The Santa Clarita City Council approved about $10 million in street changes at its last meeting of the year, signing off on plans to build a multiway stop in Newhall, further development for Magic Mountain Parkway and a realignment for McBean Parkway.
The biggest portion of the spend approved Dec. 9 by far was improvements to Magic Mountain Parkway, while the most feedback at the meeting came from a cadre of appreciative Arcadia Street residents impacted by the city’s road changes for the 8th Street intersection.
Magic Mountain Parkway
The City Council approved a nearly $8 million plan to “provide full street improvements on the undeveloped segment” of Magic Mountain Parkway, from Tourney Road to Avignon Drive, just east of Interstate 5.
The city considers the work “an integral component of the Santa Clarita 2025 Strategic Plan,” according to its website.
The major arterial road that connects I-5 to the west and Railroad Avenue to the east is currently built out from Avignon Drive to Railroad Avenue. This project is to upgrade the road for about a half-mile stretch of Magic Mountain Parkway from McBean Parkway to Interstate 5 with landscaped medians, curbs and gutters.
The city initially anticipated the work to begin in spring 2026.
The work is expected to be done in two phases, according to the agenda report from Public Works Director Shannon Pickett.
“Phase I includes the continuation of the existing landscaped median, edge curb and gutter, and overlay of the six-lane roadway on Magic Mountain Parkway from Tourney Road to McBean Parkway,” according to the agenda report. Phase II is being planned to include the construction of sidewalks, parkway landscape and irrigation, a Class I bike lane, lodge pole fencing and street lighting. There were no dates given for the completion of the project.
McBean Parkway
City officials said the McBean Parkway Realignment project is intended to improve circulation on McBean Parkway at Orchard Village Road and improve the traffic flow to and from Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital.
The City Council approved spending just over $2.7 million on the planned median and street renovations.
The project plans to realign the existing medians east and west of Orchard Village Road and provide for the addition of a dedicated right turn pocket on westbound McBean Parkway into the hospital for improved emergency-services access, according to the city.
A dedicated right-turn pocket from eastbound McBean Parkway onto southbound Orchard Village Road will be added to improve eastbound traffic on McBean Parkway, officials said. It is also considered to be part of the city’s sunsetting strategic plan.
The improvements require the removal of several trees within the project area, and the hospital has removed 26 trees along the north side of McBean Parkway. An additional 30 will be removed from the existing median to accommodate its relocation and the widening of McBean Parkway.
There will be nineteen 24-inch box trees planted within the reconstructed median to replace trees removed during construction, and the hospital is required to install additional trees along the parkway.
8th/Arcadia
In Newhall, residents have been asking for years for someone to “investigate the safety of pedestrians at the intersection of Arcadia Street at 8th Street,” according to the city, which led to the city staff suggestion of “a multi-way stop control for the intersection.”
City officials noted the neighborhood “does not include standard curb, gutter, or sidewalk infrastructure due to the rural nature of the neighborhood,” and as one resident noted, the street’s history dates back to the Vaudeville era.
Staff observations included vehicles making sharp right turns at higher speeds from 8th Street onto Arcadia Street, resulting in limited visibility of pedestrians within the three-legged intersection, according to the city’s agenda.
Several residents asked for a speed bump instead of the stop sign, but that was rebuffed by staff based on the city’s procedure approved last year.
City Manager Ken Striplin explained there are procedures that drive stop-sign installations, which are in municipal codes by which the city must abide. Speed humps are driven by a council policy that calls for a vote from neighbors, but there are requirements that a street must first meet, which the Newhall neighborhood did not.
Councilwoman Marsha McLean, who lives a short distance west of the intersection, said her position on the request has changed with her understanding of the residents’ concerns, thanking them for coming to the council.
She also asked the City Council if her colleagues would be amenable to approve a similar study for a stop sign at Wayman Street, near her neighborhood, also saying she was not a fan of speed bumps. The council approved both actions.
