Today I made a trip to the beautiful Burbank Empire Center to shop. To
my dismay, after almost getting hit by a car and having to walk more than
three long blocks, I found out there are no convenient MTA bus stops
within this shopping center. I also found out, while trying to get back
to the 165 bus that runs near the shopping center, that several areas
along the way are far from pedestrian-friendly.
I called the MTA to inquire if there are plans to include bus stops
within the Burbank Empire Center. After talking to several people at the
MTA about the Burbank Empire Center bus stops, I found out they have no
idea the Burbank Empire Center even exists. The question they kept asking
me was, "Where is the Burbank Empire Center?"
So, I have questions for my Burbank city officials:
* When this project was planned, why weren't MTA bus stops included
within this project?
* Why hasn't the MTA been informed about this development so bus stops
could be incorporated within the shopping center now?
* Was there a deliberate effort by city officials or planners to
exclude the MTA buses from coming into the Burbank Empire Center? If so,
why?
* Do you realize that by not including MTA bus stops within the
Burbank Empire Center, you are discriminating against your own Burbank
citizens who use public transportation? And the city is also losing out
on our tax dollars we could spend at this shopping center.
For myself, I can't believe the lack of MTA bus stops within this
project is just an oversight by the Planning Department. It appears to me
that the citizens who use MTA buses were purposely ignored in the
planning of this shopping center.
If the cities and developers of the Del Amo and Santa Anita shopping
centers, just to mention a few, can incorporate MTA bus stops within
their projects, I expect the planners with the city of Burbank to do the
same.
My last questions is, what will be done to correct this situation?
RONALD D. SUMMONS
Burbank
