Public Invited to Go 'On the Record' Regarding SR-710 Project

La Cañada Flintridge residents on Tuesday will have an opportunity to go "on the record" with their alternatives to Metro Los Angeles' proposed extension of State Route 710, a project that many residents of Northeast Los Angeles believe could have significant negative environmental impacts on their communities.

The meeting, titled “Scoping – Going on the Record,” will be held Tuesday, April 5, from 6-8 p.m. in the cafeteria at

Scoping, the process through which public comments are put on record, is part of Metro's larger environmental impact review (EIR) process for its proposed extension of SR-710.

For decades, Metro and the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) have identified "the gap" between SR-210 in Alhambra and SR-710 in Pasadena as the source of major traffic congestion in the San Gabriel Valley and Northeast Los Angeles, and have endeavored to relieve that pressure by proposing to connect the two freeways with a multi-lane surface freeway, and more recently, through an underground tunnel.

Residents have fought bitterly to oppose any "gap closure" project, and have insisted that Metro and Caltrans instead investigate multi-mode alternatives, which include heavy rail and bus/light rail systems, local street upgrades and traffic management systems.

Continued oppostion to the 710 expansion took center stage during the recent La Cañada City Council race. Council members Laura Olhasso and Don Voss, and then-challenger Mike Davitt agreed that the expansion woud lead to increased noise, traffic and air pollution. Olhasso pointed out traffic studies show there would be an additional 30,000 vehicles per day coming through town, with an additional 200 trucks per hour during peak traffic hours. 

"Health studies have proven that children exposed to diesel exhaust grow up with permanently damaged lungs.  We have ten schools within 500 yards of the 210 corridor.  The question is why would anyone living in LCF support such an expansion?'' Olhasso said in a previous interview.

In December, both the and passed resolutions stating their opposition to any freeway or tunnel project. The South Pasadena City Council has passed several resolutions opposing such projects, with the latest resolution featuring the anti-freeway or tunnel language.

An amendment passed by the MTA board last spring requires that Metro consider those "multi-mode" options during the EIR process.

The amendment, which was proposed by MTA board member Richard Katz, calls for the scoping process to "include a full range of new, route-neutral transportation options, (which eventually will be included in a cost benefit analysis), alternative analyses, and all necessary environmental studies to allow policy makers, stakeholders and the public to make well-informed decisions about options to 1) improve mobility, safety and congestion, 2) address community concerns and 3) augment planning efforts."

In a press release announcing the upcoming meetings, Metro has declared that they were taking a "fresh perspective to initiate an environmental review process that will focus on a range of solutions to specifically evaluate the effects of the SR 710 gap."

As reported on South Pasadena Patch in February, Metro has faced some during previous community meetings regarding the SR-710 project.

Concerned residents can register their comments at meetings and on online until April 14.

Helen Ortiz Gilstrap, Metro's communications manager, said it was too early to rule out any "gap closure" solution, including the freeway or tunnel options.

"It's too early to tell because scooping is not over yet, and we'll be taking comments until April 14," Ortiz Gilstrap said. "We have communities who want nothing and we have others who say, please do something, even after scoping is done, the EIR could take three to five years. The important part is getting community input."