Stop the Toll Road --- AGAIN!

Not again! The Transportation Corridor Agencies (TCA) wants to revive their plan to build a toll road that will destroy 60 percent of San Onofre State Park. And this time, they're trying to get the federal government on their side.

The TCA has asked the U.S. Secretary of Commerce to override the California Coastal Commission's NO vote regarding the Foothill-South Toll Road. In a shocking testament to TCA's consistent and repeated failure to address the public's concerns regarding this toll road, they have urged the Department of Commerce to deny the public an opportunity to participate in a hearing on the appeal.

U.S. Secretary of Commerce Carlos Gutierrez is hearing from special interest groups and the TCA's lobbyists. Now he needs to hear from you. Don't let the Bush Administration overrule the California Coastal Commission!

Find out more -- and get a sample letter to send -- from Sierra Club's Friends of the Foothills.

--- OR ---

Draft your own letter, email or fax that lets Commerce Secretary Carlos M. Gutierrez know you want him to save one of California's most popular and striking state parks.

Secretary Carlos M. Gutierrez
Office of the Secretary
Mailstop 61
U.S. Department of Commerce
14th & Constitution Ave. NW
Washington, DC 20230

Phone:
202-482-2000

Email:
E-mail Secretary Gutierrez

Coastal Commission Rejects the Toll Road

Courtesy of Mark Massara, Director, Sierra Club Coastal Program

After a 12-hour hearing at the Del Mar Fairgrounds, the California Coastal Commission voted 8-2 to reject the Foothill-South Toll Road and to save San Onofre State Beach. They voted to save Trestles Beach, one of the most iconic and legendary surfing spots in the world. They voted to protect San Onofre State Park, and in doing so stood up for our entire California state park system. They voted to preserve the San Mateo campground, one of the last affordable family campgrounds in Southern California. And they voted to protect California's remaining open space, endangered species and coastal resources in the face of money-driven corporate developers.

In the end, the toll road was stopped because over 3,000 people turned out at the hearing yesterday, wearing "Save the Park" t-shirts and carrying signs and painted surfboards. It was stopped because the Commissioners were literally inundated with your letters and phone calls urging them to do the right thing for our coast. And it was stopped because every-day people, across the state, took time out of their lives to participate in this critical environmental battle, took time to protect a beautiful coastal resource for generations to come.

We want to thank those who have participate in helping us to save San Onofre and stop this dangerous development project. In the end, we stopped much more than a toll road—we stopped a dangerous precedent from being set, one that would have left all our state parks and coastal resources in jeopardy to the highest bidder.

Please help us in thanking the eight Commissioners who stood up to the developers by finding their addresses at http://www.coastal.ca.gov/roster.html. The ones to thank are Kruer, Blank, Reilly, Clark, Neely, Shallenberger, Wan and Achadjian.

Sierra Club California, Surfrider State Park Foundation and others, Urge Protection of San Onofre State Beach from the Foothill South-Toll Road

Sacramento, CA – On January 22, 2008, a coalition including environmental groups, campers and surfers spoke out against Governor Schwarzenegger’s recent decision to support a six-lane, 16-mile toll road extension through San Onofre State Beach in Northern San Diego County. Scattered on the capitol lawn were 161 little red tents representing campsites that would likely be abandoned due to the harm the toll road would have on the San Mateo Campground.

“Approval of the Foothill-South Toll Road through San Onofre State Beach would set a dangerous precedent and put all our parks at greater risk,” said Elizabeth Goldstein, President of the California State Parks Foundation. “As California becomes more and more crowded, we are at a turning point. It is our generation that will decide whether state parks are merely warehouses for future development projects or if the lands we cherish will be protected for future generations to enjoy.”

“Because we live in San Bernardino, far from the coast, being able to camp at such a lovely campground near the beach is very important to us,” added Deborah Fry, a teacher whose family camps at the San Mateo Campground several times a year. “Camping together brings my family closer and creates memories that will last a lifetime.”

The protection of San Onofre State Beach from the Foothill South Toll Road is not just an issue of local concern but one of statewide significance as well. If they can put a road through San Onofre, it will set a dangerous precedent and put all of our parks at greater risk. As California becomes more and more crowded we are at a turning point. “Will our parks and natural spaces remain open protected for future generations to enjoy or will they be seen as just warehouses, set aside for future development?” said Jim Metropulos, Legislative Representative for Sierra Club California “Parks should not be looked at as the path of least resistence for developers proposing bad projects."

Early next month, the California Coastal Commission will decide if the Foothill South-Toll Road is compliant with California’s Coastal Act. Last year, the Coastal Commission staff released a 236-page report stating the road violates the Coastal Act in substantive and unmitigable ways. The Coastal Commission will make a decision regarding the toll road extension when they meet on February 6^th in Oceanside.

The proposed Foothill South-Toll Road has long been a source of contention between environmentalists, campers and local citizens and toll road proponents. Environmentalists assert that the road will not significantly reduce the county’s traffic problems and construction of a road through a state park will set a dangerous precedent. The proposed extension would connect the current portions of the Foothill South Toll Road to the I-5 freeway at the Orange County/San Diego border cutting through San Onofre State Beach, the San Mateo Campground and the San Mateo Watershed causing the abandonment of nearly 60% of the park.

Not only would the road ruin San Mateo Campground, but Surfrider Foundation is also concerned the toll road will pollute the San Mateo Creek and alter the natural flow of sediment and cobbles that help form the waves at Trestles. “Why risk ruining a pristine watershed, impeccable water quality, and a perfect wave for a toll road?" asks Stefanie Sekich, Save Trestles Campaign Coordinator for Surfrider Foundation.

From the California Progressive Report: "Who Wants to Camp Under a Toll Road? A Bad Idea for California’s Parks"

From Capitol Weekly: "Coalition rises to protect San Onofre State Beach"