IRVINE : Ferguson to Talk on Toll Road Issues

Assemblyman Gil Ferguson will take his campaign against the planned Newport Coast Drive toll booths to the City Council tonight, warning city officials to prepare for a flurry of lawsuits that could have a dramatic effect on the amount of traffic flowing through the city.

But Irvine Mayor Michael Ward says Ferguson’s timing is flawed.

“I’m not too happy about him testifying, because I don’t think it’s the proper time,” Ward said. The council will review an environmental impact report in January on the realignment of three major Irvine roads in conjunction with the planned San Joaquin Hills toll road, Ward said. “He’s way ahead of the deal.”

The council has not put the subject of the toll road on tonight’s agenda. Ferguson will speak during the public comment period at the council meeting, which begins at 5:30 p.m.

The Newport Beach Republican is a longtime opponent of the plan to require a 50-cent toll on a 1 1/2-mile segment of Newport Coast Drive, which would prevent free access on the road from Irvine to the beaches of Newport.

“I’m just going to tell them to be vigilant, so that when the lawsuits start they’ll know where they stand,” said Ferguson, 71, who is leaving the state Assembly to run for the seat now held by state Sen. Marian Bergeson (R-Newport Beach). Bergeson will retire from the Senate in January to succeed retiring Orange County Supervisor Thomas F. Riley.

Although Ferguson has tried unsuccessfully to get legislation passed to block the toll booths planned for Newport Coast Drive, he contends that lawsuits could result in favorable court action.

“The court can force the (Transportation Corridor Agencies) to remove tolls from previously free roads,” Ferguson said. “They can do this because there have been several similar cases in the history of California. There’s a lot of toll road laws already on the books.”