Whittier : Uptown Streets Reopened

The streets of Uptown Village in Whittier, closed to vehicular traffic Oct. 4 because of earthquake damage, were reopened Wednesday.

Demolition is continuing on six to eight unreinforced masonry buildings, with another seven to go, according to City Manager Thomas G. Mauk. Fences and pedestrian walkways have been erected around some buildings while the demolition is being done.

Customers have started to trickle back to the Uptown Village shopping district where some businesses are operating out of mobile trailers, according to the Whittier Uptown Assn. Twenty-six rented trailers are scattered throughout the business district, said Thomas Theisen, treasurer of the association.

The City Council allocated $10,000 to the association to help defray the cost of setting up the trailers. But Theisen said more money is needed to pay for erecting temporary utility poles to deliver electricity to the trailers. He said the association is expected to request additional funds from the city. In a related matter, the City Council approved an association request to hold a series of parking lot sales. The first sale is scheduled from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday on a lot at Comstock Avenue between Philadelphia and Bailey streets.