Bicyclists Lose in Autos-Only Ramp Ruling

Bicyclists who ride a beachfront stretch of Pacific Coast Highway through south Orange County will continue to be barred from an access ramp in Dana Point that links two sections of the route.

Concluding a year-old lawsuit brought by the Orange County Bicycle Coalition, Superior Court Judge Michael H. Brenner ruled late Thursday that Caltrans can prohibit bicyclists and pedestrians from using the onramp at Doheny Park Road and northbound PCH.

The coalition, which represents area bicycle clubs and individual cyclists, sued in September 2000, saying that the California Department of Transportation had failed to fulfill a long-standing pledge to open the access ramp.

Although state law allows bicyclists to ride on the highway and Doheny Park Road, Caltrans designated the connecting road as “freeway,” which by law excludes the riders, and pedestrians.

“Safety for the traveling public, including bicyclists, is always our paramount concern,” said Beth Beeman, a Caltrans spokeswoman. “The court, in this instance, has ruled to uphold public safety. We agree with that decision.”

The disputed onramp breaks up a popular bicycle route along PCH that runs below the bluffs in the Dana Point community of Capistrano Beach before heading into the central part of the city, and to Monarch Bay and Laguna Beach. It is used by bike-riding commuters and recreational cyclists.

The coalition contends that making the ramp off-limits forces riders to choose between illegally using it or making a three-mile detour to get back onto northbound PCH via Del Obispo Street in Dana Point.

“Caltrans has been promising to let us on that ramp for years,” said Don Harvey, executive director of the bicycle coalition. “But when you take them to court, they don’t agree to fix what they’ve promised. They defend themselves. I’ll be dead before anything happens now--that’s dead from old age.”

The coalition wanted Caltrans to lift the onramp’s freeway designation and remove signs warning bicyclists to stay off the ramp.

Its attorney, Rock Kendall of Laguna Hills, himself a cyclist, contended that Caltrans had no right to discriminate against bicycle riders and that Caltrans mislabeled the ramp as freeway, although it is only a third of a mile long.

But Caltrans argued that the Doheny Park Road ramp is part of the southernmost portion of PCH--a roughly milelong stretch between Interstate 5 and San Juan Creek that is officially considered freeway. The designation is justified, those officials say, because drivers leaving Interstate 5 for PCH travel at high speed.

Court records show that Caltrans had plans to eventually let bicyclists use the ramp--plans that included a $1.5-million access project with a start date tentatively set in 2004. Beeman, the Caltrans spokeswoman, said the proposal has not been funded yet.

In his ruling, Brenner agreed with Caltrans that the onramp was freeway and that the agency had complied with all laws in providing reasonable and safe alternate routes for bicyclists.

Harvey, head of the bicycle coalition, said his group will not appeal the ruling because it has little money.