来源：《洛杉矶时报》
刊登日期：2021年5月27日
超纲词：congested，congestion，zombie，demolish
For nearly two decades, the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority has been seeking to widen the 710 Freeway from Long Beach to Alhambra, a notoriously congested stretch of roadway crowded with diesel trucks serving the ports.
近20年来，洛杉矶县大都会交通管理局一直在寻求拓宽从长滩到阿罕布拉的710高速公路，这是一段众所周知的拥堵路段，道路上挤满了为港口服务的柴油卡车。
Even as residents in surrounding communities pleaded for a better solution, even as other freeway widenings failed to solve congestion, and even as California began to judge transportation projects based on their climate and development impacts, the 710 expansion kept moving forward, like a zombie project from another era.
即使周围社区的居民在寻求更好的解决方案，即使其他高速公路拓宽未能解决拥堵问题，即使加州开始根据气候和发展影响来判断交通项目，710扩建项目仍在继续，就像一个来自另一个时代的僵尸项目。
Until now.
On Thursday, Metro’s governing board may halt the freeway widening to focus instead on smaller projects — including building bike paths, adding bus lines and providing more support for clean trucks — that could ease congestion and improve air quality along the 710 corridor. The board is set to consider a motion by several members, including Los Angeles County Supervisor Hilda Solis and L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti, that would formalize what has now become inevitable.
周四，洛杉矶县交通管理局的管理委员会可能会停止高速公路的扩建，转而关注较小的项目，包括修建自行车道，增加公交线路，为清洁卡车提供更多支持，这些项目可以缓解710走廊沿线的拥堵和改善空气质量。该委员会将考虑几位成员提出的动议，其中包括洛杉矶县监事希尔达·索利斯和洛杉矶市长埃里克·加希提，该动议将使现在已不可避免的停止扩建正式化。
In March, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency blocked the widening project for all intents and purposes, saying it would increase the number of diesel trucks on the road and would probably worsen air quality in an area already overburdened by goods movement and industry pollution.
今年3月，美国环境保护署出于各种目的阻止了这一扩建项目，称这将增加公路上柴油卡车的数量，并可能恶化该地区的空气质量，而该地区已经因货物运输和工业污染而不堪重负。
This month the director of Caltrans weighed in too, saying the project no longer aligned with state’s direction on transportation. Finally, Metro Chief Executive Phil Washington announced the agency would work with community stakeholders to reimagine the project.
本月，加州交通局局长也表示，该项目不再符合该州的交通运输发展方向。最后，洛杉矶县交通管理局首席执行官Washington宣布，该机构将与社区利益相关者合作，重新规划项目。
It’s not easy to abandon a massive freeway expansion after two decades of work, but the reality is that the 710 project could have been reimagined years ago if the agencies had listened to the communities along the corridor. Advocates pushed for a plan that would keep the existing freeway unwidened to avoid demolishing homes and businesses and instead turn it into a zero-emission truck route, while also adding public transit and bikeways to the surrounding area.
经过20年的努力，要放弃高速公路的大规模扩建并不容易，但事实是，如果政府部门听取了沿线居民的意见，710项目多年前就可以重新规划了。倡导者们提出了一项不加宽现有高速公路的计划，以避免拆除道路两边的房屋和企业，而是把它变成一条零排放的卡车路线，同时在周边地区增加公共交通和自行车道。
Clearly, Metro and Caltrans need to do something with the 710 Freeway — it’s bad for goods movement and travelers, and it’s a burden on the neighboring communities. But the old model of just seizing land and knocking down homes to expand freeways is not the answer, particularly in dense urban areas. Widening a freeway to ease traffic actually induces more people to drive, which results in congestion and air pollution at least as bad as before the project.
很明显，洛杉矶县交通管理局和加州运输局的确需要在710高速公路上做些什么——当前的路况对货物运输和旅客不利，对邻近社区也是一种负担。但是，仅仅攫取土地、拆毁房屋扩建高速公路的旧模式并不是答案，尤其是在人口密集的城市地区。拓宽高速公路以缓解交通，实际上会吸引更多的人开车，这会导致拥堵和空气污染，至少和项目实施前一样严重。
It’s a hopeful sign that the EPA and other government agencies are not just rubber-stamping freeway expansion projects. We need transportation leaders to come up with new ways to improve mobility that address climate change and environmental justice as well. We have to stop wasting time and money on zombie freeway projects.
这是一个充满希望的迹象，表明环境保护署和其他政府机构不再只是橡皮图章般地批准高速公路扩建项目。我们需要运输业的领导者们提出新的方法来改善交通，同时应对气候变化和环境公正。我们必须停止在僵尸高速公路项目上浪费时间和金钱。