Janine Marnien
The sounds of drivers rushing to work on the Foothill (210) Freeway
are a little closer to being muffled.
Caltrans has approved the city's request for a Noise Barrier Sound
Survey Environmental Report, a study that must be performed before
any construction can begin on sound walls. The city received
notification of the approval March 4.
"The project is extremely important to the future quality of life
to La Canada Flintridge," Councilman Anthony Portantino said. "I'm
very pleased the process has moved along."
The next step is to find a company to perform the study,
Management Analyst Ann Wilson said. The study has an estimated price
tag between $320,000 and $428,000, but the city is seeking
possibilities of reimbursement from agencies like the Metropolitan
Transportation Authority.
A letter has been sent to MTA requesting a reimbursement agreement
for the environmental report, although a dollar figure was not
specified, Wilson said.
"One of the difficulties has been that cities have not really done
[Noise Barrier Sound Survey Environmental Reports] themselves, so we
don't exactly know what the price is going to be," she said. "Any
reimbursement that did occur would only occur at the time we received
full funds for sound walls."
A reimbursement would not include interest, and would be for part
of the cost, she added. It is estimated the study would take about a
year.
The City Council voted to have the request for the study prepared
in October 2001. Input came from community members, an ad hoc
committee and representatives from Caltrans.
"We wanted a project that was ready when and if funds became
available to build sound walls," Wilson said. "That's one of the
reasons it took so long, because we made sure the concerns of the
committee were included and spent time working with Caltrans."
Sound-wall funding would be made available through Caltrans.
