SoCal Congressmen support appeal of toll road decision

Articles — By forcechange on May 30, 2008 2:31 pm

The controversial Orange County toll road proposal, intended to relieve traffic on the gridlocked Interstate 5, is being revisited.  The ruling of the California Coastal Commission, rejecting the proposal back in February, is being appealed to the U.S. Secretary of Commerce.  The Secretary has the authority to overrule the Coastal Commission because the route at issue for the proposed toll road runs through Camp Pendleton Marine Corps base and is leased to the state.

The appeal, launched by the Transportation Corridor Agencies, is being supported by eight local Congressmen, Gary Miller (R-Diamond Bar), Ken Calvert (R-Corona), John Campbell (R-Irvine), Ed Royce (R-Fullerton), Dana Rohrabacher (R-Huntington Beach), Darrell Issa (R-Vista), Duncan Hunter (R-Alpine) and Elton Gallegly (R-Simi Valley).

It will be interesting to see how this conflict is resolved.  The situation typifies the conflict between creating more efficient roadways and protecting the environment.  Clearly the resolution of these types of conflicts must be a balancing act.  Ideally, “all or nothing” solutions can be avoided.

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