405 Freeway expansion proposals create debate in surrounding neighborhoods

Good morning Los Angeles, your morning traffic report
doesn’t look terrific. Expect the usual gridlock on the 405
Freeway northbound and southbound lanes. Major delays reported.

Traffic reports like this have become a common occurrence in the
lives of many Angelenos and the source of angst for UCLA students
and staff who find themselves commuting to and from campus every
day.

Jennifer Finney, a third-year political science student,
expresses frustration whenever she finds herself stranded in a sea
of cars on the on-ramp to the 405 from Interstate 10. Traffic
congestion has become such a problem that Finney leaves her home in
Venice 10 to 15 minutes earlier than she otherwise would.

“If there’s no traffic, I get here in 10 minutes. If
there’s traffic, about half hour,” Finney said.

The California Department of Transportation ““ Caltrans
““ introduced five plans to alleviate traffic congestion
problems for the 405 in January of 2002. The plans are now being
considered for implementation.

One proposal is to leave the freeway as is. The other four
proposals involve expansion in order to accommodate carpool
lanes.

The first of the four proposals involves the expansion of the
northbound side to include a new carpool lane. The second is to
expand both north and southbound lanes. The third plan involves
constructing a viaduct (an elevated structure) for two carpool
lanes in each direction in the median. The last is a transit
enhancement alternative plan which would look at designing features
to accommodate a bus or rail transit way.

These proposals are currently up for debate, and Caltrans has
looked to the community for comments and concerns.

Regardless of which of the last four proposals is chosen,
adoption of one would mean the expansion of the freeway which has
raised concerns from homeowners.

The Caltrans proposals, known as the Sepulveda Pass Project,
will impact the 405 from West Los Angeles to Sherman Oaks.
According to Caltrans, the expansion of the 405 freeway “will
decrease commute times for all drivers, promote ridesharing, and
reduce traffic congestion.”

A stretch of this freeway along National Boulevard in Sherman
Oaks is causing much of the debate.

The Westwood Hills Property Owners Association is particularly
concerned because it will be directly affected if the proposal is
approved.

Most of the residents involved in the association reside east of
Veteran and west of Sepulveda. They are residents living between
the UCLA campus and 405 freeway.

Carole Magnuson, president of the Westwood association, said any
project approved would mean fixing the off-ramps on Wilshire and
Sunset boulevards so large amounts of traffic no longer spill onto
the streets from the freeway. It also means the closure of the
Montana Avenue off-ramp.

It is the closing of the Montana Avenue off-ramp that is causing
concern for homeowners. Caltrans presented them with the option of
building another ramp. Magnuson said the proposal would mean
bulldozing some houses around the area. Even though Caltrans would
purchase the affected homes at fair-market value, the proposal is
not sitting well with many homeowners.

“If we have to choose between an off-ramp that destroys
our homes and the uniqueness of our neighborhood, then we choose no
off-ramp,” Magnuson said.

Sandy Brown of the Holmby-Westwood Property Association said the
expansion is not going to help many of the residents but will mean
more cars in the area.

“The (carpool lane) in and of itself is not going to help
us in the West Side. It may make it so that there would be more
cars,” Brown said. “Whether or not these proposals are
going to help alleviate traffic or not, I really don’t
know.”

According to the Caltrans Web site, this project is currently in
the environmental planning process, the seventh step of the 13 step
process. Construction is tentatively planned for 2006, pending
project approval.

Any construction and lane closures will take place for the most
part at night in order to avoid major disruptions during high
traffic flow hours.

The northbound expansion proposal of the Sepulveda Pass Project
is budgeted at $350 million.