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The OC Register says some South OC cities are not happy about the 241 stalling -- because it could mean more traffic for them. The toll road now ends around Rancho Santa Margarita -- sort of like where the 710 ends in Alhambra: Rancho Santa Margarita Mayor Neil Blais attended the state Coastal Commission hearing on the expansion of the 241 toll road on Wednesday wearing multiple hats. Blais also sits on the board of the Foothill Eastern Transportation Corridor Agency, a proponent of the extension. Blais, who said he spends $150 using the toll road, was upset when the commission denied approval for the project. "My residents, the residents of Ladera Ranch, the residents of Mission Viejo and the residents of the future Ranch plan are the ones who are going to pay the penalty for a very vociferous group of people, many of who do not even live in Orange County," Blais said.
With the Coastal Commission rejecting the 241 Tollroad, The Times' David Reyes says officials are considering going back to the map: MacLean said that when the TCA board meets next week they may discuss the possibility of changing the tollway route to a location outside the jurisdiction of the Coastal Commission. "Of the 16 miles to complete the toll road," MacLean said, "only 2.2 miles are in the coastal zone. We can change the route, but that's just an idea, and of course, we will have to do studies."
Pam O'Connor, the Metro Board Chair, got a question from a reader on her live chat about the concept of "congestion pricing" and whether carpoolers were being punished by allowing solo drivers to share carpool lanes if they pay a toll. Her response: The intent of congestion pricing isn't to punish carpoolers. Metro is a huge supporter of carpooling and in fact provides billions of dollars to construct carpool lanes. We also have a department that works constantly with major employers, offering carpool incentive programs. Metro also provides subsidies to people who form vanpools. The problem is that many of our carpool lanes are running at or over capacity during peak hours and are not (or won't in the near future) be providing any speed advantage to carpoolers. Our hope with congestion pricing is to better manage our highway lanes -- to make the system work more efficiently and optimally. We think toll lanes will keep the lanes running at 50 miles per hour. And any money collected -- although this is far from a huge money-making tool -- would be used to increase other transit options along the corridor like van pool subsidies and add more freeway express buses to help everyone move better … especially those who use transit or carpool.
The Times' David Reyes in Del Mar is blogging the big tollroad vote. Check here for the latest.After the lunch break, Coastal Commission Chairman Patrick Kruer grew frustrated with outbursts ensuing during speeches. So he came up with new rules. He urged those in the audience, many of whom were clutching signs either for or against the toll road, to raise their arms instead of shouting, hooting or yelping. "Those who did not like a person's opinion as it came before the commission put your thumbs down or raise your signs again," he instructed the crowd.
Careful what you wish for.
When he introduced Tom Margrow, CEO of the Transportation Corridor Agencies, hundreds of signs went fluttering into the air.
Margrow went on to say, "The 241 will provide congestion relief in one of our most important transportation corridors in the state."
And then:
"Traffic is growing, especially port traffic from Los Angeles and San Pedro harbors. The fact that a toll road is needed is part of the reason an alternative to I-5 has been recognized for many years."
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More than 2,000 people have signed up to speak, though there was some indication the hearing might be cut off at 7 p.m. But whether the commission will actually vote tonight-still unclear.
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So how organized are the opponents of the toll road?
How about this: if a toll road proponent made an alleged false statement, the Save San Onofre Coalition would immediately print the statement from a computer and then attach a rebuttal. Then runners from the oalition would deliver one-page alerts to VIPs in the audience and the media while the meeting continued.
For example, after Margrow said "The TCA has a track record of success," the coalition quickly quickly passed out this alert:
"Fact: Cost estimates for this road have been wildly inaccurate," citing media story headlines.
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Elizabeth Goldstein, president of the State Parks Foundation, addressed the commission. "This is important for San Onofre and all other state parks that are being eyed for infrastructure expansion development," she said. "If the toll road is permitted to proceed, we will all be spending decades in rooms like this all across the state fighting to protect yet another special place."
