Frederick Price, San Clemente
According to a Los Angeles Times article published on Aug. 8, “L.A. needs to make sure air filters are being installed in homes near freeways,” the article stated, “… A mounting number of scientific studies link living near traffic pollution to asthma, cancer, heart attacks, pre term births and an array of other health problems.”
This article went on to say that a 2016 ordinance, signed by Los Angeles City’s Mayor Eric Garcetti, requires “…new homes within 1,000 feet of a freeway to have air filters meeting a standard of 13 on a 16-point industry scale—the minimum efficiency reporting value—that measures how effectively they block tiny pollution particles.”
If the foregoing is true, and I have no reason to doubt that it isn’t; how can the Foothill/Eastern Transportation Corridor Agencies (TCA) even consider building a toll road (Route 14) that will pass well within 1,000 feet of existing homes and San Clemente High School? Have they chosen to ignore well-established (and published) facts on the health hazards caused by freeways located too close to homes and schools? Or is it that they simply don’t care?
Ed Sachs, chairman of the Foothill/Eastern Transportation Corridor Agencies, and Mayor Pro Tem of Mission Viejo (and his cohorts) have championed Route 14 through San Clemente as the best alternative to build a toll road. By doing so, they have shown a total disregard for the health and well-being of those affected by their erroneous decision.
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