Communities for a Better Environment has been working diligently to ensure the I-710
corridor project is not merely a freeway expansion project, but an entirely new type of freight and people transit project—one that protects and revitalizes the communities through which it runs. SB 811 (Lara) would have required Caltrans to analyze the community’s alternative to unfettered freeway expansion I-710 corridor.
Unfortunately, Governor Brown has vetoed SB 811, based on a misunderstanding of the
bill. In his veto message, the Governor mischaracterized SB 811 as requiring specific mitigation measures to lessen the impact of the project on local communities. In fact, the only thing the bill required was for Caltrans to study an alternative to adding lanes—an alternative put forth by corridor communities and supported by their elected officials.
Despite this regrettable setback, we urge Caltrans to follow the recommendation of
Southeast Los Angeles residents and elected officials to provide a full evaluation in the EIR/EIS of the community’s comprehensive, necessary project alternative. Los Angeles cannot continue to rely on freeways for freight and transit. Only a comprehensive system that incorporates public transit, active transit, zero-emission freight movement, and measures to revitalize the communities that have suffered for decades from the impacts from the I-710 freeway will be able to bring Los Angeles squarely and safely into the twenty-first century.