City Working Group Determines SR-710 Tunnel Option “Not For Pasadena”

[Editor’s note: This story originally reported the time for the April 14 DEIR meeting to be 5 to 6 p.m. That is not correct. The correct time is actually 6 to 9 p.m.]

Multiple transportation options focused on moving people, not vehicles, is the best approach to help complete the State Route 710 project, according to recommendations included in a report recently forwarded by Pasadena’s SR-710 Alternatives Working Group to Mayor Bill Bogaard and City Manager Michael J. Beck.

In a letter dated March 9, 2015, the Working Group concluded “a priority of any proposal should be on moving people, rather than vehicles.”  [Editor’s note: To read a copy of the actual letter, click here.]

Other important priorities identified included ensuring “consistency with Pasadena’s General Plan, enhancing travel options for underserved communities, improving safety, minimizing environmental impacts, reducing surface street traffic and providing transportation choices to the public,” the Working Group noted.

The Working Group began meeting in September 2014. Members include Stephen Acker, Geoffrey Baum, Joel Bryant, Alan Clelland, Sarah Gavit, David Grannis and Jennifer Higginbotham.

The group identified the following specific recommendations that the project should concentrate on:

Light Rail Transit (LRT)
Expanded Bus Service
Local Street Network (LSN) Improvements
Bicycle Transit

The March 9 letter said the tunnel option “is not a preferred alternative for Pasadena.”

“Whether the tunnel proposal would reduce congestion and north-south corridor travel times rather than simply shift existing traffic onto a newly created route without measurable improvements to the network or positive impact on local traffic in Pasadena could not be determined,” the group noted.

Metro has released the SR-710 Draft Environmental Impact Report/Environmental Impact Statement (DEIR) and is now accepting comments on it. Go to http://www.metro.net/projects/sr-710-conversations for more information.

Metro will conduct a public hearing on the DEIR in Pasadena on Tuesday, April 14, at the Pasadena Convention Center, 300 E. Green Street. Map viewing will be from 5 to 6 p.m., followed by the public hearing from 6 to 9 p.m.

The day before Metro’s meeting, the Pasadena City Council will include a discussion about the project and the DEIR during its Monday, April 13, 2015 meeting, also to be held at the Pasadena Convention Center, beginning at 6:30 p.m. Both meetings will be recorded by Pasadena Media, www.pasadenamedia.org for broadcast on KPAS, the government cable access TV station, available on Ch. 99 for AT&T U-verse subscribers and Ch. 3 for Charter. The meetings will be streamed on Pasadena Media’s website and the City’s website at www.cityofpasadena.net/Media.

The group urged the Mayor and City Manager to consider including their alternatives in the City’s official response back to Metro for the DEIR.