Transportation Advisory Commission to Review “710 Vision Plan” for Relinquished Freeway Stub

The Transportation Advisory Commission meets on Thursday to review the Reconnecting Pasadena 710 Vision Plan, a proposal integrating the 50-acre SR-710 freeway stub back into the city. The Commission will consider providing comments to the City Council.

The Vision Plan culminates a three-year effort to repair historical harm caused by the freeway’s construction, which displaced vibrant, primarily African American, Japanese American, and Mexican American neighborhoods in West Pasadena. The Transportation Commission serves in an advisory capacity; any recommendations it makes go to the City Council, which holds final authority over the plan’s adoption.

A central element of the proposed 710 Vision Plan focuses on physical reconnection and mobility. To prevent regional traffic spilling into local neighborhoods, the plan proposes disconnecting the 710 Stub from the northern freeway interchange. The preferred intervention, developed with Caltrans, introduces a large-scale roundabout north of the interchange, allowing vehicles exiting the I-210 and SR-134 freeways to slow down safely before entering the local street network.

The plan outlines two primary land use and circulation alternatives: “Gardens and Terraces” and “Boulevards and Paseos.” Both options emphasize affordable housing, commercial spaces, and multi-modal transit connections, providing capacity for roughly 1,800 multi-family housing units.

The “Boulevards and Paseos” option, the preferred circulation model, includes a central boulevard, a west-side linear park, and direct ramp connections to the remaining freeway legs.

The Vision Plan also incorporates the city’s first Restorative Justice Framework, developed using historical research and oral histories documenting the displacement of residents and businesses. The plan aims to honor this history while promoting economic vitality, sustainability, and climate resiliency.

City officials emphasize the Vision Plan establishes aspirational goals. Moving forward, the city must coordinate closely with Caltrans, Metro, and stakeholders to execute specific actions, including project initiation agreements for ramp closures, a potential multi-level transit mobility hub, and Transportation Demand Management strategies.

The Transportation Advisory Commission meets at 4:00 P.M. on Thursday, March 26, 2026, in the City Hall Basement: Grand Conference Room # S038, 100 North Garfield Avenue, in Pasadena.

For more information call (626) 744-7311 or visit https://cityofpasadena.net/commissions/agendas/.