Coastal Commission says NO to widening of Lincoln Blvd.


By Jim Smith

At least we won one victory against development during the past month. It was the Coastal Commission to the rescue again. This time against CalTrans, with Playa Vista in the background, which wanted to widen Lincoln Blvd. to seven lanes through the Ballona Wetlands.


The developers were up against a host of wetlands advocates and four Venetians: Sheila Bernard, John Davis, Steve Friedman and me (see below). We all argued that even though traffic on Lincoln is horrendous, widening it to accommodate even more cars at the expense of wetlands was not the answer. The Commission listened to our testimony and to the recommendation of their own staff who were opposed to granting a construction permit to CalTrans. The commissioners were also swayed by Bolsa Chica, a recent court case against widening roads through wetlands except when there is no alternative and the widening must accommodate existing traffic, not future development.

The Battle for Lincoln Blvd. is far from over, but it felt good to win this one!

Here is the testimony of three Venetians before the Coastal Commission:

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Good afternoon, Commissioners:

The widening of Lincoln Boulevard would be an uneconomical use of scarce public funds.

At about $40 million per mile, a light rail system on Lincoln Boulevard from LAX to Santa Monica, a ten-mile stretch, would cost about $400 million. Compare this to the cost of piecemeal highway work on Lincoln Boulevard, including today’s proposed project, which are part of the mitigation for the Playa Vista development, all of which are budgeted at about $300 million. For a slightly higher price, we could get a rail project that would stimulate development of housing and businesses along a transit corridor, while diminishing congestion in streets and parking areas, thus improving access to the coast.

It is clear to an enormous and growing number of people that our traffic and environmental problems can only be solved by means of a long-range, comprehensive plan for our region that gets large numbers of people out of their cars, instead of ceding more and more land for more and more cars. The Coastal Commission could be of great help to us in this endeavor. Please vote against the proposed Caltrans permit.

– Sheila Bernard

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I’d like to address some of the issues that go beyond preserving the wetlands, although that in itself is reason enough to deny this application to widen Lincoln Blvd.

We in Venice are already overwhelmed by traffic from single-occupant vehicles. The Coastal Commission should further its mission by discouraging auto use near the beach. Through traffic up and down Lincoln Blvd. actually inhibits access to the beach, whether by car, bus, bicycle or walking.

Most traffic engineers will tell you that simply widening a freeway or boulevard like Lincoln will only attract more traffic, in this case, from the San Diego Freeway and other streets. It will not speed the flow of traffic.

What we need is mass transit on Lincoln Blvd. combined with adequate affordable housing density to support it. Mass transit, not single-occupant cars, is the wave of the future. It will come sooner or later, but sooner if the Coastal Commission will support it.

– Jim Smith

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Approving this permit would clearly Prejudice the ability of the Coastal Commission to conduct its mandatory review of the Marina del Rey Local Coastal Program according to the Coastal Act as agreed in a Consent Decree recorded in the Superior Court resulting from a legal challenge to conduct such review by a local non-profit organization.

Approving this permit would further prejudice the Coastal Commissions ability to certify a Local Coastal Program for Venice under the provisions of Chapter 3 of the California Coastal Act.

The California Environmental Quality Act requires a full Environmental Impact Report for this application. County of Los Angles Former Sanitary Landfill Maps show a former Dump at this site. This former land use indicates a high probability that the soil and groundwater may be contaminated with a variety of Toxic Substances.

Construction could redistribute toxic substances into the Ballona and Silverado Aquifers which have been designated as a municipal and beneficial sources of public drinking water. Given the fact the Coastal Commission and Caltrans lack the expertise to properly evaluate the potential threat to human health and safety and the environment from such toxic substances I respectfully request that the Coastal Commission invite and enjoin the California Environmental Protection Agency Department of Toxic Substances Control to evaluate the potential threat to human health and safety in the Coastal Zone.

The project is located in a Seismic Hazard Zone and is near proximity to active faults and submarine canyons prone to slumping that could cause local tusnamigenic events.

The new bridge over Ballona Creek that is proposed would be occupied by thousands of humans in automobiles on a daily basis introducing a new seismic risk element to the populace.

This new highway bridge and widening of Lincoln is proposed on Public Trust Lands. Ca vs. Summa ajudicated at the U.S. Supreme Court does not apply to these lands and a delineation of the Public Trust by the Lands Commission is now necessary to determine the full extent of the public trust in this region.

Finally, other environmentally superior transportation alternatives have not been adequately considered by Caltrans.

Caltrans incorrectly assumes that traffic is synonymous with automobiles. People are the traffic and there are more efficient ways to transport volumes of people than Caltrans can currently see.

A practical solution would be to route westerly bound Culver Blvd. automobile traffic directly onto Jefferson over the Route 90 bridge. This would allow the complete removal of Culver Blvd from the wetlands present in area C and area A allowing them to flourish as a new State Park. These two unnecessary sections of Culver bisect areas A and C with what biologists call a killing zone for wildlife. Removal of this road would allow wildlife to freely move across the area. Lincoln between Fiji Way and Ballona Creek could then be raised allowing a true connection between areas A and C both of which have been proposed as part of a new State Park.

Light rail could then be directed over the former Culver Bridge with minimal to no impact on the wetlands in Ballona the Ballona Wetlands, creating a more environmentally friendly transportation and coastal access modality for humans traveling in this sector of the Coastal Zone.

– John Davis

Posted: Sat - February 1, 2003 at 08:16 PM          

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