State Route 710 Study, Alternatives Analysis Report, Recommended Refinements of Alternatives
http://www.dot.ca.gov/dist07/resources/envdocs/docs/710study/docs/Final_AA_report_2013-01-14_Low_Res.pdf
7.2.3.1 Recommended Refinements of Alternatives
In the PA/ED phase, alternatives will be refined first to avoid and then to minimize potential impacts to the extent possible. Where impacts cannot be avoided or minimized, feasible mitigation measures will be identified to reduce impacts. Additional refinements of alternatives that should be investigated in the PA/ED phase include the following:
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The No Build Alternative should be updated to reflect the financially constrained project list in the 2012 Regional Transportation Plan/Sustainable Communities Strategy (RTP/SCS). This plan was adopted by SCAG after the initiation of the AA, but it would be appropriate to update the No Build Alternative in the PA/ED phase to be consistent with the newly adopted plan. The ridership and travel demand forecasting in the PA/ED phase will be based on the 2012 RTP/SCS.
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The TSM/TDM Alternative was found to have potential right-of-way impacts, primarily resulting from the spot intersection and roadway segment improvements included in the alternative. These spot improvements should be refined in coordination with the local jurisdictions to maximize the alternative’s benefits and to minimize its impacts. In addition, these improvements should be refined to identify opportunities to create “complete streets” that enhance the pedestrian and bicycle environment and to ensure that they do not detract from it. The other components of the TSM/TDM Alternative should also be reviewed and refined to look for additional opportunities to improve the performance of the alternative.
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Alternative BRT-6, like all of the BRT alternatives, would displace a large amount of on-street parking. Therefore, refinements should be considered to its design, alignment, and/or operational characteristics to minimize their impact to on-street parking. Refinements should also be considered to maximize ridership and productivity (passengers per bus).
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Alternative LRT-4A/B station locations should be refined to maximize ridership, minimize property impacts, and to facilitate transfers to the Metro Gold line at its northern and southern termini.
Alternative LRT-4A/B could be combined with enhanced bus service, including feeder routes to its stations. By making Alternative LRT-4A/B the spine of a transit network that serves destinations to its east and west, and not solely along its alignment, it may be possible to attract additional transit ridership and improve the performance of this alternative.
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Alternative F-7 should incorporate refinements to its design and alignment to minimize its impact. Potential tolled operations to improve its financial feasibility should also be evaluated. Restriction on use by trucks should be evaluated to determine if they are effective at reducing impacts.
Alternative F-7 could be combined with a BRT or other enhanced bus service to improve the performance of this alternative on the performance measures related to the transit system. Alternative F-7 was found to not increase transit ridership or transit mode share. By introducing a well-designed BRT or other enhanced bus service into Alternative F-7, it may be possible to diminish north-south transit travel times through the study area and attract additional transit ridership.
The proposed extension of the
Long Beach (710) Freeway, spending on Rose Bowl renovations and
strategies to develop more affordable housing topped the agenda Thursday
at this year’s first public forum for Pasadena City Council candidates.
The
event drew more than 100 people to Pasadena City College’s Creveling
Lounge and was organized by the Pasadena-based progressive political
action group ACT.
ACT and its more than 250 members donate
thousands of dollars to state and local candidates each election cycle.
The group plans to announce endorsements on Feb. 5, Executive Director
Jon Fuhrman said.
The March 5 ballot features three candidates
seeking the District 3 council seat left vacant by Chris Holden’s
election to the state Assembly.
Community activist Ishmael Trone
and Los Angeles Urban League executive John Kennedy fielded questions
from audience members, but Summit Evangelical Church Pastor Nicholas
Benson was absent.
Incumbent Councilman Victor Gordo faces
nonprofit director Israel Estrada in District 5, but Estrada did not
attend the forum due to illness, event organizers said.
Councilman Terry Tornek is running unopposed and was not included in the forum.
Kennedy,
Trone and Gordo each voiced opposition to a tunnel that would connect
the 710 to the Foothill (210) Freeway through Pasadena, but sparred over
the Rose Bowl and affordable housing.
Candidates were asked to
describe the appropriate use for the Rose Bowl, an issue that has
sharply divided residents over the prospect of the city-owned stadium
hosting professional football games.
Gordo, president of the Rose
Bowl Operating Co., and Trone, who chairs a task force that has tripled
the number of local workers hired for ongoing stadium renovations,
answered: “football.”
Kennedy, a member of ACT, said “appropriate use for the Rose Bowl is what the residents say [it] is.”
He
also criticized city leaders over the rising price tag for stadium
renovations. The project’s $152-million budget has climbed to nearly
$195 million in the past two years.
“Someone must be asleep at the switch, and someone must be held accountable as to why there’s overspending,” he said.
Gordo
countered that officials have scaled back the project and insisted it
be financed with Rose Bowl revenue, not the city’s General Fund, which
pays for most public services.
Kennedy said the city should increase public funding in support of affordable housing development.
Trone
said increasing financial penalties for residential developers who
don’t set aside units for low-income families would spur affordable
housing construction throughout the city instead of concentrating it in
less-wealthy neighborhoods.
Gordo said the city should do away with penalty fees and force all new residential developments to include affordable housing.
Former
Pasadena Mayor and Pasadena City College Trustee Bill Thomson said he
was disappointed candidates did not offer strategies for improving the
local economy or increasing Rose Bowl revenue in the absence of
professional football games.
The ACT event also featured all 10 candidates competing four Pasadena school board seats up for grabs in March.
The Pasadena Latino Coalition will host a forum for council and school board candidates from 1 to 5 p.m. on Jan. 27 at that Jackie Robinson Center, 1020 N. Fair Oaks Ave.
The Pasadena-Foothills Chapter of the ACLU
is hosting a forum for council candidates at 6:30 on Jan. 31 at the
Church of Truth, 690 E. Orange Grove Blvd., and for school board
candidates at 6:30 p.m. on Feb. 7 at Neighborhood Church, 301 N. Orange
Grove Blvd.
