Public Interest Briefs

Center Wins Freeway Fight

In March, the California State Department of Transportation announced that it was abandoning its plans for construction of the Long Beach Freeway segment through the City of South Pasadena. This decision marks a Center success in its lawsuit, City of South Pasadena v. Volpe, which was first brought in 1973 on behalf of South Pasadena residents to force the state and federal governments to reevaluate a major six-mile unbuilt portion of the Long Beach Freeway.

When the suit was brought, federal and state highway officials had been proceeding with the South Pasadena Freeway project without having prepared the required environmental studies–even though the planned freeway would have bisected the City of South Pasadena, displaced 4,000 people, taken almost $5 million in property off the City’s tax rolls, destroyed cultural landmarks, and increased smog. The Center’s suit charged both the federal and state governments with failing to comply with the environmental requirements set down in the National Environmental Protection Act (NEPA) and the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).

Four years ago, as a result of the Center’s lawsuit, the California Division of Highways and the U.S. Department of Transportation agreed to halt work on the project pending their completion of environmental studies evaluating alternatives to the proposed freeway and its potentially adverse effects on the environment.

The recent completion of these studies led to a thorough official review of the project. That review and an accompanying set of public hearings convinced state officials that the freeway would have a serious negative impact on the environment and the community of South Pasadena.

Adriana Gianturco, State Transportation Director, announced the state's decision to scrap the freeway project in a letter to Federal Judge E. Avery Crary. Instead of the $140 million freeway extension, the state is now proposing a vastly smaller $30 million four-lane depressed freeway. It claims the revised project will result in less displacement for the City, while adequately meeting the local traffic problems and saving the taxpayers over $100 million.

A new environmental impact statement for this smaller project is presently being prepared. Center attorneys will continue to review all new proposals to assure that adequate environmental safeguards are built into any new plan for that area.

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