Managing a Thriving City is All About Good Planning

From left to right: Councilman Bill Miranda, Councilman Cameron Smyth, Mayor Pro Tem Marsha McLean, County Supervisor Kathryn Barger, Sheriff Jim McDonnell, Capt. Robert Lewis, Mayor Laurene Weste, City Manager Ken Striplin and Councilman Bob Kellar break ground for the new Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff's Station on Golden Valley Road in Canyon Country on Wednesday. Cory Rubin/The Signal
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By Ken Striplin
City Manager

Managing a thriving city is all about good planning.

That’s something the city of Santa Clarita has put emphasis on since incorporation some 31 years ago.

As we look toward 2019, we are reaching significant milestones within our Santa Clarita 2020 strategic plan.

Santa Clarita 2020 was created to guide our major work efforts, to best prioritize resources, achieve milestones and maintain our unwavering commitment to offering the best services and facilities for residents today and well into the future.

It is exciting to think that so many of the projects within Santa Clarita 2020 are already complete — and many more major projects will be by the end of 2020. Some of the work already completed includes: the Old Town Newhall Parking Structure, successful implementation of the Traffic Safety Plan, completion of the Arts Master Plan, completion of the Golden Valley Bridge Widening

Project, a blossoming arts and entertainment district in Old Town Newhall, hundreds of acres of open space acquired, miles of streets slurry sealed and sidewalks repaved, and much, much more.

As we head into the home stretch, there are several major projects coming to fruition, which will have a significant impact within our city.

Let’s look at them in order of which ribbon we will get to cut first. Coming up in the next couple months, we will get to celebrate the completion of the Newhall Ranch Road Bridge Widening Project.

The $16 million project widened the bridge to provide an additional traffic lane in each direction — for a total of four lanes in each direction. The project also added a raised median, a new protected sidewalk and a path under the bridge creating new trail connections.

Mark your calendars for next summer because that is when we are anticipating the grand opening of the final two projects on the redevelopment block in Old Town Newhall — Laemmle Newhall and Newhall Crossings. The much anticipated Laemmle Theatres broke ground in October and when complete, will house a seven-screen art house movie theater and 2,300 square feet of retail and restaurant space. Newhall Crossings will provide over 20,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space, 47 residential units and a public plaza.

Just down Soledad Canyon and up Golden Valley Road, our brand new Santa Clarita Sheriff’s Station is taking shape. A joint effort with Los Angeles County, this new 46,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art, Sheriff’s Station will feature a detached 4,000-square-foot vehicle maintenance, a heliport, 9-1-1 dispatch center, a jail and enough space to house the entire Sheriff’s Department team. The new Sheriff’s Station is expected to be complete by the end of 2020.

Vision, anticipation and prioritization are essential elements in preparing for a successful future and to ensure the city of Santa Clarita continues to provide superior municipal services that will meet the current and future needs of our community. As a forward thinking organization under the direction of our City Council, we will continue to thrive through good planning, hard work and solid implementation. I look forward to seeing the final projects within our Santa Clarita 2020 plan come to fruition.

For more information and updates on all of our Santa Clarita 2020 plans, please visit SantaClarita2020.com.

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