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Compton
Traffic Improvements Included in I-710 Corridor Strategy
Study completed;
locally preferred strategy identified
By
Cheryl Scott
Bulletin Staff Writer
The Los Angeles
County Metropolitan Transportation, the Gateway Cities Council of Governments
and a host of other government agencies have just completed a massive
study of the I-710 Freeway from the Port of Long Beach to East Los Angeles.
The study’s purpose was to identify a multi-level strategy for
improving traffic along the state’s oldest freeway, as well as
improve air quality and transportation arterials in the cities through
which it passes.
The report has opened the way for the launch of the second phase
of the I-710 Improvement Project, which will provide direction for Gateway
Cities and member governments to prepare a scope of work and funding plan
for an environmental review process. This phase could take up to three
years and will cost about $30 million.
The Gateway Cities Board of Directors is comprised of members of
the city councils of the cities in the corridor study area as well as representatives
of local transportation agencies. Councilman Isadore Hall is Compton’s
representative.
“Our first priority is to make sure that there are no adverse environmental
effects in Compton due to the planned improvements on the freeway,” Hall
told The Bulletin. “Gateway Cities has a staff member working with
each city to determine projects that would be of particular benefit
to their communities. The process will result in a plan that we hope will
incorporate some of the things that need funding in our community.
I definitely
think Compton Creek will be one of those projects.”
The I-710 affects the cities of Compton, Carson, Long Beach, Lynwood,
Paramount, Rancho Dominguez, Bell, Bell Gardens, Commerce, Cudahy, Downey,
East Los Angeles, Huntington Park, Maywood, South Gate and Vernon.
“Improving air quality and public health are primary concerns of
the Gateway Cities area of Southeast Los Angeles County,” said Executive
Director Richard Powers. “This is especially critical in all the
communities that border the I-710 Freeway, and the conclusion of
the Major Corridor Study (MCS) represents a huge step toward improved air
quality
and environmental justice for these communities.”
Environmental justice is a concept that has gained a firm base among
transportation agencies and advocacy groups. Its goal is to balance the
broad-based economic benefits from the flow of freight through the area
with the negative effects felt by the local communities.
“The I-710 Corridor is a major thoroughfare for freight to and from
the port to the railway connections in Los Angeles,” said Powers. “As
such, it benefits the entire country. But the communities along that
route bear most of the negative effects of high truck traffic — poor
air quality, noise, pollution and the traffic itself, which overburdens
local
freeway access streets and arterials.”
Last year Gateway Cities released a report on the study indicating
that diesel emissions are among the top challenges to cities located near
the freeway. Traffic congestion, truck traffic and traffic safety were
also identified as targets for improvement.
“Air pollution from the I-710 traffic already poses a health hazard
to nearby communities,” said Powers. “This fact is confirmed
by data supplied by health care providers in the area, which report
an increase in respiratory diseases, especially in children.”
The study’s proposed solutions will include air quality improvement
strategies and meet the requirements of sound highway construction, incorporating
the wishes of residents that address health concerns and congestion.
A big component of the project will be the widening of the I-710
and the adoption of new technology like high-speed rail and other environmentally
friendly rail systems. The 50-year-old freeway will be widened from the
existing six to 10 lanes to 14 lanes. Included in that work will be improvements
to on- and off-ramps and the surface streets feeding into them. These streets
will be widened and equipped with high-tech traffic control.
“We are committed to making sure that the freeway project will not
create additional off-ramps or anything that would create congestion
points in Compton,” said Hall. “There has been discussion about
adding an off-ramp that would divert more truck traffic to Alameda. We
want to
make sure that doesn’t happen. We are being proactive and I think
we’re ahead of it.”
The study also recommends public art, landscaping, sound walls, graffiti
removal, greenbelts, local street improvements and improved transit service,
which is expected to reduce freeway traffic.
Compton stands to benefit through rehabilitation of commercial buildings
and maintenance and upkeep designed to present an attractive visual image
of the communities bordering the freeway; surface street improvements;
and possibly a portion of the funding for the Compton Creek project, which
could qualify as a greenbelt project.
Funding sources for such projects are not part of the study, but
participating agencies, which include the Metropolitan Transportation Authority,
the County of Los Angeles, Caltrans and the Southern California Association
of Governments may fund some of the improvements. Most of the funding will
be a combination of local money and government grants.
Additionally, it is expected that federal funding may be available
because of the importance of the I-710 in the national economy.
Approximately 35 percent of container freight shipped into the United
States enters through the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles. It is estimated
that by the year 2025 truck traffic on the I-710 will double.
“We are already conducting a program in which we replace older trucks with
newer versions that produce less harmful emissions,” said Powers. “The
program benefits independent truckers who cannot afford to replace their older
vehicles, which exceed emission standards.”
In a massive project designed to produce an array of improvements in many areas
related to transportation, Powers says that the most important quality-of-life
improvement will undoubtedly be air quality.
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