At a meeting earlier this month, the Pasadena City Council adopted a vision plan to guide future redevelopment of the large swath of land once intended as a launching point for the never-built 710 Freeway extension.

The Reconnecting Pasadena vision plan, developed by a consulting group which includes Perkins Eastman, covers an approximately 50-acre area bounded by Union Street to the north, California Boulevard to the south, Pasadena Avenue to the east, and a stretch of St. John Avenue to the west. Rather than directly propose projects, the plan identifies solutions to knit the trenched area back into the street grid, both in terms of circulation and development.

Aerial view of the 710 stub looking northCity of Pasadena

Under the vision plan, traffic flow to and from the 210 and 134 freeways would be "smoothed" through the addition of a roundabout at Holly street near the northern end of the trench. Moving south, St. John and Pasadena Avenues would be transformed from one-way streets to two-way "complete" streets, while a new north-south boulevard would be built along the west side of the trench in place of the existing 710 freeway stub. New east-west connections are proposed by extending Vallley Street and Bellevue Drive across the freeway corridor.

While precise plans for development of the area are not established in the plan, the City Council has set a goal of developing at least 1,800 residential units within the relinquished area.

Vision plan for the 710 StubCity of Pasadena

Not included in the City Council's vote were elements of the vision plan calling for ,which included targeted affordable housing, business development support, and workforce development programs, another initiatives, which would be eared at people displaced by the freeway project or their descendents. More on the history of the stub area prior to its seizure by Caltrans can be found at Streetsblog.

The cost of the restorative justice components of the plan, as well as funding mechanisms for the proposed redevelopment and transportation concepts, will be subject to further study.

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