‘Avoid the area’: Traffic delays expected as major events coincide with 210 Freeway rehab
This weekend, with at least four major events expected to draw tens of thousands of visitors to La Cañada and Pasadena’s Rose Bowl, transportation officials advise residents to plan ahead and exercise patience on the roadway.
On Saturday morning, La Cañada’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory begins its two-day Ticket to Explore JPL tour, anticipated to draw up to 18,000 visitors each day. Just three miles away, Descanso Gardens begins its annual Rose Festival Saturday morning, with about 3,200 timed tickets allotted for each day.
Some surface streets in La Cañada will be temporarily closed between 11 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. Saturday, with more closures planned for Pasadena, as more than 130 bicyclists in the 2017 Amgen Tour of California men’s race from Sacramento to Pasadena rush to the finish line.
Meanwhile, the rock band U2 performs at the 92,500-seat Rose Bowl Stadium at 6:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. The traffic forecast could be complicated further by the ongoing rehabilitation by Caltrans of the Foothill (210) Freeway, which has caused the closure of numerous onramps and offramps between Sun Valley and Pasadena.
Caltrans spokeswoman Karina Vargas said the agency’s engineers have contacted representatives of JPL and the city of Pasadena about the anticipated uptick in traffic.
Two recent 210 closures near the Rose Bowl — La Cañada’s Berkshire Avenue onramp and the offramp at Arroyo Boulevard in Pasadena — are scheduled to reopen Saturday at 5 a.m., weather permitting.
“We are partnering with Pasadena to see what we can do for congestion on (city) streets,” Vargas said Friday. “We’re advising people to plan ahead and check live traffic conditions through QuickMaps.”
For those not attending this weekend’s events, Vargas offered her recommendations.
“Avoid the area,” she said. “And for the freeway, definitely plan ahead and check your travel time.”
Twitter: @SaraCardine
