NEWPORT BEACH / CORONA DEL MAR : Opinions Sought About Tollbooth

The state attorney general’s office is soliciting the opinions of city officials and residents about plans to place a tollbooth on a portion of Newport Coast Drive where it will become a part of the San Joaquin Transportation Corridor.

In a letter last month to Newport Beach Mayor Clarence J. Turner, state Atty. Gen. Dan Lungren said his office would collect input from all interested parties by Friday, when it will issue an opinion.

At stake is the placement of a tollbooth at the point where Newport Coast Drive meets the future path of the San Joaquin Transportation Corridor.

Newport Coast Drive follows a loop around the city of Newport Beach, connecting MacArthur Boulevard near the Corona del Mar Freeway to East Coast Highway near Crystal Cove State Beach.

The portion of Newport Coast Drive that is proposed to become a tollway extends from MacArthur Boulevard to about a mile east of Bonita Canyon Drive.

Residents of Corona del Mar fear that charging a toll will encourage motorists to detour through their quiet, seaside community along East Coast Highway.

This month’s Corona del Mar Chamber of Commerce newsletter encourages members to protest the toll plan.

“Without this free public road (Newport Coast Drive), Pacific Coast Highway and our flower-named streets will again be impacted with commuter traffic from South County,” the newsletter says.

Some have challenged the legality of placing a toll on what is now a public roadway.

The San Joaquin Transportation Corridor Agency has maintained that the toll has always been a part of the corridor’s plans and is necessary to produce revenue to pay back the $1.1 billion in bonds that were sold to finance the project.

The city of Newport Beach has drafted a letter to Lungren that supports proposals to build a toll-free alternative parallel to the tollway.

That letter is expected to be approved at tonight’s public meeting at City Hall. The meeting starts at 7 p.m.

Those wishing to register their views should contact state deputy Atty. Gen. Clayton Roche, 455 Golden Gate Ave., Suite 6200, San Francisco, CA 94102-3658.