New pedestrian bridges could be built in the Anaheim resort district, giving the large groups of walkers in the area an opportunity to crisscross streets without worrying about vehicle traffic.
Officials on the Anaheim Tourism Improvement District Transportation Committee this month got a first look at where four proposed pedestrian bridges would be built in the resort area. The bridges are meant to give pedestrians traveling between Disneyland and hotels, restaurants and the Anaheim Convention Center a safer way to move around.
The bridges represent a major goal the committee has set its sights on for years — more than $32 million has been saved up toward their construction. But ongoing struggles of the resort area’s bus provider, the Anaheim Transportation Network, have necessitated some of that funding to be siphoned off to sustain transit operations.
A pedestrian circulation study by the city and Kittelson & Associates recommended bridges at Harbor Boulevard and Disney Way, Disney Way at the GardenWalk driveway, Katella Avenue near GardenWalk, and Harbor Boulevard at Convention Way. Elevators and staircases would be built at both ends of the bridges.
The four proposed pedestrian bridges are separate from one the Disneyland Resort plans to build connecting its new parking garage on the east side of Harbor Boulevard over to its esplanade.
The Disney Way and Harbor Boulevard bridge would be prioritized for construction as it’s projected to get the most use.
Two of the proposed bridges would connect with whatever Disney ends up building at the Toy Story parking lot — company officials have said it could be developed with more shopping and experiences.
The study also looked at pedestrian bridges over Katella Avenue from the Anaheim Convention Center and over Harbor Boulevard near Manchester Avenue, but city staff have recommended those plans not move forward due to low projected use.
An early estimate for the cost of the bridges ranged from $5 million to $15 million. That range depends on whether a simple design is chosen over something more visually appealing and the estimates don’t include costs of acquiring more land for the bridges or working around utilities.
“The assumption is, yes, we’ll definitely go after grants,” Anaheim Public Works Director Rudy Emami said, “but I think a majority of the funding would come from (the Anaheim Tourism Improvement District).”
The tourism district is funded by a 2% assessment from hotel stays at participating Anaheim hotels around the resort area. A fourth goes toward transportation needs, overseen by a city employee, a hotelier and a Disney representative. The rest of the money raised by the assessment goes to Visit Anaheim for marketing.
Members of the Transportation Committee have said they’ve been building up a cash reserve in anticipation of contributing when the city is ready to build pedestrian bridges around the resort area.
But the financially beleaguered Anaheim Transportation Network continues to need support from the tourism district, cutting into the $32.9 million officials have been setting aside over several years. The fund currently receives around $7 million a year.
The tourism district’s Transportation Committee on July 10 approved another $2.5 million in stop-gap funding for ATN.
The transportation network, which operates the blue Anaheim Regional Transportation buses seen circling the resort area, has needed outside funding support for the past few years, including millions from the tourism district, as it faces sharply rising labor costs.
The transit agency’s board in June approved a 90-day budget that relied on the latest $2.5 million cash infusion from the Anaheim Tourism Improvement District to help it with operational funding and to catch up on late payments to its bus contractor, Parking Company of America.
“This is, again, a Band-Aid,” committee chair and hotelier Fred Brown said. “This is going to continue until there’s a funding source for (ATN) or (ATN) dissolves.”
“This is not going to be the last time that we’re going to see ATN in front of this board,” he added.
Earlier this year, the city and ATN agreed to consider a restructuring to address the transit operator’s ongoing budget struggles, including even a takeover by the city.
Emami acknowledged recently that the city is moving toward such a possible takeover.
“We are in the process of scheduling a follow-up meeting with (ATN’s) executive committee,” Emami said. “That is where we will explore the next step … which would be executing (a memorandum of understanding) for the potential transfer of ATN to the city.”
Brown, who is also on ATN’s board, said they are looking at dates in early August for that meeting.
“Those are difficult discussions, difficult conversations that we need to have about ATN, our public transit system in the city of Anaheim and the future that it holds,” ATN CEO Diana Kotler said.
Councilmember Natalie Meeks at the July 15 City Council meeting asked city staff to prepare an update on the latest with the discussions for the council.
Kotler said without ongoing support from the transportation fund, ATN can’t continue to meet its obligations. Many hotels in the resort area are required to provide clean-air shuttles to Disneyland, which ATN fulfills.
Public engagement on the proposed bridges will begin in the coming months. The proposal will also go before the City Council for approval.