By Steve Hymon, May 2, 2014
Here is the news release from Metro and Caltrans:
The draft environmental impact
report/environmental impact statement (EIR/EIS) for the State Route 710
North Study will be released for public comment in February 2015, Metro
and Caltrans announced today.
In response to community stakeholders who asked for
additional time to consider the draft documents, the public review
period also will be doubled from 45 to 90 days. Metro and Caltrans want
to give the public ample opportunity to study and comment on the series
of complex documents for addressing traffic and environmental impacts
within east/northeast Los Angeles, the western San Gabriel Valley and
the region generated by a 4 ½ mile gap in the original 710 Freeway
design that exists between Alhambra and Pasadena.
The draft EIR/EIS will thoroughly analyze five
alternatives – Bus Rapid Transit, Light Rail Transit, Transportation
System Management/Transportation Demand Management, a freeway tunnel,
and a No Build option. Altogether, approximately 50 technical documents
will thoroughly analyze traffic, noise, air quality, a health risk
assessment, energy effects and other variables.
The data is being processed through a regional travel
demand model that predicts future (2035) traffic through analysis of
projected travel patterns considering such factors as population and
employment growth, goods movement, land use changes and other variables.
(Peggy Drouet: Note that the original date for the EIR/EIS was Spring 2014.)