Los Angeles transportation officials denounced a proposal to widen the 710 Freeway on Thursday, but did not officially scrap the project — even as state and federal agencies have said the effort will not move forward because of its potential to worsen air quality and displace residents and businesses.
The half-hour debate at the Los Angeles Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s board meeting highlighted transportation officials’ struggles in addressing the freeway’s vital role in the region’s economy and its environmental harms to the predominantly low-income Latino neighborhoods in Long Beach, Lynwood and Bell Gardens and others nearby.
“All you have to do is just take a walk or even a drive down the 710 corridor with your windows down and you’ll see what I’m talking about,” said Hilda Solis, chairwoman of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors and vice chair of the Metro Board of Directors.
“Thousands of diesel trucks and vehicles spew particulate matter and pollution into our low-income communities along the freeway, creating higher risks of cancer, asthma and other ailments,” she said.
Read the full story on LATimes.com.