SPRING 2011

SR-710 FREEWAY GAP CLOSURE UPDATE

Some of the opponents to the completion of the SR-710 Freeway Gap Closure are advocating for a Multi-Mode Low Build Alternative to the proposed tunnel project that is currently under study.

THE CITY OF ALHAMBRA DOES NOT SUPPORT THE MULTI-MODE LOW BUILD ALTERNATIVE.

In fact, in 1996 Cal Trans published a report: "State Route 710: A Model Evaluation of the City of South Pasadena's Multi-Mode Low Build Proposal." At that time (15 years ago), the report concluded that "the Low Build Proposal proposes spending a significant amount of money ($319 million) to get a negative or at best a negligible benefit in almost all the categories."

The committee which completed this report was composed of technical staff from all cities in the affected corridor, and technical representatives from SCAG, California Department of Transportation (Caltrans), Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA), Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and consultants representing the City of South Pasadena.

The report noted that the central question that needs to be aked when assessing the impact of different alternatives and proposals, and the question that transportation demand modeling attempts to answer, is: "How does implementing this particular project or scenario affect the operation of the transportation system?" In assessing these impacts, the comparison is always against the impact of doing nothing, or in our case of implementing the No Build Alternative. From this perspective, the Build Alternative demonstrates specific advantages over the No Build Alternative.

Advantages of the BUILD ALTERNATIVE over the NO BUILD ALTERNATIVE identified in the report:

• Traffic flow on the streets within the corridor would be less congested. (By contrast, the Low Build Multi-Modal Proposal in many ways makes matters worse, because traffic along city streets in the corridor would be more congested than when doing nothing at all.)
• Building the Route 710 would relieve some of the bottlenecks in north-south traffic through the region by relieving Route 5 through downtown Los Angeles and in the San Fernando Valley. (By contrast, the Low Build Multi-Modal Proposal would do nothing at all or actually worsen the congestion on the freeways that remain. Also with the Low Build proposal, patronage of the Pasadena Blue Line would go up, but overall transit usage would go down).

A subsequent report, published in 1998, provides additional information about the negative effects of the Multi-Modal Low Build Proposal on local streets. It states that:

• The Low Build Proposal would cause heavy congestion on a number of city streets in the City of Alhambra and in the community of El Sereno.
• The Low Build Proposal treats Alhambra and Pasadena differently. In Alhambra, the Build Alternative is extended to 1/4 mile to Mission Road/Alhambra Avenue. While it does move more regional traffic and relieves the Valley Boulevard/Fremont Avenue intersection, it would put regional traffic on residential streets. For example to the northeast, Concord Avenue and Westminster Avenue peak period speeds on the No Build and Build Alternatives are just below this free flow condition. In comparison, the Low Build Proposal drops the speeds, and adds significant through volumes.
• To the northwest in El Sereno, the street system is circuitous with many streets outletting onto Alhambra Avenue. The Low Build Propoal attracts eight to nine thousand additional trips that migrate through the residential areas of El Sereno.

It is a two-year study is to consider all practical routes for extending the SR-710 using a tunnel based on soil and subsurface conditions in the study area, which includes the cities of Alhambra, Glendale, La Cañada Flintridge, Los Angeles, Monterey Park, San Marino, Pasadena and South Pasadena.

SR-710 Tunnel Study Information Office
3412 North Eastern Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90032

Tel: 323-222-1710
Fax: 323-222-9710
Toll Free: 877-710-4111

Office Hours: Monday - Friday, 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. Closed holidays.