Debating the Need for Tollway Extension

Re “Take High Road to Tollway,” Nov. 24:

I am disgusted, although not surprised, that members of Congress have tried over the years to pass special-interest legislation to exempt Orange County’s toll roads from state and federal laws.

I agree with The Times that there should be no special-interest legislation for the Foothill South tollway. Several of our elected representatives, including Sens. Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein and Reps. Loretta Sanchez and Susan Davis, have helped ensure that the toll road will be subject to state laws.

The ill-conceived Foothill South will only encourage development. We need to protect our last remaining wild lands. Let’s not sacrifice one of the world’s biodiversity hotspots for a plan that will not successfully address local traffic concerns, only to fatten the wallets of executives.

L. Waylin

Huntington Beach

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Your misguided editorial seems more interested in protecting the quality of life of slugs and snails than of people. Of course quality of life incorporates open space, parks and wildlife, but it must also include the opportunity to enjoy these amenities. How is our quality of life improved if we sit in freeway traffic for hours every day?

Planning for Foothill South, which began almost four years ago, will take at least another three years before the first shovel of dirt is turned.

Foothill South will include undercrossings to enable wildlife to safely cross the toll road. It will also have state-of-the-art drains and filters to capture storm-water runoff, keeping the nearby creeks pristine.

Foothill South will be the most environmentally sensitive road ever built in California.

Steven Seghers

Irvine

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Kudos to The Times, Sens. Boxer and Feinstein, and Reps. Sanchez and Davis for helping ensure that the toll road will be subject to state laws. Their actions will help to keep the aspirations of a minority from trumping the wishes of the majority.

We must understand by now that new thoroughfares only lead to new development rather than alleviating crowded highways. A number of our state parks have been reduced to scenic highways. And on top of it all, several haven’t covered their costs.

Bill Hanck

Newport Beach

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It was during the Clinton administration, in March 1999, that the U.S. Corps of Engineers, Federal Highway Administration, U.S. Fish and Wildlife, and the EPA signed off on the federal “purpose and need” document that started the current environmental review process examining nine alternative tollway routes. That document clearly shows the need for added capacity on the Orange County to San Diego County route.

The editorial states, “Camp Pendleton brass has reservations and the Legislature might block the tollway from the state beach.” Yes, one of the alternate routes is through an edge of a state campground on an easement that was established by the Marine Corps before the land was leased for a state park. As recently as Nov. 7, 2002, when he was speaking before the San Clemente Rotary Club, the commanding general of Camp Pendleton stated that the Marine Corps preferred that alignment.

But the real issue is finding a way to add capacity. Interstate 5 backs up now through San Clemente and will only get worse as population grows. Widening I-5 through San Clemente would be a true environmental disaster to its residents, so the proposed toll road is the only realistic alternative.

John Tengdin

San Clemente