6:15 am | Editor’s note: The following commentary is written by Seventh District City Councilman James Johnson.

For decades, the Terminal Island Freeway has served as a monument to irresponsible goods-movement growth. As the number of diesel trucks heading back and forth from the port grew to thousands a day, only a chain-link fence separated the freeway and rail yards that sit west of them from Hudson School, Hudson Park, Cabrillo High School and a center for homeless veterans. Students, veterans and others in the neighborhoods saw their health suffer from the nearly constant exhaust, and residents throughout Long Beach and beyond also suffered as the dirty air travelled throughout the region.

Finally, last week, City Council approved my proposal to use funds generated from the ports to finance a sound wall and urban forest along the T.I. Freeway, consistent with the legal use of those funds. By constructing a physical barrier and including trees, shrubs, and other greenery, the community will be protected from the visual and noise blight as well as have a “carbon sink” that will remove some of these pollutants from the air.Funding this project means trapping pollution at its source, cleaning up areas such as Central, West and North Long Beach, as well as downtown.

Additionally, the Southern California Associations of Governments last week approved my motion to encourage zero emissions goods movement. As I mentioned in the SCAG board meeting, moving goods without poisoning our neighborhoods will improve quality of life, have dramatic positive effects on health and allow us to have the economic growth needed to create jobs. SCAG also released a new air quality report discussing the path to clean energy. On behalf of Long Beach, I look forward to continuing our efforts towards realizing a zero-emissions future for the benefit of all in the region.

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