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Editorial: Opposition to toll road in a state park turns eco-governor into a terminator
Published 12:00 am PDT Sunday, March 23, 2008
Story appeared in FORUM section, Page E6
Building an expressway through a state park apparently ranks high on Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's list of priorities.
Maintaining relations with his brother in law?
Not so high on the list.
Schwarzenegger last week booted Bobby Shriver, brother of first lady Maria Shriver, off the State Park and Recreation Commission. The governor also declined to reappoint actor Clint Eastwood to the same commission, which voted in 2005 to oppose a six-lane toll road that would run through San Onofre State Beach.
Spokesman Aaron McLear says the governor's decisions were unrelated to Shriver's and Eastwood's ongoing opposition to the expressway. But Shriver, for one, doesn't see it that way.
"I had hoped to continue to do this work to protect the park system from developers," Shriver told the Associated Press. "It shows you how strong these developers were that were able to arm-wrestle the governor into firing us."
Although Schwarzenegger has taken some strong environmental stands in office, he has a blind spot when it comes to transportation.
After pushing for a bond issue that was heavy on highway lanes, he has diverted funds from public transit accounts and declined to support state initiatives to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through smarter land-use planning. Now he is determined to build a toll expressway through a popular surfing beach and along a sensitive creek, even though there are other options for relieving traffic congestion in Orange and San Diego counties.
Instead of just listening to his advisers at Caltrans (who hope to get a free project out of this toll road) Schwarzenegger should assemble an independent panel of transportation experts to examine these options. We have no doubt they could come up with a mix of traffic-management techniques, transit and other fixes that would relieve congestion without damaging a state park.
Schwarzenegger says "the road has to go somewhere."
No it doesn't.
Parks deserve protection. So do family relations. Shriver jokes that Schwarzenegger "better get himself a taster if I get him any food" at the next family gathering. Sounds like the governor has some patching up to do.
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