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News Super-Sized Cargo-Carrying I-710 Advances As MTA Board OKs Preparation of EIR/EIS
(June 24, 2006) -- With MTA Boardmember 1st district Councilwoman Bonnie Lowenthal joining in the vote, an I-710 freeway with ten "mixed flow" lanes (trucks + cars) + four exclusive truck lanes (two in each direction) took a major step forward when the MTA's Board of Directors voted on June 22 to authorize a $30 million Environmental Impact Review/Environmental Impact Study (EIR/EIS) for the 18-mile-long project between the Port of Long Beach and the Pomona (60) Freeway.
When EIR/EIS document is completed and approved, it will pave the way to expand the freeway...and effectively increase the goods movement capacity of the Ports of LB and L.A. Below are the sources that will provide funding for the I-710 EIR/EIS:
- MTA, Caltrans, Gateway Cities Council of Governments, and the Ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles ($5 million each).
- The I-5 Joint Powers Authority ($2 million)
- Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) (committed $1 million, plus $2 million in-kind)
- The Port of Los Angeles (committed an additional $1 million to develop an advanced container technology transportation project)
A LB City Hall press release quotes four LB elected officials:
- LB Mayor Beverly O'Neill: "This is a significant milestone for the I-710 Freeway. The freeway has long needed to be improved, both in terms of safely transporting goods and people, and in terms of health considerations. As this project has been a priority for me since I first became Mayor, I am delighted to see the I-710 improvement process finally move forward."
- 1st dist Councilman/MTA Boardmember Bonnie Lowenthal: "Improvements to the I-710 will require a strong collaboration among many different agencies and community representatives working together to realize a desperately-needed solution for all the communities along the I-710. This collaboration will address safety as well as environmental issues while improving the goods movement congestion that occurs now and is expected to worsen over the coming years."
- 7th dist. Councilwoman Tonia Reyes Uranga, who chairs the City Council's I-710 Oversight Committee and was recently appointed as a voting member of the South Coast Air Quality Management District governing board: "Our region needs an effective system to safely allow for the transportation of people and goods, but not at the expense of communities along the I-710 corridor. The I-710 improvements are the culmination of unprecedented collaborative efforts by communities and agencies to improve air quality throughout the region by reducing congestion."
- 9th dist. Councilman Val Lerch: "As a Councilmember who has a significant portion of the I-710 in my district, I am looking forward to beginning the EIR/EIS process, which will provide important information about the environmental impacts of this project on our community."
The MTA board vote came two days after Councilmembers B. Lowenthal, Reyes Uranga and Lerch, with explicit support from Mayor O'Neill, were part of a 5-2 vote (Gabelich, O'Donnell dissenting) that certified an EIR paving the way to nearly double the size of LB Airport's permanent terminal area facilities.
A key development in the I-710 expansion project came in 2004 when (as detailed by LBReport.com archived coverage below) the I-710 Tier 2 Advisory Committee -- appointed by I-710 corridor communities and the Gateway Cities Council of Governments I-710 Oversight Policy Committee and comprised of academic, environmental, business, community and environmental justice stakeholders (full list below) -- delivered a major 80 page report. That report and subsequent developments, recorded and archived in LBReport.com coverage below, recommended making public health the overriding consideration in the I-710 project and urged that the I-710 project NOT proceed until health issues were dealt with first.
Local officials now routinely refer to health issues in the context of the I-710 and goods movement (as in LB officials quoted above; LB City Hall's press release also says the EIR/EIS will "include community involvement, incorporate a Health Risk Assessment, and assess advanced container technologies such as Maglev") but have not implemented the report's recommendation to make health the expansion project's overriding consideration.
The City of LB's press release on the latest I-710 development doesn't mention the report; we some an excerpt and links from LBReport.com's archived coverage:
(October 7, 2004) -- On September 30, 2004, the Oversight Policy Committee (OPC) of the Gateway Cities Council of Governments (Gateway COG) met in Carson. The OPC, co-chaired by LB Councilman Frank Colonna, will ultimately decide on what policies and plans will be followed as part of a massive project to increase the capacity of the I-710 freeway.
At the Sept. 30 meeting, members of the Tier 2 Community Advisory Committee unveiled a report remarkable in its scope and content. The Committee's report said its "guiding principles define the priorities of the Tier 2 Committee and reflect the consensus that emerged during this process." [emphasis follows in original]
1. This is a corridor -- considerations go beyond the freeway and infrastructure.
2. Health is the overriding consideration.
3. Every action should be viewed as an opportunity for repair and improvement of the current situation.
...[T]he I-710 corridor is more than just a place for trucks to pass through on their way to their final destination. It is the location of our homes, businesses, schools, parks, and lives. Today, particulates and other pollutants from diesel truck traffic in the I-710 Corridor and the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles are our communities’ primary air-quality-related health concern...
