Many Pasadena residents are strongly opposed to on option in the MTA report -- extending the 710 Freeway via an underground tunnel to the 210 Freeway.


Many Pasadena residents are strongly opposed to on option in the MTA report -- extending the 710 Freeway via an underground tunnel to the 210 Freeway.
(January 18, 2013)




































































Los Angeles County transportation officials have released the final version of their analysis of alternatives for closing the so-called 710 gap between Alhambra and Pasadena, setting the stage for more vigorous environmental review.


The analysis by the county Metropolitan Transportation Authority focuses on five options — down from an initial 39 — for reducing traffic and providing better transportation access in the area between the end of the 710 Freeway in Alhambra and the 210 Freeway in Pasadena.


They include a "no build" option, better managing of street traffic flow, bolstering rapid bus and light rail transit, and constructing a controversial tunnel to connect the freeways.





The California Department of Transportation — which acquired about 500 homes in Pasadena, South Pasadena and Los Angeles since the 1970s with the intention of building a surface freeway to close the 710 gap — has said that once the Alternatives Analysis Report is released, it will be able to identify some surplus homes and move to sell them.


The MTA will hold three community open houses to share the report's information: from 6 to 8 p.m. Jan. 23 at Maranantha High School, from 6 to 8 p.m. Jan. 24 at San Marino Community Church, and from 9 to 11 a.m. Jan. 26 in the Golden Eagle Building at Cal State L.A. MTA representatives will talk about the five options that will be carried into the Draft Environmental Impact Report, which is expected to be completed by early 2014.


daniel.siegal@latimes.com