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 he California Coastal Commission has rejected a proposed six-lane toll road that would have sliced directly through the state park at San Onofre State Beach, one of California's most popular parks. The commission voted 8-2 in February to reject the shortsighted highway plan, which threatened to destroy one of the few remaining unspoiled stretches of Southern California's coastline. "San Onofre was set aside as a park nearly four decades ago so it would be protected and enjoyed forever -- not paved into oblivion," said NRDC Senior Attorney Joel Reynolds. While celebrating the latest victory, park defenders learned that the toll road controversy had claimed two political victims when Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger announced he would not reappoint Clint Eastwood and Bobby Shriver to the State Park and Recreation Commission. Both men report it was their strong public defense of San Onofre State Park that led to their dismissal by the governor, who has been a strong supporter of the toll road plan.
In 2006, NRDC and our allies filed a lawsuit against the Orange County toll road agency for failing to adequately consider the project's environmental impacts. While we fought the toll road in court, our partner group -- the NRDC Action Fund -- repeatedly mobilized the public against the plan, generating thousands of phone calls and messages of protest to county and state officials. Located midway between Los Angeles and San Diego, San Onofre attracts more than 2.5 million visitors per year. Top surfers compete at its world-renowned Trestles surf breaks. The park is also home to 11 threatened or endangered species and provides a pristine haven for significant portions of San Mateo Creek -- one of the last unspoiled watersheds in Southern California. The toll road agency has appealed the Coastal Commission's decision to the U.S. Secretary of Commerce. NRDC will challenge any attempt to reverse the decision.
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“San Onofre was set aside as a park nearly four decades ago so it would be protected and enjoyed forever -- not paved into oblivion.”
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