710 Freeway fighters not good neighbors in SGV: Letters

 http://www.sgvtribune.com/opinion/20140429/710-freeway-fighters-not-good-neighbors-in-sgv-letters

Posted: 04/29/14

 Your Question of the Week editorial involved the dispute between the city of Irwindale and David Tran’s Huy Fong Food Company and its Sriracha hot sauce.

The question was, “Would Sriracha be your good neighbor?” The article went on to say that “we want the beauty parts of this world, but we’d like to skip the hassle parts we have to pass through on the way.” “They want the water, but they’d just as soon do without the rain,” which was a quote from American poet Ed Dorn, can go on to describe another bad neighbor relationship. That neighbor is the city of South Pasadena. For decades, South Pas has been fighting transportation progress that is sorely needed throughout the greater Los Angeles region, in the form of the Long Beach Freeway extension from Alhambra to Pasadena. Each time the more than a dozen Southern California freeways were built, sacrifices were made by cities and citizens alike but always for the greater good of all involved. I have heard some refer to this fight as David against Goliath, but in this case Goliath is the good guys. Someone needs to pick up the torch in our fight against this ongoing battle and impose sanctions against South Pasadena. Let’s bring our collective efforts to bear against this tiny minority of preventers of progress.

— Mike Vercillo, Arcadia


In response to the above letter:


 Not just South Pasadenans who oppose the 710: Letters

http://www.sgvtribune.com/opinion/20140430/not-just-south-pasadenans-who-oppose-the-710-letters

Posted: 04/30/14

 Old Pasadenans against extension of the 710

As a 20-year resident of Pasadena I am totally against the extension of the 710. It will destroy Old Pasadena for eight to 10 years while the tunnel is built and the increased traffic will cause the area traffic to come to a standstill. The current slowdown at the 210-134 transition will look like a dream after the added flow onto the 210 causes miles of backup in both directions.

Every promised improvement in traffic from freeway extensions has resulted in the traffic backups instead. Remember the promises we were given when the 210 was being extended eastward? Notice the daily traffic jams experienced by those using the 210 now. We have a slowdown, not improved speeds.

Now we are being threatened with a 5-mile tunnel project that will result in years of construction detours and eyesores. That will be followed by a massive increase in traffic density. South Pasadena residents are not alone in opposing this project.

— ­Anne Marie Dazé Floyd, Pasadena

Money for and pollution from 710 would be endless

This 710 tunnel is a very bad idea, taking pollution to a neighborhood that doesn’t want it! The money is endless. It seems like a no-brainer. Cut your losses and just give up so we can go on with our lives that are hard enough without further complications and bad air. We don’t want the 710 and we don’t want the tunnel.

 — Rita Salazar-Ashford, Pasadena

710 is the wrong solution to the right problem

The problem with the 710 tunnel is that it is the wrong solution to the right problem. We didn’t need to spend $37 million on an EIR to know that our freeways are congested. The problems on our freeways include the 5, 10, 210, 2, 710, 405, 605, 101, 405 and the 60. Did I leave out anything?
Look at the data from the EIR released to date. So far the only benefit on any freeway is on the I-5 through the downtown area. The 710 tunnel would divert 25,000 vehicles per day from that freeway. That is the upside. The downside is that it helps none of the other freeways or the surface streets in the San Gabriel Valley. There are just too many vehicles on the freeways and arterials during peak hours.

The EIR has come up with some ideas, but even these are not enough for a solution to the mess we are in. Did we mention the cost? Six to 10 billion dollars is too much to spend for the small benefit achieved on the I-5.

The other downside is the pollution and disease the tunnel will bring to Pasadena and the surrounding areas (including Arcadia, home of a recent pro-tunnel letter writer).

South Pasadena is not the only one skeptical of the tunnel. The Five Cities Alliance includes Pasadena, Sierra Madre, La Canada Flintridge and Glendale. The Sierra Club is opposed and there are many other citizen groups against this white elephant.

— Bill Sherman, South Pasadena

Toll lanes are just a money grab by the bureaucrats

 Should it be any surprise that the gluttonous bureaucrats in Sacramento are making another money grab?

The “trial” express toll lanes on the L.A. freeways are just too visible a target for these ravenous “public servants” to resist. Hold onto your wallets, Angelenos, the politicians are on the prowl again!

— Roland Taylor, Covina

The political heat

Charles Krauthammer says political donors need to keep their names secret. As Harry Truman said, “If you can’t stand the heat, stay out of the kitchen.”

— Ray Sherman, Duarte