More than 550 residents came out to the Pasadena Convention Center for an (Mike Mullen )The Pasadena City Council on Monday night slammed new freeway proposals for the San Gabriel Valley as a crowd of more than 550 cheered them on in a special meeting with regional transportation officials.
Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Agency officials are weighting 12 alternatives for easing congestion near the end of the Long Beach (710) Freeway in Alhambra. The options range from transit improvements to the hotly contested 4.5 mile extension of the 710 to the Foothill (210) Freeway in Pasadena.
Three recently unveiled alternatives drew fire Monday night: A tunnel under Avenue 64 that would connect the 710 to the Ventura (134) Freeway, a highway replacing Avenue 64 and a highway that would start at the 710, run through Huntington Drive and Fair Oaks Avenue to the 210 in Pasadena.
The Pasadena City Council voted unanimously to oppose the new proposals.
someone were trying to fail Jordan Pro Strong more miserably, they couldn have done it, Pasadena City Councilman Victor Gordo told transportation planners.
The meeting room at the Pasadena Convention Center was overflowing, with many residents wearing shirts or waving signs opposing the 710 extension. Residents often jeered at MTA planners Air Jordan 4s as they made their presentation.
Councilman Steve Madison, who represents the West Pasadena area that would be most affected by the proposals, said the city should go further than opposing the new routes. He said it should overturn a voter approved 2001 moratorium favoring a proposed 710 connector.
Madison drew a standing ovation when he said surface or tunnel routes connecting the 710 and 210 non starters and Air Jordan 5 Retro they should be suspended from further study. cities including South Pasadena, La Ca Flintridge and Glendale have long made clear their opposition to a 710 extension, while Alhambra and other cities favor it.
Pasadena remained on the sidelines last year as MTA launched an environmental study because Measure A, approved by city voters in 2001, stated a formal policy that favored an extension of the 710 between the 210 and 10 freeways. The resolution can only be changed or repealed by voters.
City officials suggested Monday they may try to get a repeal measure on the March 2013 ballot.
Members of the City Council repeatedly asked if MTA could accelerate the review process and take some of the alternatives Air Jordan 10s off the table before the study wraps up in 2014.
Michelle Smith, a project manager for MTA, said the alternatives will be winnowed down this fall, with a hearing scheduled before the agency’s board of directors on Oct. 25.
Asked if it could happen sooner, Smith said that isn likely.
already on a very accelerated calendar, Smith said. don start withdrawing proposals from the table before completing our studies. Rivas, a Highland Park resident who has lived on Avenue 64 for Air Jordan 20s 33 years, said she was glad Pasadena officials opposed the routes along her home.
“They listened to us,” Rivas said. “I know we still have a battle ahead of us, but this is the first step.”.