Council Plans Revamping of Central Avenue

In response to complaints from residents, city officials are working on a plan to reduce the volume and speed of traffic on residential Central Avenue between 4th and 2nd streets.

Councilman Shawn Boyd said a number of neighbors have asked for a stop sign at 4th and Central, but the city’s traffic engineer said the intersection does not meet the state’s technical requirements for a stop sign.

Instead, the council wants a wholesale change to the intersection, such as narrowing it to force traffic to slow, limiting the weight of trucks allowed on the street, adding a roundabout, and/or reducing the number of entrances to the street.

Central commonly is used as a route from Main Street to Long Beach, Boyd said.

“This is a pedestrian community,” he said. “We want to emphasize that by putting vehicles in a situation where they have to yield to pedestrians. Right now, that doesn’t occur.”

The plans will be presented at the council’s Oct. 12 meeting.