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South Orange County
Dana Point • Lake Forest • Mission Viejo • Rancho Santa Margarita • San Clemente • San
Juan
Capistrano
March 17, 201 0The Honorable Dianne FeinsteinUnited States Senate331 Hart Senate Office BuildingWashington, D.C. 20510Dear Senator Feinstein:The letter
you
received last month from the Secretary
of
the Navy, Ray Mabus, raising concernsregarding a promising concept that would have possibly enabled the Transportation CorridorAgencies (TCA) to complete the 241 toll road to Interstate 5 at the San Diego County line wasvery troubling for those
of
us who represent the cities
of
South Orange County.
That
conceptwould modify the original alignment by avoiding
San
Onofre State Park, recreation areas, thebeach, hiking trails and endangered habitat. Most importantly, we believe it would have alsohonored the Marine Corps' mission at Marines Corps Base, (MCB) Camp Pendleton whilerelieving the anticipated mass congestion in that area --all without the terrible destruction
of
over a thousand homes and businesses and taxpayer burdens.We believe Secretary
Mabus'
concerns can be allayed through serious consultation andcommunication directly with the key senior
staff
members at MCB, Camp Pendleton.
We
knowthat you have been very helpful to the
TCA
in their efforts to communicate with the Department
of
the Navy
and
MCB, Camp Pendleton and we truly appreciate your support. However, as theleaders from each
of
the cities being impacted daily
by
the ever increasing traffic nightmare onInterstate 5, we
can't
allow the Secretary's response
to
be the end
of
the conversation. With thatin mind we respectfully request that
you
continue to seek an opportunity for a dialogue tocommence between both organizations so they will sit
down
in earnest to sort through theopportunities for
common
ground and progress towards solving a critical need for the region.Why?"Gridlock" and "congestion" are more than plu'ase-making words. Indeed, the determinedobstructionists which have poisoned the public debate over the 241 with absurd deceptionswould have you believe traffic messes in Southern California are acceptable abstractions -merenuisances as
benign
as a seasonal cold or Thanksgiving gluttony.
But
less than a month ago,
on
Friday, February 26, 2010, gridlock and congestion served updoses
of
stark reality
when
a grenade was discovered in the middle
of
1-5
in San Clemente.Traffic was
not
merely delayed.
It
was not a casual trifle in the daily life
of
South OrangeCounty. Traffic was stopped. Period.
For
hours the lifeline
of
coastal commerce and living wasbrought
to
a dead stop -trapping tens
of
thousands
of
people in a concrete cage without walls.
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Traffic backed up ten miles to the south and ten miles
to
the north. Frazzled commuters,recreationists, car pooling parents, business delivery trucks and hapless citizens trying to get todoctor's appointments or make it to a critical meeting were either confined to their car or spilledover onto city streets in San Clemente, Dana Point and San Juan Capistrano -converting thoseneighborhoods into mini-gridlocks where clogged and stuffed roads inhibited movement,shoppers and tourists. (Please see attached photos)
Not
incidentally, this stoppage raises a massive safety issue. How would first responders get toemergencies? The question answers itself. What little escape there was for critically neededpolice, paramedics and fire response would have
to
be onto equally obstructed side streets. Anexplosive catastrophe in the making.This was not an isolated incident.February 19,2008 -A fatal accident on
1-5
north in San Clemente closed two right lanescompletely and the entire northbound direction sporadically. Traffic flooded into San Clementeto escape the stoppage.April
1,2008
-There was a Sig Alert on southbound
1-5
at Oso Parkway in Mission Viejo closing lanes for two hours. Those harried drivers could have taken Oso to the planned 241 torelieve the congestion. But that extension has been blocked by opponents
of
the toll road.April 29, 2008 -Another Sig Alert for a burned-out bus on southbound
1-5.
