Rep. Calvert: Unofficial Survey Finds 75% Disagree With Coastal Commissariat On 241 Completion

Found another item on the transom, this one from Rep. Ken Calvert's office:

Seventy-five Percent of Survey Respondents Disagree with Coastal Commission on 241 Foothill-South

WASHINGTON, DC. October 11, 2007 – Today Congressman Calvert (R-CA-44) released an unofficial survey of residents in California Congressional District 44 which includes parts of Riverside and Orange Counties.

The survey was distributed via an e-newsletter discussing the recent California Coastal Commission Staff Report recommending that commissioners deny certifying the Foothill-South Toll Road Project.  The Report concluded that that adding capacity to our freeway system will lead to more congestion.  The Staff Report also suggests that a better alternative to the Foothill-South is a proposal to expand Interstate 5 in San Clemente despite the fact it would require significant use of eminent domain to condemn long existing houses and businesses.  The report dismisses any concern about the broad use of eminent domain by stating it is a “more easily quantifiable social and economic mitigation.”

In response, Rep. Ken Calvert sent out an e-newsletter and asked respondents three survey questions on traffic and the Coastal Commission’s report.

The three survey questions responses are below:

Do you think action must be taken to ease traffic congestion in and around Riverside and Orange Counties?

Yes  95.91% 
No 4.09%

Do you agree with the Commission’s Staff Report that adding freeway capacity will increase congestion?

Yes 18.13%
No 75.73%
Don't know 6.14%

Would you rather sacrifice open land or private homes and businesses to ease traffic congestion?

Open land  73.62%
Homes and businesses 18.55%
Don't know 7.83%

“As usual, the California Coastal Commission is completely out of touch with the average resident and commuter in Southern California,” said Rep. Calvert.  “I urge the Commission to reject the Staff Report at their next meeting and not interfere with the 241 extension which has already undergone an extensive 20-year planning and environmental process.”

The Foothill-South Toll Road will complete Orange County’s 67-mile toll road system.  Currently, the Foothill Toll Road, State Route 241, ends at Oso Parkway.  The Foothill-South will allow drivers to continue further south to Interstate 5 near the Orange and San Diego County line.  The general route of the project has been on Orange County’s Master Plan of Arterial Highways since 1981.

At a future meeting, the Commission will consider Foothill-South’s certification which is required to secure state and federal development permits.

Comments

[Dana Point Dan]

Great. Now, will Senator Tom Harman and his environmentalist friends support this worthy effort? Or, do they want to double the 5 and bulldoze 1,000 houses?

[aria ghafari]

Why do members of Congress insist on doing these bogus self selected surverys and passing them along as public opinion.

Don't you think it would be important to ask the residents of South Orange County as well about what they think?

[One Who Knows]

Question: "Why do members of Congress insist on doing these bogus self selected surverys and passing them along as public opinion?"

Answer: Because it makes their big contributors and bundlers happy.

[mike]

Is this supposed to be news? Sounds like desperation to me...

[Clark Adams]

I see that the problem here is the "congestion" part. It is said that the addition of freeway capacity would just contribute to the congestion. Well, if there are factors that can lead to that conclusion, then it just might be true. But isn't adding space supposed to be the solution for congestion?