|
|
| Nonprofit founded in 1988 |
|
|
Redwood Coast Threatened by Bypass Proposals by Jan Lundberg Please join us in telling CalTrans No! to more Highway 101 bypasses and four-laning in Humboldt and Mendocino counties in Northern California. Two forested areas are being considered for bypasses, one in each county, that would kill thousands of redwoods to accommodate more motor vehicles and sprawl. Send comments ASAP via email to CalTrans, at joel_canzoneri@dot.ca.gov A third bypass project would be around the Mendocino County town of Willits. A four-lane freeway has been on the books since the 1950s, deeply dividing the community. The roads impacts would be on local businesses, quality of life, and nearby natural habitats. US Highway 101a corridor for pollution through hundreds of towns from the Oregon border south to Los Angelesalso serves as Willitss main street, dumping traffic and trucks onto the communitys main commercial thoroughfare morning, noon and night. Yet the bypass would be more disruptive to residents and business owners who fear a draining of local commerce and jobs away from downtown and out to new establishments at the bypass interchanges. With only 7,000 vehicles a day of through traffic, some town residents and business owners have proposed a smaller version of the bypass, a two-lane road designed mostly for trucks and longer haul passenger traffic. Yet both CalTrans and Mendocino County government defend plans for a $117 million freeway. Officials cite engineering design standards, safety concerns and the states route concept report for a continuous 4-lane facility for the entire length of Highway 101. A freeway style bypass, they say, will anticipate future traffic that could climb to 14,000 vehicles a day by 2020. But the time has come to question whether bigger bypasses are really better. This is Caltrans trying to shape the community to accept a traditional four-lane freeway, explains David Drell, of the Willits Environmental Center. They still want it to be the north coast I-5. For more information, contact David Drell at the WEC, 707-459-2643. Arcata-Eureka 101 battle Alliance for a Paving Moratorium publicly questioned CalTrans about ancillary issues such as oil reserves and global warming, and the agency wrote back as if Al Gore were the concerned, aware author. Regardless, paving must go on! (?) |
|
