Damien Talks Episode 5: Councilwoman Marina Khubesrian
This week, #DamienTalks to South Pasadena Councilwoman Marina Khubesrian. Khubesrian, who happens to be a medical doctor for her day job, is also one of the leaders of the Beyond the 710 movement. Worn down by Caltrans and Metro (Los Angeles County MTA) pushing a freeway widening and tunnel project for over three decades, a group of San Gabriel County communities banded together with local activists and national nonprofits to create a new vision for the corridor.
We’ve written a lot about the attempts to dig a big highway tunnel in L.A. County’s San Gabriel Valley at Streetsblog L.A. If you’re interested, read more here.
Beyond the 710 is an innovative effort by progressive transportation reformers to reframe the debate. Instead of being “opposed to highway expansion” they are “for a series of smart fixes and great streets” that would both address the congestion hot spots and “for improving transportation options for all.”
We’re always looking for sponsors, show ideas, and feedback. You can contact me at damien@streetsblog.org, at twitter @damientypes, online at Streetsblog California or on Facebook at StreetsblogCA.
Thanks for listening. You can download the episode at the Damien Talks homepage on Libsyn.
This sounds like great news and great ideas, but in South Pasadena it is “multi-modal” and “bike-friendly” for thee and not for me that rules their City Manager and Public Works Commission.
The 710 project has totally drained the public works budget for decades, and the city’s bike and pedestrian access remain pretty awful at the edges of town, particularly between the Garvanza and South Pas. and Pasadena and South Pas.
The Public Works Commission created an incredibly dangerous death-bridge bike lane situation at the York Boulevard bridge bike lanes despite tons of outreach from Los Angeles’ DOT to connect the bike lanes between these two cities.
The one thing I would wish for if I could have anything would be to clean house in South Pasadena’s Public Works and City Managers offices. To get some new blood in there that measures low on the aspergers/car-only scale and high on the pro-social, pro-health, pro-transportation options side of things.
There is another 710 Day on June 10 if your readers want to get a different perspective. Basically shoving the “Golden Eagle Boulevard” through Alhambra is going to be about as much of a nonstarter as the inflated LRT and BRT projects., and has just as much chance as South Pasadena allowing the center turn lane on Fair Oaks to be a reversible traffic lane (which is in all of the options as part of the TSM proposal). Still I give them credit for coming up with something rather than naysaying.