Not only is the phrase “opponents of all alternatives want transportation officials to do nothing” ridiculous because ‘opponents of all alternatives’ in any situation want to do nothing, the Glendale News-Press piece in which the phrase appears completely omits mention of something significant that opponents of the SR-710 extension, including the City of Glendale itself, are urging:
A new, dedicated electrified rail system that transports cargo directly from ports to inland distribution centers.
The cities of Glendale, La Canada, and South Pasadena have all called for this in recent letters to the Southern California Association of Governments, criticizing SCAG’s inclusion of the Metro SR-710 EIR in its 2012 Draft Regional Transportation Plan.
Janet Dodson says in a February 25 Highland Park Patch post:
“Why are we still, this far into the century, looking back at ancient technology to solve a modern-day problem? The technology to move cargo from our ports to the rest of the continent efficiently and swiftly without causing pollution–and for a fraction of the cost of the tunnels–exists right now.
The Economist reviewed the competitive and logistical challenges faced by Southern California ports in January, ending its piece by discussing the potential for rail loading systems at the ports.
In today’s Los Angeles Business Journal, an OpEd by Richard Risemberg states, “By eliminating up to 70 percent of truck trips hauling containers, one at a time, to distant railyards and distribution centers in Los Angeles and the Inland Empire, [GRID – a freight rail system] reduces the need for envisioned freeway expansions and feeder roads, thus freeing up more space on the ports’ periphery.”
Opponents of the 710 extension aren’t calling for nothing to be done. Objecting to plans for more freeway building and more trucks in Southern California, these groups are insisting instead on a freight to rail alternative for goods movement.