What Does Southern California Need from the 710 Freeway?

From Sylvia Plummer, May 4, 2014

We hope to get as many people as possible to this event to ask important questions during the Q&A and to assure that significant issues are not misrepresented.

This event will take place this Wednesday night at MOCA, and is being presented by an organization called "Zocalo Public Square."

It is free, but you must make a reservation to attend. 
http://www.zocalopublicsquare.org/event/?postId=53220

Wednesday, May 7, 2014 from 7:30 PM to 9:30 PM

Where

Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA)

250 South Grand Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90012

Parking is $9 at Walt Disney Concert Hall Garage- Enter on Second St., just west of Grand Ave.

To save on driving and parking, you can take the Goldline to the Redline

Note:  You must arrive before 7:15pm or your reservation will be released

We have been attempting to verify our suspicion that it was Metro who instigated the topic for this particular forum (note their logo on the event web page) and today it was confirmed that the forum is being held in collaboration with Metro.  In a letter from Art Leahy notifying Metro personnel about it, he calls it "...the first event of a series...."  Frankly, I think the effort to get the attention of the Zocalo organization was probably a collaborative one among the various proponents of the tunnel (SCAG, Alhambra, etc.), and perhaps involved Englander, Knabe and Allen, because my experience with Metro's public outreach efforts has shown that they don't know how to do it well and aren't very smart in this arena.  My suspicion and cynicism may have gotten the better of me, but I wouldn't be surprised if the SCAG model issues are just an excuse for the delay in the release of the EIR/EIS and that what they really hope to do by delaying the release is buy more time in an attempt to promote support. 


The description of the event reads as follows:

"The 710 is one of the most important freeways in Southern California. It’s also shorter than originally planned: For nearly 50 years, legal and environmental challenges have stalled the freeway in Alhambra, 4.5 miles short of its intended destination, Pasadena. Over the decades, discussions about extending the freeway have cast its future as a local issue. But the 710 causes traffic, produces pollution, and affects commerce across Los Angeles and even beyond. How broad are these impacts, and what role might the stalled extension play in them? What would the five options now being debated for dealing with the Alhambra-to-Pasadena gap–implementing new surface traffic technology and strategies, new rapid bus transit, light rail transit, a freeway tunnel, or building nothing at all–mean for our region? UCLA Institute of Transportation Studies director Brian Taylor, Clean Tech Advocates senior advisor and former California Environment Secretary Linda S. Adams, L.A. Chamber of Commerce president Gary Toebben, and Southern California Association of Governments executive director Hasan Ikhrata visit Zócalo to discuss what these proposals mean for all of us."

You can learn more about the Zocalo organization and what they do as well as info on the format of their events here:
http://www.zocalopublicsquare.org/mission/

FYI:  I have registered to attend and hope to see many of you there.