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Community Corner

South Pasadena Residents Speak Out Against Metro

Metro representatives faced tough questions from crowd at the SR-710 community meeting on Wednesday evening.

Metro officials faced another tough crowd at Wednesday’s SR-710 community meeting at . The meeting was part of the second series of SR-710 conversations sponsored by Metro entitled, “Protecting Communities through an Environmental Process-CEQA/NEPA.”

The meeting, which drew more than 50 people to South Pasadena High School, was the second of three to be held in the city. The purpose of the second series of meetings is to inform the public of the state and federal requirements for environmental studies, known as CEQA/NEPA, on the freeway-gap closure project. The public is encouraged to participate during the scoping process currently underway, Metro officials said.

The two-hour event drew residents from South Pasadena and its surrounding communities, including El Sereno, La Canada Flintridge, Alhambra and Glendale.

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Several common themes emerged during the questions and answers portion of the event. Many residents shared environmental concerns, contested the legality of the proposed underground tunnel and questioned Metro’s purpose for connecting the 710 and 210 freeways.

Hugo Chavez, an El Sereno resident, suggested that Metro officials change its PowerPoint slides on the CEQA process overview to be the same as the overview provided in the CEQA/NEPA study guide handed out at the meeting. Chavez noticed that there are discrepancies between the information presented and the information distributed by Metro at the meeting.

Find out what's happening in South Pasadenawith free, real-time updates from Patch.

South Pasadena resident and No on 710 coalition member, Joanne Nuckols took the microphone during the talk to share her thoughts on Metro’s proposal to connect the 710 and 210 freeways by a 4 ½ mile underground tunnel between Alhambra and Pasadena. 

“South Pasadena is against any extension of the 710 – tunnel or surface,” Nuckols told the crowd. “We’re in favor of the non-freeway multi-mode alternative.”

Metro along with Los Angeles County transportation officials plan to push for the project despite resistance from the cities of South Pasadena, Glendale, Alhambra and El Sereno.

Metro representative, Mary McCormick informed the crowd of the Metro board’s direction to proceed with an environmental study.

“SR-710 Conversations is a fresh opportunity to engage the public in a process that is preparatory to scoping for this new environmental study,” said McCormick.

Attendees were encouraged to fill out comment cards at the conclusion of the meeting. Comments for scoping will be accepted into the official record through April 14, 2011, two weeks after the last scoping meeting. The three-part series of Metro meetings will conclude on March 30 at Lake Avenue Church in Pasadena.

The final meeting in South Pasadena will take place on Wednesday, March 23 and will be part of the final series of SR-710 conversations entitled, “Scoping: Going on the Record.”

The public is invited to participate in a virtual meeting on March 21 at 6 p.m. For more details visit: http://events.unisfair.com:80/index.jsp?eid=1046&seid=30

Click  for Patch coverage of South Pasadena's last SR-710 meeting.

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