Yesterday California lawmakers gave final approval to designating a chunk of the 134 freeway as the President Barack H. Obama Highway, in honor of former President Obama.
The measure's supporters will now need to raise the private funds needed to put the signs in place along the stretch of freeway between the 210 and the 2.
Obama attended Occidental College in Eagle Rock in 1979 before transferring to Columbia University in 1981.
State Senator Anthony Portantino (D-La Cañada Flintridge) said he decided to dedicate the stretch of freeway after Obama after he learned that the former President lived in Pasadena as a student and commuted to class on the 134.
Portantino said:
“It is particularly proud to stand today to recognize [Obama’s] compassion and heart and dignity on a day when we sorely need compassion, heart and dignity expressed."
He added that renaming the freeway makes sense because "President Obama has a strong and productive connection to Southern California, and particularly to this stretch of freeway.”
That might be a bit of a stretch, don't you think?
The Senate voted 38 to 0 with most Republicans in support (two did not vote). In the Assembly, Republicans either voted against the designation, or withheld their vote.
Assemblyman Matthew Harper (R-Huntington Beach) said:
“With Obama being so young, it’s kind of undetermined what his overall legacy will be and how history will judge him. He didn’t even graduate from a California university.”
Caltrans estimates the signage will cost anywhere from $3,000 to $7,000.