Proposed Beautification Project Restricted to Grand Avenue

The $860,000 the city of Diamond Bar has set aside for a proposed beautification project along Grand Avenue can’t be used on any other street in town.

City Manager Jim DeStefano said during a study session and council meeting this week that Diamond Bar received grant funds several years ago to make some improvements along Grand.  Those improvements were made and the remainder of the money, the $860,000, has been set aside for a phase two, DeStefano said.

“We can’t use the money on Diamond Bar Boulevard and Golden Springs,” he said.  “We can only use the money on Grand.”

The proposed plan calls for new landscaping, public art installations, and crosswalk paving at Grand and Diamond Bar Boulevard and at Grand and Longview Drive.

Grand and Diamond Bar was picked because that intersection, with shopping centers at all four corners, is the city’s main hub, according to consultants on the project.  The city is looking at Grand and Longview because it is the last major intersection in the city before the Chino Hills border.

Consultants said the purpose of the project is to create visual points of interest and to highlight Diamond Bar’s community identification.  The design manual the city comes up with can be used for other intersections in the future, officials said.

While the Diamond Bar City Council did not vote on the proposed beautification plan, members did express support for the idea and agreed to allow staff to return with more refined options.

Mayor Jack Tanaka said he felt the proposal was a good one.

“I like the concept and I’d like to start right there at the intersection of Grand and Diamond Bar Boulevard,” he said.