By Mary O’KEEFE

On Thursday, Dec. 18 at about 2:08 p.m. the Los Angeles communication center – CHP received a call concerning a semi-truck on fire on the westbound Foothill (210) Freeway just east of La Tuna Canyon. It was determined there was a toilet being towed as cargo by the semi-truck. CHP is still investigating how the semi caught fire. A sig-alert was issued for lanes 2, 3, and 4 and remained until 2:30 a.m. on Dec. 19, according to Officer Shanelle Phillips. 

This traffic incident caused traffic to be diverted to the streets through La Cañada Flintridge, La Crescenta/Montrose and far north Glendale. Residents reported to CVW they could not get out of their driveway due to the traffic, semi-trucks were traveling westbound on Community Avenue in front of Crescenta Valley High School and almost all surface streets from Foothill Boulevard to Honolulu Avenue were filled with traffic from the freeway. 

This type of traffic issue is a topic often discussed at meetings of the Crescenta Valley Town Council including the recent meeting with the CVTC Land Use Committee and Abode Communities, which has proposed an 80-unit complex on the northwest corner of Foothill Boulevard and Briggs Avenue. Infrastructure and wildfire evacuation issues were discussed at the meeting with residents referring to issues in the past when the 210 was closed and surface streets were burdened with the freeway traffic.  

“Crescenta Valley should take the major traffic congestion that recently brought Foothill Boulevard to a crawl as a serious warning and wake-up call for what will happen if our valley experiences a major disaster,”. “During this incident, the freeway was backed up into Pasadena while Briggs, Rosemont, La Crescenta and Ramsdell avenues north of the freeway were at a complete standstill. Orange Avenue north of Foothill, Altura, Montrose and Honolulu – streets that run parallel to the freeway – were also heavily impacted,” said Dede Mueller, CVTC Traffic and Safety Committee. “This level of congestion occurred without a true emergency. If this had been a wildfire, earthquake or other large-scale disaster requiring evacuation, the consequences could have been catastrophic. Emergency vehicles would have struggled to move, even be blocked from reaching area like Briggs Terrace and residents could have been trapped with no viable escape routes. 

“Currently, the state is pushing for increased high-density housing within the valley, such as the five-story, high-density apartment building at the corner of Briggs and Foothill Boulevard. Without meaningful improvements to infrastructure, road capacity and emergency planning, projects such as this will only worsen congestion and further compromise public safety. Adding population density to an area that already cannot handle existing traffic volumes places residents at significant risk.”

Mueller hopes this example can be shared with LA County planners.

“Before approving additional high-density development, decision-makers must seriously address traffic flow, evacuation planning and emergency access. Public safety must come before state development mandates,” she said. “Residents should be proactive in letting the county and state know that adding more residents and related traffic issues is putting the Crescenta Valley at risk for an Altadena/Palisades-like disaster if infrastructure issues are not addressed and remedied. Crescenta Valley Town Council has and will continue to monitor this issue.”