SEAL BEACH : City Protests Caltrans’ Freeway Art Project

Councilwoman Marilyn Bruce Hastings lambasted the $1.3-million Caltrans art project that will place art panels on freeway sound walls, calling it a “capricious” waste of money. Hastings and council members voted Monday night to send a letter of protest to state and federal lawmakers.

“These federal funds would be better spent on police, fighting crime, replenishing (beach) sand and doing many, many other things,” Hastings said.

The Caltrans “scenic beautification” project is funded by the Intermodal Surface Transportation Act of 1991. Federal lawmakers earmarked $200 million over several years for such programs in California, which are described as “enhancement projects to increase the quality of life for the greatest number of people,” according to the legislation.

Caltrans plans to install nine-square-foot art panels along freeway walls to discourage graffiti. The federal government will pay 88% of the project’s cost, with a 12% state contribution.

Seal Beach Mayor George Brown abstained from voting on the protest letter, saying he first wants to see its wording. Brown and Councilman Frank Laszlo say they support the protest idea, but only to a point.

“If they’re going to spend the $200 million, I want a picture of Seal Beach and the pier down there on that freeway,” Laszlo said. “We might as well get something.”

But Hastings said the protest is important, even if it results in excluding the art panels from freeways in the Seal Beach area.

“It’s a capricious way of spending taxpayer dollars when there are so many people in need,” Hastings said.