This took place at4:20 p.m. the critical commuting hours and stopped traffic for two hours.June 28, 2008 -Fatal accident on northbound
1-5
at Pico in San Clemente. The Sig Alert blockedthe far right lanes
of
the freeway for four hours. Again, the city
of
San Clemente turned into anescape hatch -relieving some drivers and trapping San Clementeans.July
24,2008
-A Sig Alert on Southbound
1-5
near Las Pulgas at Camp Pendleton -a big rigfull
of
groceries flipped over and caught on fire. "Lookie-Loos" in northbound lanes back uptraffic again.January 6, 2009 -Another Sig Alert in San Clemente with an accident on the northbound 1-5.Traffic backed up for miles during this rush hour disaster and, predictably, drivers spilled overonto San Clemente streets and neighborhoods.January 17, 2009 -A south county accident on the northbound
1-5
backed up traffic all the wayto Basilone Road in San Diego County -several miles south
of
the accident scene. The 241would have relieved this problem easily.February
5,
2009 -On
1-5
northbound near Las Pulgas a driver was ejected from his vehicle andairlifted out.
1-5
was closed northbound and southbound causing tremendous traffic delay withinthe cities along the coast.
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June 15, 2009 -There was massive traffic gridlock
on
1-5
north from San Diego, with vehicles,once again, spilling onto San Clemente, San Juan and Dana Point streets
to
escape thecongestion.June 30, 2009
--
Police activity on
1-5
south near Vista Hermosa with
10
cars lined up on theshoulder causing huge backups in both directions
of
the freeway.The inescapable and pressing reality
is
that reducing millions
of
citizens, businesses, andneighborhoods
to
the use
of
a single path
of
travel along the coast -critical to the personal safety
of
families and children over a vast swath
of
southern California --
is as
baffling
as
it
is
inexcusable. The accidents described above may be weekly, monthly or otherwise, but in
15
short years, with 60 percent more traffic
at
the Orange and San Diego County borders, the sameresults will be commonplace. They will happen daily, from early morning to late at night.The terms gridlock and congestion cannot come close to doing justice to the social chaos anddysfunction which will descend on this critical area
of
California as communities becomeprisoners in dislocation and frustration. The dismal experiences
of
the
91
Freeway -causingcommuters to leave their homes at 4:00 and 5:00 a.m.
to
return at 7:00 and 8:00 p.m. -willbecome a tragic template for harried drivers
on
Interstate
5.
The term "freeway" will becomeamong the most ludicrous
of
contradictions in terms.The communities
of
San Clemente, San Juan Capistrano and Dana Point -reaching into MissionViejo, Rancho Santa Margarita and Lake Forest -are grateful hosts to the United States military.Enlisted men and women, officers, and military families live in our homes, rent our apartments,and shop at our stores. Their spouses work in our businesses. Their
c h i l d ~ e n
go to our schoolsand their families gather at our houses
of
worship. Military families are universally "adopted"by their civilian neighbors, as well
as
the religious and charitable organizations in ourcommunities. We are, in short, very good neighbors appreciative
of
their sacrifice and devotionto duty.But as we seek
to
sit down with the planning and operational staff at Camp Pendleton, we arepuzzled why their refusal
to
even look at reasonable options to relieve traffic and promote publicsafety
is
so
intractable. The TCA has bent over backwards to provide a concept which inmultiple layers solves a huge social and civic problem
in
our region while at the same timeobserving in careful detail the needs
of
the military to prepare for the protection
of
ourhomeland.We fear that there could come a time when surrounding communities will seek to inquire -aspeacetime inevitably descends -why sensible, reasonable and fair-minded traffic solutions forthe benefit
of
MCB, Camp Pendleton's neighbors are refused out
of
hand. Indeed, in hertestimony for her nomination as Assistant Secretary
of
Defense, Installations and EnvironmentDepartment
of
the Navy, Jackalyne Pfannenstiel declared:
"1
would work closely with federal,state, and local entities to ensure that the needs
of
the Department are
properly balanced againstthe needs
of
local communities adjacent to
our
installations."
(emphasis added)
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