Disneyland Resort is considering purchasing Magic Way, a street near the resort, from the city of Anaheim so the space can be used for the Disneyland Forward project.
Magic Way and Disneyland Forward
according to orange county register, Anaheim residents expressed concerns about Disney’s acquisition of the street and its subsequent demolition at a City Council meeting in January. In response, Disney hired engineering consultant Kittleson & Associates to conduct a street survey from January 31st to February 4th.
Consultant Joe Haupt presented the data at Monday’s Planning Commission workshop.
“Of the 11,153 vehicles that pass through the Magic Way each day, 11,053 depart from or arrive at Disney properties,” Haupt said. He has less than 100 non-Disney users. ”
Most of these fewer than 100 vehicles use the 1,150-foot Magic Way as a loophole during peak hours of the day.
Magic Way is located west of Disneyland and connects Disneyland Drive and Walnut Street. Primarily used by guests heading to the Pixar Pulse parking structure and the Disneyland Hotel.
Kittleson & Associates found that on a recent Friday morning, fewer than 200 vehicles entered Magic Way from Walnut Street, and only about 30 vehicles proceeded from there to Disneyland Drive.
One of those drivers may have been Randy Lewis, who lives across the street from the Disneyland Resort. Lewis has been using the Magic Way as a shortcut to the 5 Freeway on his daily commute for two years, calling it a “great time saver.” Magic asked the City Council not to sell the road because it would take him 15 minutes to drive if he didn’t use the Way.
Haupt also shared plans to improve the Walnut Street crosswalk for guests walking to the Disneyland Resort. Currently, there are no protected crosswalks on the four-lane road. Plans include crosswalks to stop cars for pedestrians and separate bike lanes.
Disney also wants to acquire Hotel Way southeast of Disney California Adventure and part of Clementine Street to the east. Haupt said these streets are essentially driveways to the Disneyland Resort parking lots.
Disney has promised to pay $40 million for all three streets.
Anaheim Planning Director Ted White said surrounding streets have enough capacity to absorb Magic Way traffic, and Anaheim Public Works Director Rudy Emami said at a City Council workshop last month. He said work to improve traffic flow at the nearby intersection of Walnut Street and Ball Road will begin this summer. .
Haupt said it is unclear when construction would begin if the city approves Disneyland Forward’s proposal. Disney has committed to investing a minimum of $1.9 billion in the resort, with further investments coming back to the city, including $30 million in affordable housing and $8 million in parks (25 If the company doesn’t spend $1 billion, it could potentially invest even more.)
The Planning Commission is scheduled to vote on the DisneylandForward proposal at its next meeting on March 11th.
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