Planning for a proposal to expand truck and vehicle capacity on the I-710 Freeway in Southern California has reached a critical juncture in the process.
Staff members of the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority recently completed a report that supports a plan to widen the 710 Freeway near the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach—a critical corridor of freight traffic that drives the regional and national economies.
"In a report to the agency's board of directors, Metro staff urged support for a massive, $6-billion proposal that would add a lane in each direction along the 710 between Ocean Boulevard in Long Beach and the 60 Freeway in East Los Angeles," reports Laura J. Nelson. "The price tag is one of the largest for a freeway widening project in county history."
The plan calls for changes to all 24 major streets that cross the 710 as well as changes to three freeway interchanges. "A new, separated lane would allow truckers to bypass commuter traffic near the 405," adds Nelson.
The plan has sparked a strong reaction among neighborhood activists along the route, who say the plan would exacerbate pollution and displace residents.
For a scathing critique of the project, see coverage from January 2016 by Brian Addison. Coverage this week by Joe Linton offers a platform to the project's opponents. For institutional coverage, see an article by Steve Hymon and the I-710 Corridor Project website.
FULL STORY: Metro staff support a $6-billion widening of the 710 Freeway
A Traffic Solution 'Straight Out of the 1950s'
That's how the Los Angeles Times editorial board characterized the $6 billion plan by Los Angeles Metro to widen the 710 freeway. "A waste of money," they assert. Key to the solution is how to deal with goods movement from the seaport complex.
Southern California Freeway Expansion Plans Scrapped
After more than a decade of planning, Caltrans has officially dropped the I-710 Corridor Project, a plan to widen Interstate 710 for a long stretch of the freeway near the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach.
LA Metro Board Approves New 710 Freeway Plan
The newest plan for the 710 corridor claims it will not displace any residents.
The state-sanctioned urbicide of Austin
People don’t kill cities. Freeways do.
US to reduce Colorado River water deliveries to Mexico
A new Colorado Treaty amendment reduces Mexico’s Colorado River water allocation by 250,000 acre feet.
New Jersey’s second-largest city bans standalone data centers
Jersey City will continue to allow co-location facilities, such as those meant for research institutions that store their own data.
Amtrak not solely to blame for New Jersey commuter rail's unreliability, report finds
A new study from the Garden State Initiative found that NJ Transit’s budget grew 20% across a 4 year period, but reliability declined significantly over the same period.
EPA erases limits on planet-warming pollution from power plants
Under Monday’s plan, power plants would still have some limits on how much mercury, arsenic and other contaminants they can emit.
Phoenix announces new on-demand transit service, more frequent RAPID buses
Both new services will launch in October, and are part of Phoenix's Project Effective Access Solutions for Easing Congestion.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
Eagle County Government
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
Nashville Planning Department
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello
Journal of the American Planning Association