PASADENA >> A proposal could see Colorado Boulevard reduced to one lane on each side to make room for additional parking and community spaces in the Playhouse District.

Pasadena is studying pedestrian and vehicular traffic between Los Robles and Hudson Avenue to determine if Colorado could handle losing two lanes. If approved by council, the proposal would add between 25 and 30 parking spaces to the Playhouse District and create parklets outside of sponsoring businesses, according to the city. Initially, the pilot program would last five years.

“Despite having experienced the greatest amount of growth and change with regards to development, the Playhouse District has been slow to grow in terms of retail sales as compared to Old Pasadena or South Lake,” wrote Robert Montano, planning manager, in a staff report. “It’s becoming more evident that the area could benefit from improvements that would enhance the usability, livability and quality of life to the benefit of all Pasadena helping fill what has been dubbed by Playhouse District stakeholders as the ‘economic donut hole in the Central District.’”

A focus on the Playhouse District

The parklet program’s goal would be to provide more open space for people who live in the area, while encouraging more people to shop at the district’s businesses.

The Playhouse District, between Old Pasadena and Lake Avenue, is anchored by its namesake, the Pasadena Playhouse theater, but it’s also home to Vroman’s Bookstore, the Laemmle theatre and a number of restaurants. Montano described the area as “the residential core of the urban district,” as Pasadena has focused most of its highest density housing there. The city’s road map for the next 20 years pushes much of its future housing, retail and office space into the Old Pasadena, South Lake Avenue and Playhouse districts — which together are referred to as the “Central District.”

The Playhouse District Association brought the proposal to the city in 2014.

Pasadena’s council supported studying the idea last week, but several council members expressed concerns about bogging down one of the city’s main thoroughfares. It will return to the council in the spring for a vote on whether to install the parklets.

Businesses in the district, however, see it as a chance to draw more people.

Seizing an opportunity

“It’s an opportunity to take that district and start defining it a little more and make it a little more pedestrian friendly, which I think is a good direction,” said Rick Wetzel, co-founder of Blaze Pizza. “I think it’ll add some visual aesthetics to the street and make it a little more interesting.”

Blaze, along with Laemmle Theatres and Vroman’s Bookstore, have offered to sponsor one of the parklets — estimated to cost as much as $120,000 each — in front of their three stores.

The benefit is that the proposal adds some more parking, makes the sidewalks look nicer and “calms” traffic on Colorado, Wetzel said.

Greg Laemmle, co-owner of Laemmle Theatres, said the proposal could make the Playhouse District into a destination, with walking as the main component.

“We believe that not just the parklets, but slowing down the traffic is an important part of that environment,” he said.

Laemmle said, as a cyclist, he also appreciates the added safety from the increased visibility from the proposed reversed angle parking.

Reduced lanes creates more parking

Pasadena will gain a few dozen parking spots in the district by changing from parallel curb parking to reverse angled parking, a movement gaining traction in other jurisdictions. Instead of pulling into a spot, or pulling up to the curb, a driver backs in. It provides better visibility when leaving the space and reduces the overall time, as the driver doesn’t have to back into traffic, Montano said.

The city would pay for the restriping for the parking, but sponsors will have to pay for the construction costs of setting up the parklets, he said. Though businesses will pay for the parklets, they won’t be able to serve customers or treat the public spaces as extensions of their businesses, he said.

The initial plan is operate as a pilot program for five years, with the parklets designed as modular for removal for the Rose Parade every year.

What are parklets?

Though called a parklet, the spaces are more sidewalk extensions. They’ll be hard surfaces wrapped with barriers disguised as planters, according to Montano. The barriers can withstand a hit from a car. The additional parking along Colorado will also protect pedestrians from traffic, he said.

The Pasadena City Council received several letters in support from developers and residents within the district.

“The traffic on Colorado Boulevard is too dense, too fast, too noisy and too dangerous,” wrote resident Sharon Graham Higuera in a letter to the council. “Union Street and Green Street are the perfect alternatives for cross town traffic.”

Montano said the city’s goal is to get drivers to stick to the 25 mph speed limit, which few do now. The current study will see how a shift to Union and Green might affect those streets, particularly as another proposal working its way through city hall would reduce Union to two lanes to make room for a cycle track.

Others worried it would gridlock Colorado Boulevard with a bottleneck at the point the lanes shift and make the city liable for any accidents.

“Maybe it should be tried on side streets rather than Colorado, our major public thoroughfare and historically the main street in Pasadena for all its residents,” wrote resident Diane Kirby.