Photo: Diane Edwardson, July 1, 2009. Say good-bye to those trees on the sides of the 2 Freeway if the sound walls ever get put in on Allesandro Way. CalTrans would NOT replant trees if sound walls get built on most of the 2 Freeway through our neighborhood. They would only plant the walls with ivy - this was never addressed in the Environmental Impact Report. (Click on photos to enlarge.)
Echo Park Improvement Association hosted a meeting for the MTA to update the community on the progress of the 2 Terminus Redesign. There were no new drawings and a lot of excuses. However, new project manager Benkin Jong explained the project would be split into 2 phases since there was no money for phase 2.
Phase 1:
1. Replace/upgrade/install flashing beacon lights in the southbound lanes to improve traffic safety. (Jong had no information on location or type of shielding to keep the flashing lights out of adjacent homes.)
2. Retrofit Soffit Lights under the bridge on Glendale Blvd at the Terminus
3. Install Speed Feedback Sign on the flyover ramp at the Terminus
4. Refresh striping on Glendale Blvd
5. Improve/replace/install signage within project limits.
Wow. That should cost about 3 million dollars.
Phase 2 (for which there is no money):
1. Metering of the existing flyover ramp at the Terminus
2. Landscaping the median on Glendale Blvd
3. Sound walls
Maryann Kuk, Silver Lake Reservoirs Conservancy, suggested before CalTrans & MTA get too far into the design phase that they consult with neighbors regarding the design and placement of things like sound walls and flashing lights before they get locked into an unchangeable plan.
Judy Raskin, Echo Park Community Action Committee, chair, suggested the MTA put an update on their website (by the end of next week) with the meager information shared with the community.
Photo: Diane Edwardson, July 1, 2009. The MTA had no idea residents on Allesandro Way or the surrounding streets on the west side of the 2 Freeway, object to sound walls, because they would lose their views, walls would attract graffiti and crime and reduce property values. But then the MTA did a poor job at outreach when they snuck the sound walls into the 2 Freeway Terminus Project in 2010.
Read our analysis of the sound walls from 2010:
Part 4: Allesandro Street (includes existing retaining walls)
