But elected officials and community activists against the tunnel weren’t convinced by the poll numbers.
“I think his poll and his survey is a joke,” said Councilman Ara Najarian, the new chairman of the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority, the transit agency that will eventually vote on the project. “And to infer that the 710 Coalition needs to do a poll to tell us what our residents are concerned about is really kind of a desperate attempt for them to sell the tunnel to Glendale.”
To potential naysayers of the survey data, Read emphasized that the coalition chose Godbe because it was the company that conducted the 1998 poll of South Pasadena residents, which found 80% of residents opposed the freeway extension completion.
“We thought by hiring the pollster who came to that conclusion, there would be no calls of bias,” he said.
Tunnel stakeholders and supporters argue the tunnel is a necessary connector within the Southern California transportation system.
While no part of the tunnel would be within Glendale city limits, its opponents say it would siphon commuters through the Glendale and foothill regions on the 210 and 134 freeways to Pasadena to catch the 710 Freeway south.
And with significant opponents like Najarian, the tunnel still has substantial hurdles.
In recent months Najarian has publicly opposed the tunnel for its massive price tag and potential quality-of-life effects.
The City Council on July 21 is scheduled to consider a formal position on the contentious issue, he said.
