By Julie BUTCHER

On Tuesday night, a local resident addressed the Glendale City Council, noting that his family has lived in the area for 75 years and that La Crescenta Avenue has been used as a major travel artery for more than 100 years with few problems.

“Now the Council has decided to cut the traffic lanes and put in dedicated bike lanes. This decision goes against the 2022 study, which said the road will be at full capacity in a few years. The study suggested shared lanes and, in light of recent fire evacuations, it makes sense to leave it at full capacity. The same type of fire could happen here. We’re right near the Verdugos [and the Angeles National Forest]. Also, more housing’s being built. There’ll be more car traffic, and lane constriction will be a problem.” 

“The majority of residents oppose these bike lanes,” he continued. “Only a small group pushed for them. Outreach was very poor in the foothills. Brand Boulevard outreach was better, but the demonstration lane also spread the word for people and the majority spoke against the project. A huge number of people will not know these lanes are gone ‘til they are gone, forever, probably.

“I’m out there about four times a day. This bike lane will be empty. I see a bike maybe once a month, maybe one bike per thousand cars. Councilman Brotman told a member of the Montrose Shopping Park Association that if the bike lane doesn’t work the lanes will be restored, and that’s the issue. To push this project through without a demonstration lane to see the effects of it is not right. There’s no back-up plan if it doesn’t work.” He requested the project be delayed.

Council member Vartan Gharpetian echoed these sentiments, requesting data to be analyzed from transit projects that have already been completed, such as the San Fernando Road project. Traffic lanes were made smaller, he noted, and unprotected bike lanes were added. 

“We need to be careful as to how we redesign our streets because they cost a lot and it’s not easy to reverse the improvements,” Gharpetian said. “We saw that with the North Brand Boulevard demonstration project.”

The Council approved a $1,923,000 contract to replace the aged technology supporting the city’s Beeline buses to improve passenger convenience and allow for real-time trip planning. The city has received $668,000 in grant funding toward the technology upgrade.

City Clerk Suzie Abajian provided the Council with an update regarding the June 2 election: Ballots have been mailed and voters are receiving them and are voting. Twenty-four-hour drop-off boxes are open now and will remain open until 8 p.m. on Election Day. Eleven day vote centers will open on May 23, and four day vote centers will open on May 30. The last day to register to vote for the June 2 election is May 18. Voters can register after that day, up until Election Day, but  at that time will vote using a provisional ballot. Updated election information can be found at https://www.glendalevotes.org/.

Councilmember Ara Najarian announced that he will be using the last days of his Council term to expose Council “secrets” and share information about “something perhaps unknown – I’m gonna say it anyway – the unadulterated scoop.”

For his first “exposé,” Councilmember Najarian explained the way the Council prepares for its meetings. For every item on the Council agenda, every Council member is offered a complete detailed briefing by the city manager, city attorney, department head and the individual staff member or members involved in the specific item. Council members are invited to ask all of their questions.

“When the item comes to Council, do not think that the Council member who doesn’t ask questions doesn’t know what’s going on. It means we have understood the issue and [have] gone through all the detailed questions we had and we’ve had them answered,” Najarian shared.

Council member Najarian also announced the opening of the first stops along the Wilshire Subway on Friday, May 8, and that there will be parties at three of the stations on Friday from noon to 4 p.m. Najarian recalled the early work that led to these subway openings starting back in 2005 and credited the project as “a testament to the traffic planners at Metro and the residents who supported several sales tax measures to support this.” Details about the Metro D Line Subway Extension project – and Friday’s parties – can be found at https://www.metro.net/projects/westside/.

Mayor Ardy Kassakhian recognized a number of events recently held including the well-attended Arev Armenian Wellness Festival held on Sunday, May 3 and the Glendale Kiwanis 21^st annual Duck Splash held on Saturday, May 2 at Verdugo Park. 

Mayor Kassakhian commended city parks staff for its support of the city’s numerous events.

