Freeway Promoters Ignore History

The Automobile Club of Southern California, Caltrans and sundry Chambers of Commerce hope the residents of Foothill communities between Los Angeles and San Bernardino counties were born yesterday.

Those enthusiastic for completing the link between Interstate 210 and Interstate 215 ignore history when they promote another freeway to ease congestion brought on by growth aided by fuzzy thinking.

When we moved to Pomona in 1953, the San Bernardino Freeway was about to bisect the city. It too promised to relieve congestion on city streets. And it did, temporarily. Soon, north-south streets were clobbered with morning and evening traffic scrambling on and off I-10. And the developers moved in to Upland, Ontario, Chino and points east.

By 1960, I-10 was a parking lot mornings, afternoons and weekends. So the Pomona Freeway came along to “relieve” us. Again, the developers planted more houses and shopping centers north and south of California 60. Now it, too, and the adjacent surface streets are rush-hour parking lots.

I hope my neighbors in La Verne and Claremont are successful in turning things around. The $800 million planned for closing the gap between I-210 and I-215 would be better invested in surface rail transportation that gets commuters out of their cars.

It’s my wishful thought. It probably won’t float as long as paving contractors and developers are lobbying every government entity for more parking space.

LOUIS ST. MARTIN

Pomona