Pasadena mayor says no to 710 extension
Bogaard joins Schiff, Liu in slamming proposed tunnel
http://www.pasadenasun.com/the626now/tn-626-pasadena-mayor-says-no-to-710-extension-20120926,0,4321525.story
Pasadena Mayor Bill Bogaard
on Wednesday, Sept. 26, said he opposes an extension of the Long Beach
(710) Freeway to the Foothill (210) Freeway. Regional transportation
officials are studying a 4.5-mile tunnel connecting the 710 and the 210.
(Tim Berger/Staff Photographer / September 26, 2012)
Pasadena Mayor Bill Bogaard has
joined the chorus of local elected leaders calling on transportation
officials to drop plans for a tunnel that would extend the Long Beach
(710) Freeway through the city.
In a letter sent Wednesday to the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority board, Bogaard slams the proposed 710 tunnel as “no less detrimental to Pasadena and the entire region” than previous plans for a surface route. “In the end, the tunnel option deserves no further consideration. It is too expensive, it is disruptive during construction and subsequent operation, it would open at an already congested traffic level, it does not solve the problem of truck traffic, and it would divert funding from many worthy transportation projects that have broad-based public support,” Bogaard wrote. The Pasadena City Council, which recently opposed surface-route options that have since been eliminated, has not weighed in on the tunnel. Measure A, a 2001 city ballot initiative in support of extending the freeway, may prevent the city from formally opposing a tunnel. Bogaard said the letter reflected his personal views. In the past seven days, Rep. Adam Schiff (D- Burbank) and state Sen. Carol Liu (D-La Cañada Flintridge) have also issued statements calling on Metro to end consideration of a 710 tunnel extension. Assemblyman Mike Eng (D- Monterey Park), who represents Alhambra, San Marino and other cities in support of extending the 710, issued a letter late last week urging continued study of the tunnel option. Bogaard said he will join Schiff, Liu, state Assemblyman Anthony Portantino (D-La Cañada Flintridge) and other local leaders opposed to the extension at a Thursday press conference at Metro headquarters. South Pasadena Mayor Michael Cacciotti, Glendale Mayor Frank Quintero, La Cañada Flintridge Mayor Stephen Del Guercio and Glendale Councilman Ara Narajian, a member of the Metro board, are also expected to attend. In his letter to Metro, Bogaard criticizes the tunnel’s projected $6 billion cost and its proximity to Huntington Memorial Hospital and local schools. He said current MTA plans clash with a commitment transportation officials made prior to the passage of Measure A that a 710 connector would not accommodate truck traffic. The tunnel would “substantially increase the amount of traffic, noise and pollution and will impose on this area environmental burdens that are simply unacceptable,” Bogaard wrote. “The public opposition to the tunnel is tremendous and is growing as more persons become aware of the proposal.”--Joe Piasecki, Times Community News |
Oh, oops, you mean we’ll just take them from surface streets and put them on a freeway instead? And that even more cars would join in the fray? And lots of trucks too? Oh, and that the freeway will operate at Level F from day one, as Metro’s own studies show? Hmm… doesn’t sound so great after all…
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interstate_710
This is undoubtedly a controversial project and the issue of the 710 in the northwestern San Gabriel Valley has been controversial for many decades. Everyone, of course, is entitled to their opinion about what, if anything, should be done about car traffic and congestion in the area. As you know, studies are underway to see what different alternatives may accomplish in terms of improving travel times (among other things) in the study area. It’s being studied because nearly 68 percent of voters in L.A. County approved the Measure R slate of transportation projects. I think it’s good that Metro is respecting the will of the voters and studying the issue. Decisions on what, if anything, will be built will come later and be made by the Metro Board of Directors, most of whom are elected to office.
While opinions are one thing, facts are another. And the fact is that the original plans were to build the 710 from Long Beach to Pasadena. And the fact is that there is a gap in the 710 between Valley Boulevard and the short stub of the freeway built south of the 210/134 junction in Pasadena. This is something you can see clearly on maps and this is something you can see clearly in person. It’s somewhat of a different situation than the 2 freeway, which ends at Glendale Boulevard. There is no other part of the 2 freeway west of its western terminus.
I do understand there’s a broader issue here — the issue of adding to the freeway system and what that might accomplish. Some people say it will bring further traffic, others say that done strategically it can help improve bottlenecks. That’s a public policy issue worthy of debate and you articulate some of the arguments against in your comment. But let’s debate the real issues and not divert to whether or not something actually exists.
Steve Hymon
Editor, The Source