Saturday, May 9 is Fire Service Day at Fire Station 21, 421 Oak St. (between Columbus and Pacific streets, behind the Glendale Galleria). There will be a free pancake breakfast starting at 9 a.m. then a day filled with live demonstrations. There will also be antique fire engines on display, recruitment information provided and an appearance by Sparky the Fire Dog. Folks are invited to meet local firefighters and learn more about the work they do. For more information, call (818) 548-4814 or visit https://www.joingfd.com/ – to see scenes from last year’s event visit https://www.instagram.com/p/DXaP-8YAZ2w/.

Saturday night, May 9, is opening night at ReflectSpace, which presents Alta / A Human Atlas for the City of Angels, in partnership with the Getty Conservation Institute, an internationally acclaimed social impact project by UK-based artist Marcus Lyon. The exhibition weaves together portraiture, personal narratives and ancestral DNA data to map LA’s layered identities through the lives of 100 Angelenos who have made significant contributions to the city. On view May 9 through July 12, 2026, Alta offers a powerful, community-centered exploration of migration, belonging and the evolving human story of the city. Curated by Ara and Anahid Oshagan, the opening reception will be held from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. in the ReflectSpace area of the Glendale Central Library, 222 E. Harvard St. Additional details about the exhibit can be found at https://www.reflectspace.org/post/a-human-atlas.

Also at the Central Library, on Monday, May 11 at 6 p.m. a book launch and fireside chat celebrating the long-awaited English publication of Aram Andonian’s landmark work, “The Great Crime: Talaat Pasha’s Orders on the Armenian Genocide and Naim Bey’s Testimony.” Co-sponsored by the city and the Promise Armenian Institute at UCLA, Mayor Kassakhian will be moderating the discussion. More information about the event can be found at https://www.international.ucla.edu/armenia/event/17686.

Council member Elen Asatryan shared a reminder about this year’s Small Business Summit on Thursday, May 14 from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Embassy Suites, 800 N. Central Ave. Information can be found at https://www.chooseglendaleca.com/sbs26.

Mayor Kassakhian also noted that he hopes the Council can reconsider the camera angle that currently captures the back of public speakers rather than their faces. The debate about the camera angle has been an ongoing controversy and Mayor Kassakhian now seeks to utilize a wide angle for the entirety of the Council meetings “to capture the Council and the speaker equally.”

Mayor Kassakhian also hopes to draft a local rule requiring political campaigns that mail material locally to file copies of the material mailed as is done in other jurisdictions.

At the beginning of Tuesday night’s meeting, the Council adopted a proclamation recognizing May as Older Americans Month and recognizing Building Safety Month, this year with the theme “Built to Last, recognizing the professionals who work year ‘round to support safe construction in buildings as well as the importance of building codes, fire codes and safety standards that help protect residents.”

The city’s building official recognized an employee celebrating 42 years of service to the city. 

“Through every storm and every season, there are those who stand firm,” said the official. “Integrity cannot be taken; dignity cannot be taken; and commitment cannot be erased.”

The winners of this year’s bookmark contest were honored and recognized for their winning bookmark designs, culled from 485 entries, judged by a three-member team. The winning bookmarks – one for each grade, pre-K to 8^th – will be distributed on June 1 at the start of the summer reading challenge. They can be seen at https://www.eglendalelac.org/kids-bookmark-contest and the list of 10 contest winners is available at https://www.glendaleca.gov/Home/Components/News/News/9543/16.

“Who doesn’t love a good bookmark?” Asked Mayor Kassakhian commending the winners of the contest, recounting that he participated in the summer reading challenge in Glendale’s libraries and that his mother recently pulled out his certificate of accomplishment.

The city began this year’s budget deliberations with its first budget study session on April 30 with an overview of the proposed budget for the coming year and a general fund forecast. The budget document can be found at https://glendaleca.primegov.com/api/compilemeetingattachmenthistory/historyattachment/?historyId=f4acf092-b69e-4d0e-90f3-262dcf59952e. The second budget study session is set for Wednesday, May 13 at 9 a.m.

City staff currently projects a deficit of $31.7 million for FY2026-27 with various measures being considered to reduce expenditures and increase revenue. The budget documents can be found at https://www.glendaleca.gov/government/departments/finance/budget.

The Council is scheduled to meet next on Tuesday, May 12 at 6 p.m.