Lawmakers: 710 Freeway extension must be underground

Lawmakers: 710 Freeway extension must be underground | L.A. Now | Los Angeles Times

Lawmakers: 710 Freeway extension must be underground
3:26 PM | May 26, 2009


710 State lawmakers weighed in on some vexing issues for Southern California by agreeing Tuesday to increase fines on bandit taxicabs and require any extension of the 710 Freeway from Los Angeles to Pasadena to be done by tunnel.

The state senate approved a measure, sponsored by the city of Los Angeles, setting a $1,250 penalty for taxi cabs operating without city licenses. The problem has grown, with the Los Angeles Police Department making 1,427 arrests last year, quadruple the yearly average for the previous decade.

"This (illegal activity) endangers the public, competes unfairly with franchised taxicab operators ... and deprives localities of hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing fees," said Sen. Jenny Oropeza (D-Long Beach), author of SB 201, which now goes to the Assembly for consideration.

The Senate also sent the Assembly a measure by Sen. Gil Cedillo (D-Los Angeles) mandating that any extension of Interstate 710 from its current ending at the Los Angeles city line to connect with Interstate 210 in Pasadena be built by tunnel.

"Removing the surface route option will protect homes and keep neighborhoods in tact," said Cedillo, author of SB 545.

-- Patrick McGreevy