California sorta copies our Tollroad vs. Park debate

Sound familiar? Citizens are up in arms over a proposal to construct a tollroad through a park. Although this time it's not through the center of Dallas, but through a beach in California and the decision probably won't come from a local referendum, but via a political body known as the California Coastal Commission.

According to this story in the Los Angeles Times, the 12-person Commission will decide tomorrow whether to approve the construction of the Foothill South Tollway through San Onofre Beach, a popular park filled, according to the Times, with endangered species, old Indian sites and popular places to surf.

Supporters of the tollroad say it is needed to relieve congestion on Interstate 5, much the same way proponents of the Trinity River Tollway said it was needed to relieve congestion on Interstate 35E. And, sounding even more like the local argument, the California transportation folks are saying the route through Onofre Beach is the preferred alignment. Without it, they say, I5 would have to be widened, resulting in the removal of thousands of businesses along the route. (And I'm thinking: "Where have I heard that before?")

The Commission must decide if the road complies with something called the California Coastal Act. If the Commission says it doesn't, then the builders cannot apply for the state or federal permits needed for construction.

In perhaps one of the least sensitive statements to be uttered in this debate, the Time quoted Transportation Corridor Agency (the outfit that recommended the tollway) Chairman Lance MacLean as saying: "We are not trying to put down a state park, but this is not Yosemite."