Activists use surfing event to promote beach preservation

, Gail Prothero, and Brittany McKee

Immortalized in the 1963 song 'Surfin' USA' by the Beach Boys, Trestles Beach just south of San Clemente is known as one of the finest remaining natural surf breaks in the world. However, a proposed toll road extension could change all that.

Brian Alper A competitor at the September surfing World Championship Tour at Trestles Beach.

Located at the coastal estuary of San Mateo Creek, the only un-dammed watershed in Southern California south of Ventura County, the natural sediment flow to Trestles from the nearly pristine watershed, a rock reef, and almost continuous swell combine to create a world-famous surf breaks.

It's no surprise then that on Sept. 18 Trestles was one of only 12 stops in the world (and the only one in the continental U.S.) for the annual surfing World Championship Tour.

Among the over 5,000 spectators were volunteers from Friends of the Foothills and the Surfrider Foundation. The activists educated surfers and spectators on threats posed to the famous surf spot by the extension of the 241 south toll road. Trestles is the conservation focus of the Friends of the Foothills campaign, one of national Sierra Club's priority campaigns.

The worldwide image of Southern California's beach lifestyle, which supports a multimillion dollar surfing and tourism industry, is slowly being eroded by upstream urban development. At many Southern California beaches the water is polluted, the beaches are dirty, and the waves are terrible.

In contrast to Doheny State Beach, which has consistently been on Heal the Bay's most contaminated beach list for years, surfers can still surf the clean ocean waters at Trestles without fear of getting sick.

The Transportation Corridor Agencies (TCA) has proposed an extension of the 241 toll road south from its terminus at Oso Parkway in South Orange County to the 5 freeway at Trestles. The urbanizing impacts of a huge concrete toll road extension to Trestles poses many socio-economic and environmental threats, including faulty traffic projections, failed economics, poor environmental performance, expensive taxpayer-funded maintenance, tolls that many taxpayers cannot afford to pay, and non-compete agreements that prevent traffic congestion relief projects.

Brian Alper

The proposed extension has diverted millions of dollars in federal tax funds that otherwise might have been available for more critical or effective transportation infrastructure projects. Threats posed by the toll road extension, many of which can never be mitigated, include loss of Trestles' surf break, impaired creek and ocean water quality, long-term health impacts to surfers and beach-goers, negative impacts to the Donna O'Neill Land Conservancy and Rancho Mission Viejo Open Space, loss of a National Register of Historic Places District, and closure of San Mateo Campground, one of the few affordable coastal state campgrounds for working families and a recreational resource for all Californians.

Run-off from the 241 south toll road, which could include toxic waste like motor oil, engine coolant, and brake and tire particles, would pollute San Mateo Creek and the surf at Trestles, posing threats to human health and potentially causing beach closures due to contaminated water. The toll road's proposed overpass to the 5 would soar several stories into the air and be visible from Trestles, altering the feel of natural isolation currently experienced by surfers and beach-goers.

Established communities located west of a 241 south toll road extension could face further urbanizing impacts if future extensions to connect the 241 to the 5 are built through or near existing neighborhoods, businesses, parks, or open space.

While the TCA asserts that the extension of the 241 south toll road is intended to relieve congestion on the 5, the TCA's own traffic study suggests that the extension is not necessarily the best solution to achieve this goal. An independent study by Caltrans is needed to help identify the best combination of transportation solutions to relieve congestion on the 5.