council letter

Dear Sirs:

The Crescenta Valley Town Council is strongly opposed to the 710 Tunnel Project and the technical study, which is underway.

While the first letter, sent May 17, 2007, has not had a response, let us be clear in this correspondence. As elected representatives of the unincorporated area in La Crescenta, we have recently held a public meeting in which there was strong opposition to the 710 Tunnel Project. We request that our opposition be acknowledged and filed along with other Foothill Communities.

It is estimated by experts that the 210 freeway thru the Crescenta Valley would bear the brunt of the traffic and congestion resulting from the completion of the 710 tunnel. This is not acceptable to us and we cannot see any type of mitigation that would ease this unequal burden that our community is asked to bear. Congestion, noise, and pollution from the additional traffic is unacceptable to our community.

Additionally, we are strongly opposed to the study in progress. Studying five zones, at an approximate cost of $10 million, is wasteful and irresponsible, with funds that could be better used elsewhere in our state, especially during this time of budget crisis. More consideration should be given to the way taxpayer money is spent and the way taxpayer concerns are addressed. It appears that this project has been decided upon and the “study” is merely a way to waste our money on a project not supported by a majority of municipalities.

We support the alternate plan, proposed by Supervisor Michael Antonovich more than ten years ago, which would move containers from LA Ports to an inland site in Lancaster via rail. This would alleviate traffic congestion from many parts of Los Angeles as well as our community.

Sincerely,

Steve Pierce, President