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Native Americans believe they are affected by the toll road because the highway would come close to Panhe, an ancient burial site.
Rebecca Robles a Juaneno from San Clemente, came up with half a dozen other native Americans and sang a ceremonial song to the commission.
Following the song, she gave an emotional speech saying that she has a son in Iraq "and I stand here before the commission to save our sacred site. Our coalition is a grass-roots organization." She then described Panhe to the commission as the ancestral home of the Juaneno band of Indians.
"I encourage you, I implore you to uphold the California Coastal Act. Panhe is one of the remaining sites that we can enjoy our spiritual individuality. I ask you to protect this sacred site and uphold the act."
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More than 2,500 people have signed up to present their personal findings to the Coastal Commission on the extension of the toll road through San Onofre State Beach. The number of those wishing to speak caught commission staff members by surprise ... they ran out of slips to hand out and had to start tearing up pieces of paper to give to people.
As Coastal Commission members discussed a report by the Transportation Corridor Agencies, proponents of the road, audience members would erupt in cheers whenever they heard the word Trestles. Deficiencies mentioned in the report also drew boisterous applause. Finally, the audience was warned to stop disrupting the proceedings or the hearing would go on all night.
Here's an amusing photo from the Coastal Commission meeting on the future of the 241 toll road extension. Critics clearly outnumber backers. And notice the difference in signage:
DEL MAR -- Several thousand people turned out today Wednesday morning at a California Coastal Commission hearing that will decide whether to approve a six-lane tollway through San Onofre State Beach, a popular preserve known for its ocean setting and famous surf spots.
Commission officials estimated that about 3,000 people—both tollroad supporters and oppnents--had filled Wyland Hall, a large pavilion at the Del Mar Fairgrounds, which has been set aside for the tollroad hearing.
They sat in rows of chairs and banks of bleachers at the back of the hall to hear what could turn into a day-long discussion about the Foothill South project.
"This is the largest turnout we have ever had," said Sarah Christie, the commission’s legislative director.
Estimated to cost at least $875 million, the Foothill South would run 16-miles from Oso Parkway in Rancho Santa Margarita to I-5 at Basilone Road south of San Clemente.
The highway would course through the northern half of San Onofre and pass over the Trestles marine estuary, which is a nature preserve. About 320 of the park’s 2,100 acres would be taken for the road.
The controversy has generated intense public interest across the state. Local governments in Southern California have voted to support or oppose the highway. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger endorsed the project in January and other high ranking state officials have taken positions on the road.
Before the hearing even began this morningÖ , surfing-related companies, such as Billabong, Etnies, Vans, Reef, and GFH Boards, bused hundreds of toll way opponents to the Del Mar Fairgrounds. Cars of protesters bore painted signs saying, "Honk to Save Trestles," and "Save the Park."
Popular among the opposition were blue T-shirts that stated "Save the Park, Stop the Tollroad."
"There are only so many state parks left and we really should not pave over them," said Mike Matey, 40, of San Diego, who frequently camps and surfs at San Onofre. "I can’t trust what the TCA says about the impacts of the highway on our coast."
Just outside Wyland Hall there was a carnival atmosphere. Hundreds of people milled about, sometimes shoulder to shoulder. Booths set up by the Sierra Club, the Surfrider Foundation and other environmental groups dispensed anti-tollroad literature while concessionaires sold coffee, mochas and lattes.
Heading insidethe pavilion was Armando Esparza, secretary for Laborers’ Union Local 652, which is affiliated with the Southern California District Council of Laborers. He was part of a group of more than 100 union members and tollway supporters from the Inland Empire, Los Angeles, San Diego and Orange County.
"Maybe at the end of the day, this project will mean more jobs, but it also will help relieve congestion," Esparza said. "Look at our freeways now--the 91 and the 710. They are all congested. People are now coming in from San Diego County to work in Orange County. That creates a bottleneck on the 5."
