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Eminent Reclaim:
710 Freeway is Remnant of Old Freeway Plans
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At the height of freeway popularity, the state Division of Highways had come to think that a freeway every two miles was ideal. The 710 freeway extension through Pasadena was designed as an afterthought when freeways were at the height of popularity.
Cities begged for the freeway routes. Historic preservation had not yet been embraced as important. Ranch style homes and modern conveniences were the rage. Pasadena's general plan slated the whole area from Orange Grove to Fair Oaks for apartment use. Old Pasadena was slated for demolition, to be replaced by offices like the Parsons complex.
The 710 freeway was seen as a key to this redevelopment, similar to the Lake Avenue/210 Freeway interchange. Likewise, Alhambra was keen on the 710 "creating a new large market from the north" for their redevelopment plans along Fremont.
As maps show, roughly two-thirds of the routes planned in 1965 were never built. Our needs, desires, and economic realities have changed drastically since then. Yet the pro-freeway lobby continues to claim that building another 4.5 miles of this system is "critical to the completion of the regional network."