City Council to Meet in Convention Center to Discuss 710 Freeway

The Pasadena City Council will conduct a special meeting focused on the  “SR-710 Study” project on Monday, August 13. The meeting is scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m. at the Pasadena Convention Center, 300 E. Green St., in the Conference Building, Rooms101-105, on the lower level.  The Council is holding the meeting off-site from the Council Chambers at City Hall to accommodate a larger audience.

The current SR-710 Study is in an early phase of analysis.  The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) is the lead local agency for the study.  The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) is the lead state agency.  While Pasadena, its residents and businesses will be directly impacted if the project is built, the project is not under local control by the City.

Information from Metro’s website indicates the project is in a pre-Draft Environmental Impact Report (EIR) stage.  Metro is working with technical advisors, the public and other stakeholders to help determine alternative concepts and routes for further study and environmental analysis.  Metro’s schedule shows it plans to begin writing the Draft EIR later this year and to have Public Hearings on the document completed by the end of 2013.

A primary goal of the project is to complete the I-710 Freeway “gap” by building an extension through Pasadena that connects the freeway with other transportation corridors — including possible connections to the I-210 Freeway or Highway 134 — to help alleviate congestion and improve mobility in the overall study area bounded by State Route 2 and the Interstate 10, 210 and 605 Freeways.  Options for the 4.5-mile “gap” include surface-level roadways as well as a tunnel bored underneath South Pasadena and Pasadena.  Caltrans has sought since the 1960s to build an I-710 Freeway connection route.

In addition to the Council’s Aug. 13 meeting, the public can attend “Community Liaison Council” meetings hosted by Metro.  A Community Liaison Council meeting in Pasadena is planned from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., Wednesday, Aug. 8 at the Chef’s Center building, 45 N. San Gabriel Blvd.  Also on Aug. 8, another Community Liaison Council will be held from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at the Alhambra Library, 101 S. First St., Alhambra.  Check Metro’s website at www.metro.net/sr710study for updated information on times and locations for these meetings.

Community Liaison Council meetings are informal discussion groups hosted by Metro, but organized by interested members of the public.  The sessions will include information about the status of the study and the alternative route process.  For more information about Community Liaison Council meetings or to learn about organizing similar sessions, contact Metro by email to sr710study@metro.net.

Pasadena City Council member Steve Madison also plans to hold two meetings on the freeway project, including:

District 6 Forum—The 710 Freeway, 7:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., Sept. 18, at the Pasadena Convention Center; and
District 6 Quarterly Town Hall Meeting, 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.,  Sept. 25, Braun Auditorium, Westridge School, 324 Madeline Drive

The next meeting for Metro’s Technical Advisory Committee is set for 1:30 p.m., Aug. 29 at the Los Angeles County Department of Public Works, Conference Room C, 900 S. Fremont Ave., Alhambra.

KPAS, the City’s government access TV station, will broadcast the meeting live on Channel 3 for Charter cable subscribers and on Channel 99 on the AT&T U-verse system.  The broadcast will be streamed live on the City’s website at www.cityofpasadena.net/CouncilAgendas/Video and can be viewed by clicking the link that says “Watch KPAS Live.”