Caltrans to Hold Parkway Planning Meetings

Residents of South Pasadena who are interested in redesign of the Arroyo Seco Parkway are invited to attend a pair of open houses to be held in Chinatown and South Pasadena next week.

A set of key recommendations for a Draft Corridor Partnership Plan (CPP) have been created by a team of consultants working for Caltrans in partnership with the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG).  This is the second round of public meetings associated with this planning project.

The consultant team, led by the IBI Group, will present an overview of recommendations and seek further community feedback and input prior to finalizing the CPP Report. 

The draft recommendations encompass a broad range of inter-related issues including tourism/economic development, corridor mobility (auto, public transit, bike and pedestrian), safety, historic preservation and the environment.

The Open House meetings will be held:

• Monday, July 23, 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. with refreshments from 6 p.m. to 6:30 pm. Castelar Elementary School, 840 Yale Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012.
• Tuesday, July 24, 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. with refreshments from 6:30 to 7:00 pm. South Pasadena Civic Library Community Room*, 1115 El Centro Street, South Pasadena, CA 91030

More information about the Arroyo Seco Parkway National Scenic Byway can be found here.

For residents of Highland Park, the Arroyo Seco Parkway is known for its treacherous on-ramps, dearth of breakdown lanes and the motorists who often drive along it at dangerous speeds.

In the last year, several fatal accidents have occurred on the Arroyo Seco Parkway. Among the most notable was the death , who burned to death inside her mother's car after it was rear-ended and caught fire in August of 2011.

According to police reports, Ramirez's mother stopped the car in the traveling lane after the car began shaking violently due to a flat tire. There were no breakdown lanes anywhere near where the accident occurred.