Cyclists Tell Caltrans to Yield

Irate Orange County bicyclists have sued the state Department of Transportation, saying backpedaling bureaucrats at Caltrans have unlawfully barred them from zipping along a popular stretch of Pacific Coast Highway.

At issue is an almost mile-long access ramp connecting Doheny Park Road to northbound PCH--a popular biking spot near the beach in Dana Point. Although state law allows bicyclists to ride along PCH and Doheny Park Road, Caltrans has labeled the connector ramp a “freeway,” which by law excludes bicyclists and pedestrians.

On Tuesday, the Orange County Bicycle Coalition filed papers in Superior Court demanding that Caltrans redesignate the connection and tear down signs that prohibit bicycles.

As it is, they said, traffic officials are keeping bike riders from taking Doheny Park Road onto PCH. Coalition leaders say they turned to the courts because Caltrans had promised to resolve the matter a year ago and has yet to remove the signs.

“The whole thing is a bunch of b.s.,” said an irritated Don Harvey, executive director of the Orange County Bicycle Coalition. “Caltrans just ignores bicyclists. . . . They’re out to lunch.”

On Friday, Caltrans spokeswoman Beth Beeman refused to comment on the lawsuit, saying Caltrans had yet to receive a copy. But Beeman said Caltrans had not abandoned its pledge to one day open the ramp to bicyclists. But she said it’s impossible to determine when that will happen.

“We are working toward the day when cyclists can use the ramp,” Beeman said. “But we can’t allow them into an unsafe situation. We have to add some new safety features.” New features include a chain-link fence and guardrails, according to Caltrans.

The Bicycle Coalition has roughly 200 members and represents two Orange County bicycle groups--the Orange County Wheelmen and the Bicycle Club of Irvine.

Over the last decade, members of the group have developed a reputation among transportation officials as being fierce advocates for bicycle riders. Harvey, who was an accomplished cyclist before he was struck and severely injured by a car five years ago while riding, has fought against the addition of traffic lanes on PCH in Huntington Beach, among other causes.

The suit claims specifically that Caltrans has “exceeded its police powers” by posting signs that bar bicycles. It also claims that bike riders have suffered injury as a result, because they have lost their “rightful bicycle access.”

“It’s all a matter of access,” said the group’s pro bono lawyer, Rock Kendall. “If they can call an access ramp a freeway, they can call anything a freeway.”

Highways are roads that intersect surface streets at frequent intervals and can border commercial properties. Freeways are routes with access much more strictly controlled and separated from business properties and surface streets. Speed limits are also higher on freeways than highways.

Although Caltrans has declined to comment on the lawsuit, documents included in this week’s filing reveal that Caltrans has a very different view of the matter.

Last October, Caltrans traffic operations chief Raouf Moussa wrote that the southernmost portion of Pacific Coast Highway--a roughly one-mile stretch between the San Diego Freeway and San Juan Creek, which includes the disputed ramp--is designated as a freeway. However, Moussa wrote that he would recommend to his superiors that bicyclists be permitted to use the ramp.

Harvey said he and his group were encouraged by that letter, but the glow faded when the signs remained.

“Whenever we’d call to ask why the signs haven’t been taken down yet, we get somebody who says, ‘What signs?’ ”

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

Road to Nowhere

The Orange County Bicycle Coalition filed a lawsuit claiming Caltrans unlawfully barred cyclists from using access ramps in Dana Point.