MVC will substantially reduce NOx pollution in the area. Much traffic that would have traveled on highly congested arterials, going just 6 to 18 miles per hour, will be able to travel at near freeway speeds.

Less time spent on the roads means less pollution for cars and trucks. Adequate and equitable freeway service to the western valley will more than double the speed on those super-congested arterials.

Diesel trucks and UTA buses produce 1/2 to 1/3 of the NOx pollution if they can go a steady 40 or 50 miles per hour , instead of being stuck in heavy stop and go driving. A study done for California Air Resources Board 6 years ago proved that.

So, pollution will go up a little near the freeway, but drop a lot along the decongested arterials. Net gain is cleaner air.

The Sierra Club actually supports dirtier air with their support of Commuter Rail.

Commuter rail will more than double the amount of NOx currently emitted by over 400 dirty diesel UTA buses. NOx will increase by over 420 tons a year.

The MVC freeway is good for our air. Build it!

Amen ... all the Sierra Club ever does is stall projects and wind up costing the tax payers extra billions, only to see the projects eventually go in anyway (aka, Legacy Highway). Meanwhile, tons of additional polutants are being pumped out while they are "protecting" the environment.

Maybe the ACLU should sue ....

The problem with trying to build yourself out of congestion is that it simply never works. Just like buying bigger pants to deal with obesity doesn't work.... Yes, in the short run, congestion will be relieved, just as buying bigger pants eases the strain on the burgeoning waistline, but in the long run nothing will have been done to deal with why the problem existed in the first place. The Sierra Club is trying to address the problem by guiding alternative growth patterns that are not freeway dependent.

Btw - guess who is most interested in seeing this tranportation corridor built at tax-payer expense? BIG developers who are involved in west valley land speculation. They need this road or their projects will go bust.