Pomona : Street Compromise Offered

Councilman Mark Nymeyer this week proposed a compromise that he hopes will end a dispute between Pomona Mall merchants and the College of Osteopathic Medicine.

Business owners have requested that the city reopen a 2-block area of what was once 2nd Street to vehicular traffic. But college officials say the street, known as College Plaza since the late 1970s, is an integral part of the campus.

The street was closed with the creation of the pedestrian-only Pomona Mall in the early 1960s. Two blocks remained closed to cars after city officials abandoned the pedestrian mall concept and opened the rest of the street to traffic. Merchants say the street’s closure hurts their business; college administrators say opening it could pose a danger to students.

Nymeyer suggested Monday that the 2-block area be reopened to traffic and that a parking lot across the street from the college be converted into a grassy park where students could congregate between classes.

Councilman E. J. (Jay) Gaulding said he opposes the idea, adding that merchants are trying to make the college a scapegoat for poor business. But council members C. L. (Clay) Bryant and Nell Soto praised the plan and assured Nymeyer of their support.

City Administrator A. J. Wilson said he will have city staff study the cost of converting the parking lot to a park and will bring the matter back for council action on Aug. 1.