South Pasadena : Compromise on Freeway

Although the City Council reaffirmed last week its commitment to block a 710 Freeway connector, some residents suggested it is time for the city to make the best of the inevitable.

“The City Council finds it inconceivable that any freeway connector can be designed that would be acceptable to us and to our neighbors,” a council statement read. It urged independent consultants to “develop the existing network of thoroughfares” to relieve traffic.

But Noreen Carter argued that the council’s blanket opposition to all freeway connectors lacks foresight. Redesigning existing streets to accommodate a heavier traffic load, as the council suggested, would lead to even worse congestion, she said.

William Edmundson said Caltrans “is going to build the freeway regardless of what South Pasadena wants” so the council should formulate a plan for the least destructive route.