Plan Calls for San Fernando Road To Be Totally Renamed

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Plan Calls for San Fernando Road To Be Totally Renamed

By Josh Premako
Signal Staff Writer

Wednesday, June 27, 2005

ewhall Avenue would become the "main drag" and San Fernando Road would disappear altogether — at least in the Santa Clarita Valley — under road-revision plans that are part of Santa Clarita's redevelopment blueprint for Newhall.
    The road changes, which would eliminate the difficult San Fernando Road-Newhall Avenue junction in front of William S. Hart Park, are part of the proposed Downtown Newhall specific plan, a project that may take up to 20 years to complete.
    City planning commissioners got a look last week at the draft specific plan, designed to transform the community into an arts-friendly neighborhood with a nod to the area's Western heritage.
    Senior Planner Jason Smisko said Newhall Avenue would undergo work to make it a more direct route from Lyons Avenue to Highway 14 and retain the name Newhall Avenue for the entire stretch, most of which is currently named San Fernando Road.
    The portion of San Fernando Road that currently runs from Lyons Avenue through downtown to Newhall Avenue would be renamed Main Street. That street would be narrowed through the downtown area, slowing traffic and making for a more pedestrian-friendly area.
    Railroad Avenue would retain its name from what is currently San Fernando Road to Bouquet Canyon Road, eliminating the name "San Fernando Road" from the city. The plan to reshape the face of Newhall has received both criticism and support.
    "I'm enthusiastically in favor," said TimBen Boydston of the Canyon Theatre Guild. "Together we can make the downtown a place to be proud of." The streets of Newhall will not only be changing names; some will be getting wider.
    The City Council is expected this week to approve a project that would significantly widen the four-lane stretch of San Fernando Road that runs between Railroad Avenue and Sierra Highway. It would become six lanes.
    Currently, the stretch of road in question is often choked with traffic during rush hour.
    The project being proposed by the Department of Building and Engineering would add an extra lane in either direction, plus off-street bike paths.