LBReport.com posts extended excerpts of the Tier 2 Committee Report Executive Summary and a link to its full text below:
[begin excerpted text]
Excerpts from I - 710 / MAJOR CORRIDOR STUDY
Tier 2 Community Advisory Committee
Major Opportunity/Strategy Recommendations and Conditions
August, 2004
TIER 2 COMMITTEE MEMBERS
Glenna J. Amos*
City of South Gate
Harold Arsenian*
City of Vernon
Dr. Ed Avol
USC School of Medicine
Hamid Bahadori
Automobile Club of Southern
California
Gerald Burgess*
City of Paramount
Victor Caballero*
City of Huntington Park
Gustavo Camacho*
East Los Angeles
Malcolm Carson
Legal Aid Foundation of Los
Angeles
Roberto Chavez*
City of Compton
Louis Diaz
International Brotherhood of
Teamsters
Clifford Dunbar*
City of Bell Gardens
Bob Eula*
City of Commerce
Belinda Faustinos
San Gabriel and Lower Los
Angeles Rivers and Mountains
Conservancy
Larry Galvan*
City of Cudahy
Julie C. Gonzalez*
City of Bell
Steve Goodling
Long Beach Area Convention
and Visitors Bureau
Patricia Herrera*
City of Long Beach
Roger Holman*
City of Long Beach
Alan Hose*
City of Long Beach
Tom Houston*
City of Compton
Randy Kendrick
City of Bell
Bobbi Kimble*
City of Long Beach
Angelo Logan
Coalition for Environmental
Health and Justice
Dr. Joseph Magaddino
California State University at
Long Beach
Mandy McLaughlin*
City of Compton
Dr. Domenick Miretti
Marine Clerks Association
Dr. Elisa Nicholas
Long Beach Alliance for
Children with Asthma
Harold Omel*
City of Long Beach
Servando Ornelas*
East Los Angeles
Bill Pagett
Technical Advisory Committee
Chair
Noel Park
San Pedro Peninsula
Homeowners Coalition
Ray Park*
City of Carson
Luis Romero*
City of Maywood
Patty Senecal
Transport Express
Harold Tseklenis*
City of Downey
Linda Vitale*
City of Long Beach
Rod White*
City of Lynwood
Harold Williams
South Bay Council of
Governments
*Designated Tier 1 Community Advisory Committee Member representing corridor communities.
Note: Some communities had a change in representatives during the process
Executive Summary
INTRODUCTION
...The following guiding principles define the priorities of the Tier 2 Committee and reflect the consensus that emerged during this process:
1. This is a corridor -- considerations go beyond the freeway and infrastructure.
2. Health is the overriding consideration.
3. Every action should be viewed as an opportunity for repair and improvement of the current situation.
The Committee recognizes that something must be done to address the current congestion and design of the I-710 freeway. The high number of trucks on the freeway uses up capacity and the mix of cars and trucks poses a serious safety concern. The committee agrees that the hybrid design concept presented could accomplish maximum build out in a manner that reflects the Tier 1 CACs’ concerns and recommendations for their communities, with the exception of the City of Commerce and East Los Angeles area, which require further study. However, the I-710 corridor is more than just a place for trucks to pass through on their way to their final destination. It is the location of our homes, businesses, schools, parks, and lives. Today, particulates and other pollutants from diesel truck traffic in the I-710 Corridor and the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles are our communities’ primary air-quality-related health concern...
The full 80 page report can be viewed at: Tier 2 Advisory Committee Final Report (pdf file)
Nov. 2004: Councilwoman Reyes Uranga Seeks Backing For Sweeping I-710 "Tier 2" Report That Advises Making Health Overriding Consideration In Capacity-Increasing Corridor Upgrades
Nov. 2004: Key Gateway Cities Panel Backs I-710 Expansion Plan, Stops Short of Tier 2 Recommendation To Condition Project On Meeting Fed'l & State Air Quality Stds. First
Residents along the I-710 corridor did succeed in forcing changes to the physical configuration of the I-710 expansion project -- supported by LB City Hall and the City Council -- which allowed the project to proceed while consuming fewer homes.
The MTA Board’s June 22 vote authorizes MTA staff to issue a Request for Proposals, which begins the approximately three-year process of generating the EIR/EIS.
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