-David Reyes and Dan Weikel
Members of the activist group known as the Bus Rider’s Union today denounced the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s plan to scale back bus service starting in June. At issue are plans to eliminate some 375,000 hours of service annually, which Manuel Criollo of the BRU said would undermine gains owing to the 1996 Civil Rights Consent Decree. The consent decree -- the settlement of a lawsuit brought against Metro 12 years ago -- resulted in 10 years of policies aimed at reducing fares, reducing overcrowding and adding buses. Federal courts denied a request to extend the decree when it expired two years ago. The BRU submitted a brief for appeal last summer and is waiting to argue its case before the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, Criollo said. Criollo described last year’s fare increase and the coming cuts to bus service as part of an “aggressive offensive to roll back what we had done.” (CNS)
The California Coastal Commission decides the fate Wednesday of a controversial toll road project designed to ease one of Southern California's worst bottlenecks: The road from Orange County to San Diego County. The project is strongly opposed by environmentalists because it would cut through parkland and the famed surfing spot. The decision is considered a fateful moment in the effort to improve the region's traffic woes. While most proposals for freeway expansion lack money, the tollroad is ready with financing. And backers ask if this project can't get off the ground, what are the prospects that there will ever be another freeway built in the L.A. metro area?
The Times' Dan Weikel has a strong preview of what is at stake.
The Times' Cara Di Massa looks at the effort to revive downtown L.A.'s Broadway with a new streetcar. Bring Back Broadway, the group spearheading the effort, described the Broadway street car this way: The City, CRA and Metro are studying the feasibility of reviving the beloved downtown streetcar and using it to connect Broadway to downtown’s newer attractions, such as Grand Avenue or L.A. Live. The streetcar long-served as a popular mode of transportation along Broadway until 1961. Reviving the streetcar is a plan that has widespread City and community support, and the Coalition of Trustees will include anactive streetcar sub-Committee. As has been the case in other west coast cities, suchas San Diego, San Francisco, Portland and Seattle, the streetcar will once again roll down Broadway, linking our past to our revitalized future. Three options have been identified for routes connecting broadway, Grand Avenue, L.A. Live and other points of interest downtown. The next phase will be to determine the single preferred streetcar route, and begin the environmental work which will be necessary to determine the best and most feasible plan.
Steve Hymon's new column takes on the Presidential candidates for talking more about traffic: What could a president of the United States really do to improve your commute? The question resonates in Southern California, the longtime champion of primal-scream traffic. In recent years, the issue has been pretty much left up to local and state pols and their ever-shrinking pots of money. If you can read this while driving today, then you know what a great job they've done. But there was a day when getting around town was a presidential concern. It reached its nexus in 1956 when President Eisenhower, still irked over a slow cross-country drive decades earlier, signed the Federal-Aid Highway Act.
Wired.com likes where Steve is coming from.
PHOTO: LAT
The well-traveled Grapevine area of the Interstate 5 was partially reopened this morning after weekend storms shut down the freeway for eight hours overnight.
Groups of 500 vehicles were slowly escorted both ways along a 40-mile stretch from the Grapevine exit to Parker Road that had been closed since 11:30 p.m. last night, said officer David Porter of the California Highway Patrol. In the right conditions, a controlled number of vehicles slowly traveling across the mountain pass can warm up the roads and help cleanup efforts, said officer John Lutz of the CHP.
Closure of the state’s major north-south artery can cause wide-scale traffic headaches. About 70,000 motorists travel through the serpentine Grapevine each day. "It seems like there has been more activity this year with the closure of the 5 at the Grapevine than in the past few years," Porter said.
-Victoria Kim
Traffic was closed on the Pomona (60) freeways was closed Sunday after a big-rig overturned and live pigs from the vehicle scurried into the road, authorities said. The accident was reported on the connector between the southbound San Gabriel (605) and the Pomona (60) freeways at 5:10 p.m., said Officer Jose Nunez of the California Highway Patrol. The connector and three right lanes on the westbound 60 were closed at the 605 while CHP officers tried to upright the truck and clear the road, Nunez said. (CNS)
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