Surfers are basking in glory after the California Coastal Commission on Wednesday dealt what might be a death blow to a proposed toll-road extension that would have blazed a six-lane expressway through pristine San Onofre State Beach.
And deservedly so.
Surfers did not win the decade-long battle, of course. Environmental groups were also on board and, ultimately, common sense among the commission panel prevailed in the form of an 8-2 vote of disapproval.
But surfers were by far the more vociferous and passionate opponents of the Foothill South project. Of the estimated 2,500 antagonists at the marathon Del Mar hearing, most were wave riders.
Clearly, the Transportation Corridor Agencies chose the wrong location to erect their toll road.
Surfers enjoyed home-turf advantage. San Onofre, as Surfing magazine editor Evan Slater pointed out, is "the hub of the surf world in Southern California."
Lower Trestles, the legendary point break within the park, is site of the only World Tour pro surfing contest in the continental United States. It hosts the most prestigious amateur national championship series in the world.
Several top pros -- Taylor Knox, Rob Machado, Mike Parsons, Pat O'Connell, Shane Beschen and others -- were bred for success on the perfect right-handers at Lower Trestles.
"It's kind of the ultimate playing field," Slater said, comparing it to Lambeau Field of Green Bay Packers football fame. "It certainly has a lot of lore and prestige behind it."
A football reference also appeared in a headline above a Surfline.com story: "It's been a week for the record books. Super Bowl Sunday rolled into Super Tuesday and finally, Big Wednesday."
It was the day the well-meaning bureaucrats weren't entirely defeated -- the CTA has vowed to appeal -- but it was one during which they were forced to punt from deep in their end zone.
The commission's decision represents far more than a victory for surfers, of course.
A 16-mile addition to an Orange County toll road few people use -- I travel that road often, at $4-plus per pop, simply to enjoy the rare feeling of having a lane to myself -- would jeopardize the 3,000-acre park's fragile ecology, including a creek that supports endangered steelhead trout.
Moreover, it would set a horrible precedent.
If a freeway can be built through one state park, why not others? How about a 30-mile thoroughfare through the Santa Monica Mountains to relieve congestion on the Ventura Freeway?
