I was waiting for a table to open up at Heirloom Bakery in South Pasadena on Sunday, when this truck/float on the way to the city’s Fourth of July parade stopped out front.

I think it’s fair to say that the truck’s owner is not a fan of any plans to fill the gap in the 710 freeway between Alhambra and Pasadena. Of course, nothing says “patriotism” like the right to rail against a freeway project!

Speaking of the 710 gap, I just wanted to remind everyone where the project stands. The Board of Directors of Metro recently voted to launch a new round of studies on how to improve traffic in the gap area. The initial scoping study will look at a wide range of options, including improving mass transit, making surface street improvements, building a tunnel and doing nothing — among others. Here’s a long-ish post about the 710 we published back in April.

In other words, and this is something I can not stress enough: NO DECISION HAS BEEN MADE TO EXTEND THE 710 FREEWAY AND NO DECISION HAS BEEN MADE TO BUILD A TUNNEL. OPTIONS WILL BE STUDIED AND EVEN IF A TUNNEL IS SEEN AS THE BEST CHOICE, FUNDING TO BUILD SUCH A STRUCTURE HAS NOT BEEN SECURED.

A recent geotechnical study did find that building a tunnel is feasible in soil conditions in the area. But that’s as far as things have gone.