Downtown Glendale will not be getting light rail. At the Glendale City Council’s meeting this week, four members voted to end the council’s study of light rail, while three others wanted to move forward with it or put off the decision for a few weeks.
Jamie Aldama was one of the council members in favor of light rail. “I have property owners here, developers that are just sitting on vacant properties,” he said. “They say we’re not gonna do anything until we have certainty that light rail’s coming.”
But those against light rail mostly questioned the value of the investment. According to Councilman Ray Malnar, “the comments that I get from my constituents is this is gonna cost more money than the value that we will get out of it.”
There was even an argument from Councilwoman Lauren Tolmachoff to hold off on the decision for a few weeks, until Nov. 7, when the council will hear more about Glendale’s transportation plan.
But that wasn’t a compelling option for Mayor Jerry Weiers and the others who moved to end the exploration of light rail. “We owe it to our business owners … to make a decision on what we’re gonna do with their lives,” he said.
