South First Street Reverts to Two-Way

SHELLEY LIN
Staff Writer

In December 2013, the Alhambra City Council held a meeting in which members approved the decision to revert South First Street back into a two-way street. The change also affected North First Street, which became a one-way street between Main Street and Woodward Avenue. The street was briefly closed for sandblasting, pavement preservation and striping before it returned back to two-way.

“I think the two-way [street] is great because it’s easier for drivers to get to places faster and the multileveled parking lot is probably going to be used more,” sophomore Simon Voong said.

The changes are meant to help the construction of a multilevel parking structure on North First Street and Main Street, resulting in an increase in traffic, according to the Alhambra Source. Parking will increase in the downtown area during construction of the Mosaic Parking Structure, which is scheduled to be completed by late November, as said during the Alhambra City Council meeting.

“I don’t really like the change. Now it is more difficult to get to the other side of the street with all the busy cars,” sophomore Keona Chau said.

Angled parking has been removed from South First Street to allow cars more space to drive through. Despite the change to First Street, Second Street will remain a one-way street to divert more cars from Main and increase pedestrians’ safety while crossing the street, according to the Alhambra Source.