Freeway Link Would Not Help That Much

I live in South Pasadena, one block off of Fremont Avenue. I have regularly driven Fremont and Atlantic down to the freeway, at rush hours and other times. With one exception, I have found traffic brisk but bearable--especially in comparison to West L.A. (where I work). That exception is the Fremont/Valley Boulevard intersection. The horrendous backups there are the result of a single eccentricity. North/south traffic off the 710 has no choice but to dog-leg to and from Fremont.

Now I would agree that the problem can be solved by the freeway extension. It would also be solved by an overpass at the intersection or by a simple one-block arterial route to Mission Road, either at 1/100th the cost of the proposed freeway.

Alhambra officials give us a very grim traffic volume forecast for these streets over the next decade (Times, Oct. 15).I think that those figures are absurd on their face, but let’s take them at face value. They tell us that an already painful traffic flow will triple by 2000 without the freeway, but still double even with the freeway. That tells me that the freeway is no panacea.

ARTHUR FLEMMING

South Pasadena