Local Street System
This section of the Circulation Element describes the city's local street system and identifies the enhancements planned over the long term to accommodate the circulation needs of motorists. Figure C-2 (PDF), the Master Circulation Plan, identifies the ultimate roadway widths to be achieved by these enhancements.
Long-Term Road Network Improvements
As described in the Important Terms and Concepts section of this Element, Monterey Park's road system includes the following four roadway classifications:
- Primary Arterial
- Minor Arterial
- Collector
- Local Street
As Figure C-2 (PDF) shows, the Primary Arterials, Atlantic Boulevard, Garfield Avenue, New Avenue, Potrero Grande Drive / Pomona Boulevard, and Cesar Chavez Avenue, provide access to virtually all areas of the community and link Monterey Park residents and business people to the freeway system. The Minor Arterials serve the major employment centers and connect neighborhoods on the east side of the city to Downtown. Collectors draw traffic from the local neighborhood streets to the arterial road network.
Fully Developed Street System
Monterey Park has a fully developed street system, with limited opportunities to create new routes and connections or to widen existing streets. Because of its location adjacent to three major freeways, the city's street system accommodates many pass-through trips. In particular, Atlantic Boulevard, Garvey Avenue, and Garfield Avenue, the city's three primary travel routes, experience Level of Service (LOS) conditions of E or F.
Roadway Traffic Volumes
Traffic volumes and roadway capacity needs are directly related to land use patterns and intensities. As described in the Land Use Element, land use policy will allow for incremental growth over time in Monterey Park. Traffic generated by new development, combined with regional growth, will add cars and other vehicles to the local road system. A comprehensive traffic analysis of projected conditions in the year 2020 was undertaken to identify traffic "hot spots," where ongoing efforts can be focused to improve traffic flow, reduce non-local trips through residential neighborhoods, and best accommodate truck traffic. The traffic study indicated that the following street segments require special attention:
- Principal Arterials Requiring Attention
- Atlantic Boulevard between First Street and Floral Drive
- Atlantic Boulevard between Brightwood Street and Hellman Avenue
- Garfield Avenue between Newmark Avenue and Hilliard Avenue
- New Avenue between Garvey Avenue and Hellman Avenue
- Pomona Boulevard between Hendricks Avenue
- Potrero Grande Drive between Markland Drive and Arroyo Drive
- Minor Arterials Requiring Attention
- Garvey Avenue between Fremont Avenue and New Avenue
- Other Streets and Neighborhoods
- Floral Drive between Vancouver Avenue and Atlantic Boulevard
- Vagabond Road between Abajo Drive and Barnum Way
- Northeast neighborhood - Streets within the neighborhood bounded by Chandler Avenue, New Avenue, Garvey Avenue, and the north city limit.
Throughout Monterey Park, certain street segments have not been constructed to the standard right-of-way widths indicated in Figure C-1 (PDF). While the city's goal is to continue to acquire and improve rights-of-way when new development projects are proposed, the city recognizes that established development patterns and similar constraints will limit the city's ability to attain full right-of-way construction consistent with the Master Circulation Plan (Figure C-2 (PDF)). However, to control traffic at key intersections, and thus modulate the flow along key street segments, additional intersection improvements outlined in Table C-2 will be pursued.
Table C-2 Planned Intersection Improvements
As Table C-2 shows, key intersections congested today will continue to experience less-than-optimum operating conditions during peak travel periods. Because much of the traffic using the Primary Arterials is non-local traffic, these conditions emphasize the importance of Monterey Park's efforts to push for regional traffic improvements, notably extension of the Long Beach Freeway through to Interstate 210.
| Anticipated LOS with Future Growth | Anticipated LOS with Additional Improvements | ||||
| Intersection | A.M. Peak | P.M. Peak | Intersection Improvements to Achieve Better LOS | A.M. Peak | P.M. Peak |
| Atlantic Boulevard / Hellman Avenue | F | F | Convert southbound right turn lane to through lane and add northbound through lane to fully utilize 80 feet improvement width. | E | D |
| Garfield Avenue / Hellman Avenue | E | F | Add southbound through land and convert northbound through lane to fully utilize 80 feet improvement width. | D | E |
| Atlantic Boulevard / Garvey Avenue | E | F | Convert northbound and southbound right turn lane to through lane and add northbound through lane to fully utilize 80 feet improvement width. | D | F |
| Garfield Avenue / Garvey Avenue | D | F | Add northbound and southbound through lanes to fully utilize 80 feet improvement width. | C | F |
| Garfield Avenue / Pomona Boulevard | F | C | Restripe northbound approach to provide dual left turn landed and dual through lanes. | D | D |
| Garfield Avenue / via Campo* | D | F | Restripe southbound approach to provide dual left turn lanes and through lanes. | E | B |
| Paramount Boulevard / State route 60 westbound ramps | B | F | Coordinate improvements with city of Montebello and Caltrans to provide adequate freeway access. | A | Level of service will depend upon ultimate ramp design |
| Paramount Boulevard / State Route 60 westbound ramps | C | F | Coordinate improvements with city of Montebello and Caltrans to provide adequate freeway access. | A | Level of service will depend upon ultimate ramp design |
*This intersection is in the City of Montebello. The planned improvements will require coordination with Montebello to improve conditions in Monterey Park.