LAGUNA BEACH : Her Tree Signs Get to Heart of the Matter

Happy Valentine’s Day! Save Laguna Canyon Road!

That’s the message local environmentalist Beth Leeds wanted to impart to motorists driving on Laguna Canyon Road on Sunday when she pinned red foil paper hearts on about 150 trees lining the road.

“I’m just a heart-type person,” said Leeds, 52, resting against a tree during a break. “I have a lot of love for Laguna Canyon Road and I want to do my part to save it.”

For the past four years, Leeds has pinned hearts in January or February on the trees to protest the planned San Joaquin Hills toll road which, she said, will destroy the area’s natural beauty.

The $1-billion San Joaquin Hills toll road, due to open in 1996, would be a 17 1/2-mile extension of the Corona del Mar Freeway connecting San Juan Capistrano to John Wayne Airport and traversing Laguna Canyon Road at the Sycamore Hills area.

“The developers say that it’s necessary to move and widen Laguna Canyon Road,” Leeds said. “I say they’re wrong and that if the road is widened, the area will be blighted because nature will have been destroyed.”

“I happen to appreciate the beauty of Laguna Canyon even if there are some who don’t,” she said. Referring to the October fires that scorched much of the area and Laguna Beach, Leeds continued, “The fires didn’t destroy the hills but the bulldozers will, and we have to do everything possible to prevent that.”

So, she and two friends started out at 11 a.m. to pin on the trees shiny red hearts Leeds said she hopes will appeal to others to join the fight to save the road.