A Major Bump in the Toll Road
Rest easy: you can make a difference. All it takes is passion, voice, motivation and the belief that good will prevail. Surfers discovered that late last night at the Del Mar Fairgrounds when the California Coastal Commission, after sitting through 14 hours of impassioned speeches and long-winded reports, ruled 8-2 that the proposed 241 toll road project is NOT in compliance with the California Coastal Act. What this means is that the Transportation Corridor Authority (TCA), the corporation in charge of building the toll road, will not get its needed permit from the CCC. There will likely be appeals, of course, but this monumental decision, witnessed by more than 2,000 surfers and wildlife supporters throughout Southern California, means the hotly contested 241 toll road, intersecting the I5 right at Trestles, is looking a lot less likely.
 |
|
You need to upgrade your Flash Player
|
Things didn’t appear that way leading up to the hearing. Recently, our goat of a governor, Arnold Schwarznegger, decided to thumb his nose at San Onofre State Park, favor the toll road and seriously slash state park budgets up and down the coast. Surfrider Executive Director Jim Moriarty admitted he was down a few days ago. “I just woke up one morning, going, ‘Does anyone really care?’” But that all changed on Wednesday morning, when he saw an endless throng of surfers show up to Del Mar Fairgrounds to voice their opposition. “My spirits just soared,” he said.
He wasn’t the only one. The Sierra Club’s Mark Massara. 1977 World Champ Shaun Tomson. Skip and Donna Frye. Mickey Munoz. Taylor Knox. The Hobgoods. Greg Long. The Gudauakas Brothers. Even little Brother Andino were all there, along with countless other personalities and everyday surfers, standing shoulder to shoulder and wearing their “Save Trestles” slogans on their sleeves. The numbers gradually dwindled into the late-night hours, when the 10 commission members reviewed their findings and voiced their conclusions. But there were still plenty of surfers on hand. The vote started at 2-2 and it was uncertain as to which way it would swing. But then Commission Steve Blank – an appointee of Arnold, no less – began to speak. "Offers to buy a state park and run a toll road through it is embarrassing,” he said as he voted against it. It rolled on from there. “There are impacts, serious impacts, which can’t be mitigated,” said Commissioner Mary Schallenberger. Soon, the vote grew to 8-2, meaning a dead end for the TCA – at least for the time being.
As Moriarty said at the lunchtime rally, “This toll road project has been going on for over a decade and will continue along with many others like it. Save Trestles isn’t a campaign or a slogan; it’s a lifestyle. This is your lifestyle. Embrace it.”
Just look what happens when we do.
[Special thanks to all the activists who put in countless hours into the Save Trestles campaign. You all deserve your pick of set waves in perpetuity.]
Check out the minute to minute updates on Save Trestles twitter: twitter.com/SaveTrestles
|
|
 |
|
|
||
|
||||||
|
THE BEST SURFERS! THE BEST PHOTOS! AND NOW THE BEST DEAL: SUBSCRIBE TODAY AND GET 1 YEAR OF SURFING MAGAZINE FOR ONLY $12.00! Take advantage of this special offer-act now! GIVE A GIFT |
||||||
|
|
||||||
|
|
|||||
|
|
||||||
Add Comment