in the past week has seen crews erect a roughly-10-foot metal sound wall between her home and the Gold Line tracks. "By the time you notice it, the train is already gone."
But the wall - built ostensibly to protect the eardrums of Hawthorne Street residents - has raised a new concern for Sanchez.
"Once the taggers see it, they are going to be all over it," said the 5-year South Pasadena resident, who worries about graffiti marring the new wall, which runs roughly between Palm Avenue and Orange Grove Boulevard.
The sound wall is the result of a settlement agreement reached three years ago between Metro and the city of South Pasadena, said Augustine Lara, the city's public works director.
"The Public Utilities Commission has resolved all the issues (relating to the settlement), and here we are two years later," said Lara, adding the city has spent a year determining where to put the sound walls.
Besides the Hawthorne Street wall, sound walls have also been erected along Railroad Street, Lara said.
The sound wall work has been performed primarily by the Metro Gold Line Construction Authority, the agency charged with building the line, Lara said.
Another South Pasadena resident, Nelson Cantarero, said the sound wall's impact has been minimal.
"You can hear the bells and whistles a little less, but you still hear the train coming," said Cantarero, who also said he didn't mind the noise of the trains much to begin with.
"Now you just have something ugly to look at across the street," Cantarero added.
His friend Claire Fraser, who lives along Hawthorne Street, agreed.
"I think they could have spent the money better some other way," she said.
fred.ortega@sgvn.com
(626) 578-6300, Ext. 4444
Mixed reviews for sound walls
Residents say they are an eyesore and target for taggers
By Fred Ortega, Staff Writer
Article Launched: 05/19/2008 08:55:51 PM PDT
SOUTH PASADENA - The Gold Line trains that run constantly along Hawthorne Street have never been much of a bother to resident Leonor Sanchez.
"It wasn't too bad before," said Sanchez, who in the past week has seen crews erect a roughly-10-foot metal sound wall between her home and the Gold Line tracks. "By the time you notice it, the train is already gone."
But the wall - built ostensibly to protect the eardrums of Hawthorne Street residents - has raised a new concern for Sanchez.
"Once the taggers see it, they are going to be all over it," said the 5-year South Pasadena resident, who worries about graffiti marring the new wall, which runs roughly between Palm Avenue and Orange Grove Boulevard.
The sound wall is the result of a settlement agreement reached three years ago between Metro and the city of South Pasadena, said Augustine Lara, the city's public works director.
"The Public Utilities Commission has resolved all the issues (relating to the settlement), and here we are two years later," said Lara, adding the city has spent a year determining where to put the sound walls.
Besides the Hawthorne Street wall, sound walls have also been erected along Railroad Street, Lara said.
The sound wall work has been performed primarily by the Metro Gold Line Construction Authority, the agency charged with building the line, Lara said.
Another South Pasadena resident, Nelson Cantarero, said the sound wall's impact has been minimal.
"You can hear the bells and whistles a little less, but you still hear the train coming," said Cantarero, who also said he didn't mind the noise of the trains much to begin with.
"Now you just have something ugly to look at across the street," Cantarero added.
His friend Claire Fraser, who lives along Hawthorne Street, agreed.
"I think they could have spent the money better some other way," she said.
fred.ortega@sgvn.com
(626) 578-6300, Ext. 4444
