Highland Park's Neighbor Seeks Support on Bill Pertaining to 710 Freeway

The South Pasadena city council is urging residents of Northeast Los Angeles and the San Gabriel Valley to e-mail legislators in support of State Assembly Bill 353, a bill which would allow the City of South Pas to veto any proposed freeway within its jurisdiction, including the controversial 710 freeway extension.

The bill is scheduled to go before the California Assembly Committee Monday. 

"This is important for all those concerned about the tunnel and freeway and for those who want to make sure it doesn't come through their community," Mayor Mike Ten told Patch early Wednesday morning. "They [the cities of South Pasadena, Los Angeles, Pasadena and Alhambra] currently don't have a right to say no, they need to know that there is a bill coming on Monday."

Ten wrote to Senator Kevin de Leon and South Pas state representative and Assemblyman Anthony Portantino on April 14 asking both to co-author the bill "as it repeals Section 100.4 of the Streets and Highways Code." 

"It's not fair. We should have a say," said Robin Finkelstein, who has lived on Fremont Avenue in South Pasadena for the past four years. Finkelstein is against the freeway, saying it will put a lot of people out of homes.

While Ten also opposes the 710 freeway, he is undecided about the tunnel. 

"I've always been against the freeway; I fought it when I was in high school, and I'm fighting it again today," he said. "The concept of the tunnel is promising, but all that will come out in scoping." 

More importantly, however, he is encouraging elected representatives to get involved and show support for Bill 353.

"I've been calling, but I'm not getting any help — no responses from councilmen in other places. This is a bill we worked hard to get up there," said Ten. "If it doesn't get passed on Monday, then the bill is dead. It's the last time in this decade that anyone will consider removing this exclusion."

Early November, the South Pas City Council voted  stating its opposition to "any proposal, surface or subsurface to extend the SR 710 freeway." Opponents of the freeway cite disruption and environmental issues, while supporters believe it could help free traffic in certain areas of the city. 

In December, Trisha Gossett read the Historic Highland Park Neighborhood Council's resolution opposing the tunnel before the Los Angeles MTA board of directors.

"We join the Cities of Glendale, South Pasadena and La Canada Flintridge, the Neighborhood Councils of Arroyo Seco [which represents the neighborhood of Mount Washington], Glassell Park and Sunland Tujunga, as well as many other community groups and government entities, in urging the Los Angeles City Council to take a stronger stand against this destructive, ineffective project, currently estimated to cost in the range of $14 billion," Gossett read. 

State assemblyman Gil Cedillo is carrying this year's repeal bill. His office expects the bill to clear the committee without amendments next week, according to Neon Tommy.