Community meeting on Pasadena SR-710 set for Saturday

Pasadena is hosting an “open house” meeting Saturday for residents to learn about and discuss the SR-710 Reconnecting Pasadena project.

The community open house is scheduled for 10 a.m. to noon at Victory Park Recreation Center, 2575 Paloma St. The event will feature an interactive model-building workshop and display boards in an attempt by officials to educate the public about the project and field the community’s needs and desires as the city initiates the project’s first phase.

“The plan will reimagine the SR-710 stub and create a more inclusive and sustainable environment,” according to a city statement. “Spanning approximately 60 acres from Union Street (North), Columbia Street (South), St. John Avenue (West) and Pasadena Avenue (East), the stub was once home to over 4,000 displaced residents from demolishing approximately 1,500 homes. The majority of these residences belonged to low-income and minority community members.”

The workshop offers the opportunity for the public to participate in and guide the transformation of the stub as the city considers ways to add improved transportation and pedestrian-friendly infrastructure, green spaces, cultural attractions, economic opportunities and more, officials said.

City officials said the intention of the “community-based design process” is to engage with local residents and key community groups to get points of view form a wide range of communities, including “hard-to-reach populations.” This month several outreach efforts were planned, including community open houses, workshops, events, surveys and digital outreach.

“In 18 months, the draft master plan will propose designs that can be implemented in phases, maximizing opportunities for pedestrian connectivity, land use options, recreational uses, climate-resilient infrastructure, and sustainability,” according to the city statement.

The plan will create a “restorative justice framework to acknowledge past harms through a collaborative approach,” according to the city. The framework or policy will help lead the project through an analysis phase to understand the existing conditions and what’s feasible before developing a set of options and alternatives based on community input.

The city has assembled a team of planners, outreach specialists, architects, landscape architects and engineers led by New York-based Perkins Eastman, an international firm with a longstanding Los Angeles office, who will work with the community and focus on inclusion and connectedness, open space, mobility and quality of life, officials said.

The City Council approved the establishment of a community advisory panel, Reconnecting Communities 710 Advisory Group.

“Originally proposed as part of a regional freeway network, the SR-710 project faced opposition and legal disputes, leading to its cancellation,” according to the city. “Starting in 2019, Pasadena began efforts to reimagine the stub by working with the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) to transfer control to the City. The return of the stub parcel to the City of Pasadena for development highlights the evolving trajectory for future land use and mobility.”

Questions or comments should go to Senior Project Manager Wendy Macias at 626-744-4577.

More from Pasadena Independent