Bicyclists Weigh in on Highway 39 Reopening in San Gabriel Mountains
From LA.Streetsblog.org
Public comment will close soon for the reopening plans for the northmost tip of Highway 39 in the San Gabriel Mountains, at its junction with Angeles Crest Highway 2. Until Monday January 16, the public can try to influence which of six options Caltrans will move forward with. These include: no build, emergency vehicles only, active transportation use, full reopening, building a separate viaduct, and a single travel lane.
SBLA spoke to several bike club members about their hopes for it (as well as a Caltrans representative and the Mayor of Azusa). They gave a variety of takes.
“I’d like it to be open to pedestrians and cyclists only. And keep it you know, for fire and emergency vehicles. And that’s it.” – Jeff Sewell, Monterey Park
“Yep, yep, no, that won’t happen, right? Because that’s going to be additional cost and work for Caltrans, and just for recreational use, there’s so many other options already for that area and nearby, so that’s probably not realistic.” – Peter Rinde, La Cañada Flintridge
“I’d rather not see it open at all. What happened to P-22 really hit me. It’s like, oh my god, you know, it’s their land.” – Leticia Montanez, El Sereno
“When a fire starts down below, there’s nowhere for anybody to exit. These people are stuck up there. So yeah, they do need to have a secondary exit strategy.” – Art Hernandez, Downey
The part of Highway 39 at stake is a 4.4 mile stretch between Snow Springs and Islip Saddle that’s been closed since 1978, “when it experienced massive mud and rock slides caused by heavy rains and floods,” says Caltrans Spokesperson Alisa Almanzan
Image courtesy of CalTrans
