South Pasadena residents and members of a group opposing current plans of extending the 710 Freeway got a glimpse of an ambitious idea that, in concept, would not only provide a green alternative, but also transform the region's transportation infrastructure.

Roughly 20 people gathered at the South Pasadena Public Library to take in a presentation from the No on 710 Action Committee entitled “A Forum on Environmentally Superior Alternatives to Proposed Urban Transportation Projects in the Los Angeles Megaregion.”

The Gabriel River Infrastructure Development (GRID) Project would be a series of projects that would involve undertakings ranging from dramatically reducing truck traffic on freeways to modernizing port systems in place, said David Alba, one of the project's designers. The design would unite infrastructures in trade, energy, communities, goods and transportation, he added.

“What where talking about is linking infrastructure instead of putting it together piecemeal,” said Alba, one of the project’s system designers. “I mention the San Gabriel River, even though we’re talking about the 710, because they both run north and south.”

One of the first major steps of the project would be to use freight-bearing “pipeline technology” under the San Gabriel River network to ease freeway-clogging truck traffic – in theory, forming a subterranean cargo-moving network that would be relatively invisible, noiseless and without pollution. Alba said that freight tunnels have a 100-year history, citing efforts in Chicago on one of his presentation slides.

“This isn’t new technology,” he said. “It’s been done before, and we can do it again.”

The other parts of the GRID Project include an electric commuter line through the San Gabriel River system, clearing out blight along the river by transferring the power lines underground and outfitting ports with a much faster and efficient train unloading system.

There was little talk of cost in the presentation, but Alba said one of the major hurdles in cost analysis was the level of expertise in each of the infrastructures. He also said that whatever the cost would be, it would be shared among various entities. One of the keys for the project would be having it deemed as a “project of national significance” by the U.S. government, which he compared to a city being awarded the Olympics. Once a project has that designation, he said, it gets put on a “fast track” to completion.

And if, many years down the road, the project is a success, Alba said the impact could extend well past what happens with freeways and tunnels.

 “The success will spark the next wave of thinking,” he said. “We are now moving on to the next paradigm. Freeways have, more or less, served their purpose for the 70 years they’ve served the infrastructure.”

And it’s that brand of new thinking that excites Harry Knapp, former mayor and city councilman for South Pasadena, as well as a member of the No on 710 Action Committee.

“We’ve been talking about multi-modal projects since 1992,” he said. “This is the 'nth' degree of multi-modal. All of the projects being talked about now just expand on the current infrastructure. This is ,‘Let’s trash everything and start over.’ Let’s wipe off everything on the table and start over. The system needs something like this. “

Waynna Kato, another South Pasadena resident and member of the No on 710 Action Committee, said a presentation like Alba’s is also a way to show that the committee is aware of its not-in-my-backyard appearance to some.

“We have a NIMBY reputation, and we’re trying to change that,” she said.