Janine Marnien
Councilman Anthony Portantino is determined to get sound walls for
La Canada Flintridge, even if it takes building them with straw.
With the defeat of Proposition 51, which would have allotted $10
million to the city for the project, officials are now looking at
various alternatives to fund sound walls. One includes requesting
consideration for a pilot program that proposes using rice straw to
build noise barriers.
"From my take, it's important to look at every opportunity that
comes along," he said. "As we all know, sound is not going to go
away, especially with new freeways opening as we speak."
A new bill passed in September requires Caltrans to look into the
possibility of using rice straw to build sound walls. A test city
would be pinpointed for the study, but an official for the
transportation authority said any decisions as to which city is
selected will be made in the far distant future.
"We are very much in the infancy stages of this project," Caltrans
spokeswoman Jeane Bonfilio said. "We are working with the rice
industry to come up with a design, and are waiting for them to come
to us when it is finished."
The state has a surplus of rice straw, and burning it is costly.
Rather than spend the money, state officials are trying to come up
with ways to put it to use, City Manager Jerry Fulwood said.
City officials in La Canada Flintridge and Pasadena are also
working together to lobby for special legislation that would
reallocate a portion of Proposition 42 funding to Caltrans' phase two
priority sound wall list.
The legislation was passed in March, and allocates gas sales- tax
revenue to transportation issues. Officials are also waiting to hear
back from the Metropolitan Transportation Authority on the status of
the city's request for proposal for a Noise Barrier Sound Survey
Environmental Report. All three alternatives are being pursued to
increase the chances of getting sound walls for the Foothill (210)
Freeway, Fulwood said.
"Whichever one materializes first we'll look into," he said. "Then
we'll take it to the City Council for a policy decision."
