Wave of common sense crashes on toll road vote

Surfers are basking in glory after the California Coastal Commission on Wednesday dealt what might be a death blow to a proposed toll-road extension that would have blazed a six-lane expressway through pristine San Onofre State Beach.

And deservedly so.

Surfers did not win the decade-long battle, of course. Environmental groups were also on board and, ultimately, common sense among the commission panel prevailed in the form of an 8-2 vote of disapproval.

But surfers were by far the more vociferous and passionate opponents of the Foothill South project. Of the estimated 2,500 antagonists at the marathon Del Mar hearing, most were wave riders.

Clearly, the Transportation Corridor Agencies chose the wrong location to erect their toll road.

Surfers enjoyed home-turf advantage. San Onofre, as Surfing magazine editor Evan Slater pointed out, is “the hub of the surf world in Southern California.”

Lower Trestles, the legendary point break within the park, is site of the only World Tour pro surfing contest in the continental United States. It hosts the most prestigious amateur national championship series in the world.

Several top pros -- Taylor Knox, Rob Machado, Mike Parsons, Pat O’Connell, Shane Beschen and others -- were bred for success on the perfect right-handers at Lower Trestles.

“It’s kind of the ultimate playing field,” Slater said, comparing it to Lambeau Field of Green Bay Packers football fame. “It certainly has a lot of lore and prestige behind it.”

A football reference also appeared in a headline above a Surfline.com story: “It’s been a week for the record books. Super Bowl Sunday rolled into Super Tuesday and finally, Big Wednesday.”

It was the day the well-meaning bureaucrats weren’t entirely defeated -- the CTA has vowed to appeal -- but it was one during which they were forced to punt from deep in their end zone.

The commission’s decision represents far more than a victory for surfers, of course.

A 16-mile addition to an Orange County toll road few people use -- I travel that road often, at $4-plus per pop, simply to enjoy the rare feeling of having a lane to myself -- would jeopardize the 3,000-acre park’s fragile ecology, including a creek that supports endangered steelhead trout.

Moreover, it would set a horrible precedent.

If a freeway can be built through one state park, why not others? How about a 30-mile thoroughfare through the Santa Monica Mountains to relieve congestion on the Ventura Freeway?

These parks are our only proximate salvation from not only clogged freeways, but cluttered communities caused by development projects that lure thousands more people to this region every day.

“We can go walk on the dirt instead of walking on concrete all the time,” says Courtney Conlogue, a budding surfing star from Santa Ana. “Having to go through all the bamboo sticks [to get to Trestles] is really nice.”

Our state parks serve as refuge for birds, insects, reptiles and mammals, small and large. They should be perceived as sacred ground. No earthmovers allowed. Ever.

San Onofre State Beach is a unique blend of coastal and canyon wilderness, all of it vulnerable to encroachment.

This includes even the composition of shoreline beneath waterline, which allow waves from all directions to wrap so beautifully around Lower Trestles’ subtle point.

Lowers and nearby breaks were formed, over the millennia, by sediment entering the ocean via the creek within the estuary. It’s debatable how or whether the toll-road project would alter these waves, but, as Surfline founder Sean Collins said, “Whenever someone’s going to start messing with the source of that kind of world-class wave . . . as surfers, we’re going to get pretty nervous about that.”

Nerves have settled for now, but a new swell is due by Saturday, so excitement mounts. Trestles will be packed all weekend. Or should we say gridlocked?

Whales front and center

This is the peak period of the southbound migration off Southern California and, finally, sightings are up -- way up.

Volunteers for the Gray Whale Census and Behavior Project, at Point Vicente on the Palos Verdes Peninsula, logged a season-high 30 gray whales Sunday and double-digit counts Tuesday and Wednesday.

Dana Wharf Sportfishing and Davey’s Locker in Newport Beach have reported multiple sightings all week. The Western Pride followed six lumbering grays on its Wednesday morning run.

Catalina seabass

Balboa Angling Club member Bobby Leinau used live squid to lure a 37-pound 9-ounce white seabass onto his hook Tuesday morning behind the island.

It’s the first of the year to be weighed at the prestigious BAC, manager John Willis said, and it hints of an early spring bite.

Finally, a tallish tale

The International Game Fish Assn. approved 495 world-record applications in 2007 and atop its highlight list is the catch by fly-angler Enrico Capozzi of a 78-pound 6-ounce Pacific sailfish on two-pound tippet off Costa Rica.

That’s akin to lassoing a cheetah with thread, but Capozzi was fortunate: The billfish literally jumped into his boat moments after becoming hooked, making an improbable catch possible.

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pete.thomas@latimes.com