Locals to march against 710 tunnel plan during South Pas Independence Day
By Andre Coleman, July 3, 2014
Hundreds
of people are expected to march in South Pasadena Friday against plans
to build a tunnel
under South Pasadena to connect the Long Beach (710) Freeway in Alhambra with the Foothill
(210) Freeway in Pasadena.
under South Pasadena to connect the Long Beach (710) Freeway in Alhambra with the Foothill
(210) Freeway in Pasadena.
According
to Joanne Nuckols, spokesperson for the No 710 Action Committee, the
march will take
place during the South Pasadena Festival of Balloons Fourth of July Parade, which begins at 11 a.m.
Friday on Diamond Avenue and Oxley Street.
place during the South Pasadena Festival of Balloons Fourth of July Parade, which begins at 11 a.m.
Friday on Diamond Avenue and Oxley Street.
“Last
year we had 150 people march during the parade and it was very
successful,” Nuckols told the
Pasadena Weekly. “And this year we expect many more. People are really upset with the amount of
money that is being wasted on studies on this project. People feel this is a way they can speak out
and get their point across. We want more non-highway transportation solutions, Gold Line rail and
transit expanded rather than a highway that would cost billions of dollars that would bring more
traffic to the area.”
Pasadena Weekly. “And this year we expect many more. People are really upset with the amount of
money that is being wasted on studies on this project. People feel this is a way they can speak out
and get their point across. We want more non-highway transportation solutions, Gold Line rail and
transit expanded rather than a highway that would cost billions of dollars that would bring more
traffic to the area.”
According
to the Southern California Association of Governments, the tunnel
project could cost $12
billion. Critics claim that the project is a West Coast version of Boston’s Big Dig, which rerouted
Interstate 93 — the chief highway through the heart of the city — into a 3.5-mile-long tunnel. The
project ended up costing $24 billion, nearly eight times the original projected $2.8 billion price tag.
billion. Critics claim that the project is a West Coast version of Boston’s Big Dig, which rerouted
Interstate 93 — the chief highway through the heart of the city — into a 3.5-mile-long tunnel. The
project ended up costing $24 billion, nearly eight times the original projected $2.8 billion price tag.
Caltrans
wants to bore under several communities starting just north of the San
Bernardino (10)
Freeway to Pasadena Avenue, near Huntington Hospital — along the path of an original overland
freeway connector route originally proposed more than 50 years ago. The designation of that route
led to the purchase of hundreds of homes in that area of Pasadena, South Pasadena and the Los
Angeles neighborhood of El Sereno beginning in the mid 1950s. Caltrans decided to put a halt to
plans for the above-ground route several years ago.
Freeway to Pasadena Avenue, near Huntington Hospital — along the path of an original overland
freeway connector route originally proposed more than 50 years ago. The designation of that route
led to the purchase of hundreds of homes in that area of Pasadena, South Pasadena and the Los
Angeles neighborhood of El Sereno beginning in the mid 1950s. Caltrans decided to put a halt to
plans for the above-ground route several years ago.
Two
years ago, Metro came up with a number of “alternative” routes for the
proposed connector
route, one of which included tunneling underneath parts of Avenue 64 through Highland Park and
West Pasadena. Another plan proposed turning the residential street into a six-lane highway. Both
options would have included the destruction of hundreds of area homes.
route, one of which included tunneling underneath parts of Avenue 64 through Highland Park and
West Pasadena. Another plan proposed turning the residential street into a six-lane highway. Both
options would have included the destruction of hundreds of area homes.