(Photo By: Raymond Mendoz)a
Mayor Steve Tye delivers the annual State of the City Address concerning the City’s major projects and plans.

By Raymond Mendoza

Diamond Bar – Future plans for the City of Diamond Bar were given a promising backing when Mayor Steve Tye delivered the annual State of the City Address that outlined the City’s short and long-term goals.

The event  was held at the Diamond Bar Center, at 1600 Grand Avenue, and covered various topics that Tye believed would not only make Diamond Bar more profitable, but also more attractive to residents in neighboring cities.

Tye’s speech outlined City projects, including  the Grand Avenue Beautification Project, the conversion of the former Von’s Grocery to a Haggen brand store, the opening of the Walmart Neighborhood Market, two new tire store/service centers, the expansion of the Shell gas station on Diamond Bar Blvd., a new Starbucks, T-Mobile, and Waba Grill, the future of the former Honda and K-mart locations, maintenance for Heritage Park, improvements for Steep Canyon Connector Trail and Pantera Park Trail, a “Pop-up City Hall” for spreading information, and two projects that would hopefully lessen traffic congestion.

“It’s our strong sense of shared ownership of what happens in our community that has made a difference, and will continue to make a difference, for the next 25, 50 and 100 years,” Tye said. “We, as a collective, have made Diamond Bar a community worth belonging to – and it’s because it’s worth belonging to. It’s worth investing in.”

Tye mentioned that while new businesses are typically a welcome sight for sales taxes, he also stated that the City is firmly against allowing medical marijuana dispensaries and massage parlors at this point in time, because both establishments have the likelihood of creating “disorder” that could put Diamond Bar at risk.

However, the biggest topic of the event was not unwanted businesses, but rather the City’s longtime struggle with increasing traffic problems.

Diamond Bar residents, Phil and Pat Williams, said the biggest topics were the planned 57/60 Confluence Project and the Lemon Avenue On/Off Ramp Project. Both said that traffic was a major problem in certain parts of the City and that the two projects would help to ease some of the burden.

32-year resident, Bruce Buller, agreed with the Williams’, stating that it was good to see the City improving itself in terms of traffic, especially since Diamond Bar and other surrounding cities continue to grow.

In both cases, construction for the 57/60 Confluence Project and the Lemon Avenue On/Off Ramp Project is set to take place over the next few years. Tye said the 57/60 Confluence Project – which will cost an estimated $275 million – will be split into four phases, with the earliest phase starting this fall and the last phase starting sometime after 2017. Tye said the construction is extremely important since the two mile space of freeway hosts an average of 600 accidents per year and is rated as the seventh worst bottleneck in the entire United States.

Tye mentioned that while the City only has $46 million to go toward the 57/60 Confluence Project at the present time, Public Works Director, David Liu, and City Council Member, Jimmy Lin, are currently lobbying for more federal funds from Washington D.C.

Conversely, the Lemon Avenue On/Off Ramp Project will cost $22.34 million – a drop in the bucket compared to the 57/60 project. The Lemon Avenue On/Off Ramp Project will also be fully funded by federal, state and local sources, which includes several million dollars from the City of Industry. Tye said the construction is slated to begin January 2016 and conclude by the middle of 2017.

“There’s still a lot of work to do together with our project partners that include the City of Industry and Metro,” Tye said. “But as our track record shows, we are committed. We are ready for the challenge and we’re not afraid to do the hard work.”

Tye said the City’s current projects will be a long-term investment that will carry over through the decades and ensure Diamond Bar’s impressive reputation, making it the image of pride among other cities in California.