After withdrawing support for a controversial extension of the 710 Freeway, Los Angeles Metro is asking cities for local road improvements to improve traffic flow in its stead.
This May, the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority board voted down a long-standing proposal to link the two "dead ends" of the 710 Freeway in El Sereno and Pasadena. With a final decision from Caltrans expected early next year, affected cities are already submitting alternative proposals to ease traffic in the area.
Steve Scauzillo writes, "The authority will have about $1 billion or more to spend on 710 corridor projects, with about $740 million left from an allocation from 2008's Measure R sales tax, and the rest from state and federal sources."
Cities like Pasadena, South Pasadena, Alhambra, and La Canada Flintridge, as well as the El Sereno neighborhood of L.A., have until December 31 to submit early project lists to Metro. Next March, Metro's board will review a full plan.
The proposed improvements mostly respond to rush hour traffic hotspots. "South Pasadena has finalized a wish list of road and transit improvements that includes a new 110 Freeway onramp, widening Fair Oaks Avenue by removing curb extensions and building two bridges spanning intersections where the Metro Gold Line light-rail train holds up city traffic."
FULL STORY: With the 710 Freeway extension looking dead, South Pasadena is dreaming up new ways to fix the commute
After a Failed Freeway Plan, Alternatives Prove Controversial
With plans to extend California's 710 Freeway off the table, cities in the path have been awarded funds for alternative road projects. But residents of San Marino aren't all on board.
L.A. Metro Board Removes Support for Controversial 710 Freeway Tunnel Plan
The saga of the 710 Freeway will continue, as it has for decades. Now, however, a proposal to build a 6.3-mile tunnel from El Sereno to Pasadena, has lost key support from the regional transportation agency.
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.
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