(A
Letter to an MTA Board Member)
Dear Boardmember
Fasana:
Friends of Southern
California's Highways supports the 710 gap closure
project.
Completion of the 710
freeway benefits not only those in the immediate
area, but the region as a whole. If the 710
freeway is completed, it will allow quick and easy
access to I-210. This will provide a bypass
around downtown and much of the city for motorists
needing to travel to the San Fernando Valley and
points beyond. This in turn will relieve
traffic through the East LA Interchange and on 101
and 5 and leave that capacity for those needing to
get to destinations served by those freeways.
It is unfortunate that
there will be a need to displace homes in South
Pasadena to complete this project and our hearts go
out to those people. However, it is also unfortunate
that citizens of communities such as East Los Angeles
have had to suffer the burden of extra and
unnecessary traffic because of the gap in the 710
freeway. To be sensitive, Caltrans has agreed
to many compromises and has done a great deal to
limit the impact of the freeway on South Pasadena.
The 710 freeway gap,
while only a very short section of pavement, is a
vital link in the highway system that must be
completed. This one short project will have a
positive impact on all of Southern California.
Sincerely,
Don Hagstrom
Mike Pratt
Chris Hughes
Directors, Friends of Southern California's Highways
