Concerned About Trucks

What is going on with transportation in Los Angeles County that has changed the traffic pattern in our little community so quickly? Have you noticed the shift? The recent accidents on the 210 Freeway involving big rig trucks concern me a great deal and I fear it will only get worse.

As a Foothill resident of some 50 years, I have seen many such shifts. Back in the day before the 210 and 2 freeways were built, most of the cars in our area were from, well, our area. After completion, we did see an increase in traffic but the freeways were wide open to pop to Glendale or Pasadena.  There were no trucks at all, especially on the 2 due to the grade. After the segment in San Dimas was installed and we started to see a build up of housing in Canyon Country, then La Crescenta saw a major shift in traffic pattern. For the first time, we could hear the freeway from any place in the Valley; and it was getting crowded.

During a recent hospital stay at Glendale Adventist, the best part of the visit was the beautiful view of the Verdugo mountains with the 2 Freeway in the background. I couldn’t help but count the number of large trucks going past. There were more than one a minute, and disturbingly, many of them were fuel trucks. That may not seem significant to most, but it is estimated that if the 710 North Extension Tunnel is built, it will increase the number of trucks to 850 per hour on the 210 freeway near La Cañada. We can’t let this happen.

I encourage you to get involved by letting Metro and Supervisor Michael Antonovich know that they should not continue pushing for this project. A series of community meetings are scheduled shortly.  Check it out at http://www.metro.net/projects/sr-710-conversations/upcoming-meetings/.

Susan Bolan

La Crescenta

Neighborhood Watch Really Helped

I am the Sycamore Woods Neighborhood Watch Area Block Captain and want to express my appreciation to my neighbors and the Glendale PD for how they responded to the recent police activity in our area Jan. 24 involving a vehicle and foot pursuit.

I was traveling on business but was updated via email by neighbors. A heartfelt thank you goes out to Sycamore Woods Neighborhood Watch members who mobilized and sprang into action during this activity that resulted in a lock down of our neighborhood. By contacting neighbors via phone and email they did everything right – from getting descriptions and details re the suspect who ran through their yards, to staying inside their homes while the suspect was being sought, and advising the Neighborhood Watch group of the situation via email.

The contact list each neighbor receives quarterly was used by Melanie Tralongo and Heidi Anderson to contact neighbors and proved to be a very useful tool. It is a testimony to Neighborhood Watch as the neighborhood was quickly informed and everyone was safe.

I want to extend my appreciation to Melanie and Heidi for their level-headed and quick response to a potentially dangerous situation.

I also want to extend my appreciation to the Glendale PD on behalf of the Sycamore Woods Neighborhood Watch. Many neighbors commented they were very impressed with the police, [and] that “they were very nice and very informative in communicating with us.” The relationship that has been formed between Neighborhood Watch and police in our community is a wonderful partnership.

Thank you also to the members of Sycamore Woods Neighborhood Watch – you each play an important role in keeping our neighborhood safe. And the best news is the suspect has since been apprehended.

I encourage each neighborhood in our community to consider forming a Neighborhood Watch group. Anyone interested in starting a Neighborhood Watch group may attend  the quarterly NW Block Captain meeting at the Sparr Heights Community Center on April 27 at 6:30 pm.

Julia Leeper

La Crescenta

Couldn’t Agree More

Jim Chase, how right you are about tearing up new streets and sidewalks [My Thoughts Exactly, Jan. 20]. Back in 1969 I scored a bunch of points during a management assessment testing. One of our role plays was the city council meeting. I had the storm drain construction project and another guy had the street extension. Everyone was trying to get their project done first. Of course the street extension was where the storm drain was going to go. I suggested to the guy that he wait to do his street extension until I did my storm drain so that the new street would not need to be torn up. That sure helped my ratings in the final score.

Keep on writing.

Tom Suter

La Crescenta

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