Transportation corridor or crashing surf?
The Transportation Corridor Agencies will do anything to build the 16-mile Foothill South extension through the San Mateo Campground and San Onofre State Beach (Dec. 18). This includes ignoring the real transportation needs for south Orange County -- dealing with the 40,000-plus new residents projected for the planned Rancho Mission Viejo development. The alignment that cuts through the San Mateo Watershed was intended to serve new housing once planned for the development’s south section. Because a settlement preserved this wilderness from development, the south extension is unnecessary. Interstate 5 must be freed from the TCA’s “non-compete clause” that inhibits its widening. A dedicated access road must be built connecting Rancho Mission Viejo’s mega-development with highways to the north. This could turn the Orange County toll road system into a circular beltway. The future traffic needs of south Orange County must not be ignored. The TCA needs to face reality before it’s too late for the last wild public beach left in Southern California.
JACK EIDT
Director of Planning
Wild Heritage Planners, Los Angeles
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