The fundamental premise of the Multi-Mode Low Build (MMLB) Plan was set forth in the Summary of the report:

"Termed ‘The Multi-Mode Alternative,’ the Low-Build Approach is keyed on using a wealth of transportation resources to meet the needs of travel in the corridor. Chief among our resources is the Pasadena Blue Line which mirrors the legendary Red Car routes and gives us hope that we are returning to a "healthy" form of urban transportation. Other resources include a vast array of existing arterial streets and additional transit tools."

Without citing a single study or statistic to support it, the MMLB Report makes the following dubious claim about Southern California residents:

"Planners and engineers alike are noting a societal shift away from expansive suburbs many miles away from the workplace. Indeed, there seems to be a more sensible and efficient trend towards smaller, self-contained communities which allow people to live and work in the same area. As for traffic, people are becoming more willing to share rides, take a train, use alternate modes of travel or locate closer to work to secure a better sense of community and improved quality of life."

The concept articulated in the MMLB Report is generally known as the "Livable Communities" idea. The Livable Communities approach may be a desirable one and in some small ways the region is moving in the direction of encouraging greater density in housing along rail and bus transit corridors. For instance, the development of pedestrian-oriented mixed-use districts around rail transit stations has been a goal of the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority for decades.

However, the suggestion that the nation or even Southern California is experiencing a "societal shift away from expansive suburbs many miles away from the workplace" is not borne out by any examination of the population, housing, and employment data in the region. The latest planning data available is that used by both SCAG and MTA in preparing their long range transportation plans.

Is the suggestion that we are moving away from expansive suburbs supported by the latest housing and employment forecasts in the SCAG Regional Transportation Plan? Absolutely not. The projected increases in Persons per Square Mile between 1997 and 2025 are greatest in Lancaster/Palmdale, the San Fernando Valley near the I-405, western Pasadena, South Central Los Angeles, central Orange County, Ontario, San Bernardino, Riverside, Moreno Valley, and Victorville. (Exhibit 4.3 of SCAG 2001 RTP) Furthermore, the most intense growth in employment between 1997 and 2025 will be in Burbank, Glendale, Commerce, Irvine, Newport Beach, Ontario, Diamond Bar and along the corridor of S.R. 60 in Riverside County. (Exhibit 4.6 of SCAG 2001 RTP) The balance in the location of population and jobs is not projected to get any better even though there are some isolated efforts to create pedestrian oriented districts like Old Pasadena, downtown Glendale, Burbank Media Center, Santa Monica Third Street and Long Beach Pine Avenue.

The MTA Long Range Plan paints a similar picture. The MTA observes: "The problem of meeting future increases in travel demand is compounded by population and employment patterns. Countywide growth and increased sprawl will contribute to complex travel patterns where traffic is multi-directional, going from everywhere to everywhere, rather than from suburb to city." (p. 1-5) MTA acknowledges that in 1998, the worst freeway congestion in the county occurred in three places: central Los Angeles, the West Side, and the San Gabriel Valley. With population and employment generating 30% MORE trips, MTA expects average speeds to drop to less than 20 miles per hour in these areas without additional transportation improvements. (p. 1-7).

The MMLB also makes the claim that rail and bus transit and carpooling is an increasing trend representing a greater willingness of people to rideshare. This claim is simply not true. In the SCAG 2001 RTP, Figures 5.1 and 5.2 show the percentage of persons who rideshare and who ride transit to work. Figure 5.1 shows that from 1976 to 2000, ridesharing dropped from 19% of total trips to work to 13%. The chart projects a virtually flat line for ridesharing at 13% during the next 25 years. (p.42) Figure 5.2 shows that from 1976 to 2000, transit ridership fell from 6.25% of all trips to work to just 4.25%. The chart shows SCAG expects transit ridership to drop even further to 3.8% where it will remain flat for the next 25 years. (p. 43)

Opponents of the 710 Freeway completion suggest that South Pasadena's MMLB could "achieve 90% of the benefit for 10% of the cost" of completing the 710 Freeway. The Caltrans' evaluation of the MMLB Report concludes that there would be negative benefit for 49.6% of the cost. In other words, instead of 90% of the benefit, the MMLB alternative would actually make congestion and pollution worse...for 50% of the cost of finishing the freeway!

In sum, the entire premise of the MMLB that large-scale livable communities are a viable land use pattern within the next 25 years or that there is some kind of societal shift in the use of ridesharing and transit is a utopian fantasy not supported by any of the most current planning data available. Furthermore, the planning data available at the time the MMLB was proposed showed the same reality. Thus, the MMLB Report promotes a transportation planning concept that has never been shown to work in region with the physical and geographic characteristics of Southern California.