On September 11th<\/sup> the third of three public scoping meetings for the I-710 project was held at Cabrillo High School in Long Beach. <\/span>I’m proud to say there was a good turnout of Long Beachers (plus a few residents of other 710 corridor cities such as Commerce and Huntington Park). <\/span>(I am a member of the consultant team preparing the environmental impact study that is the current phase of this project.)<\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n The meeting began with about half an hour of presentations about the need and purpose for the project and the process being used to develop the environmental study. <\/span>I think it’s significant that the public involvement process for 710 is very different from that of a typical environmental study.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n The presenters said that in a typical EIR process, the public wouldn’t hear from the consultants again for a couple of years while we collect data, analyze it, and write our report. <\/span>Instead, the current 710 process is designed with several channels for continuing public involvement. <\/span>This approach – shown on a complex diagram called the “Community Participation Framework” – is the direct result of experience with an earlier phase of the project that culminated in 2005.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n That phase involved gathering input from all the cities along the I-710 corridor by means of local “Tier 1” committees in the affected <\/span>communities. <\/span>For Long Beach, our Tier 1 committee consisted of the councilmembers for the four districts directly adjacent to the freeway: <\/span>Districts 1, 7, 8, and 9. <\/span>A corridor-wide “Tier 2” committee included representatives from the Tier 1 committees and a number of other groups with a more regional focus.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n This structure has been essentially retained and even expanded to serve the EIR process. <\/span>The Local Advisory Committees have been brought back together (some had dispersed during the process of selecting and retaining the consultant team). <\/span>A Corridor Advisory Committee including local representatives and others will begin meeting soon. <\/span>A new element will be three subject working groups, one each on Environment, Transportation, and Community Design\/Economics, which will interact with the Local Advisory Committees and the Corridor Advisory Committee.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n This all sounds complex, and it is, but it represents an important difference between this project and others that have gone before. <\/span>It may not be perfect – I’m coming to learn that it may never be possible to have “enough” public participation – but it is a recognition that public information and two-way communication are essential if we want to find a project approach that can be supported up and down the corridor because it will reach everyone’s common goals.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n Following the presentations, a total of twelve people made public comments for as much as three minutes each. <\/span>The polite audience applauded them all, but the biggest applause was reserved for speakers who suggested that the freeway project was being undertaken for the sole purpose of accommodating port-related goods movement (and that in response, we should “buy American”). <\/span>Several commenters expressed worry that growth in the number of trucks served by the freeway would result in greater emissions even as the truck fleet gets cleaner over time.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n Many spoke in support of greater use of trains rather than trucks to transport containers, and a representative from Union Pacific Railroad spoke about proposed projects to make this possible. <\/span>The Executive Director of FuturePorts (of which I am a member) stressed the importance of jobs generated by our ports and the organization’s support of “green growth.” <\/span>Other commenters spoke about freeway noise, the undesirability of double-decking any portion of the freeway, and the need to continue true grassroots outreach to ensure that as many corridor residents as possible can stay informed.<\/span><\/p>\n
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