Report on Foothill South is criticized

Orange County’s tollway agency Wednesday criticized a state Coastal Commission staff report that urged rejection of a proposed road through San Onofre State Beach as heavily “inaccurate and one-sided.”

The report, released in September before a scheduled commission meeting, also mischaracterized the Foothill South project and “grossly overstated” the effect on species’ habitats, the Irvine-based Transportation Corridor Agencies said in its 22-page rebuttal.

San Onofre beach and campgrounds, wildlife areas, panoramic views and world-renowned surf spots attract about 2.7 million visitors a year.

The Coastal Commission’s staff relied on a transportation study that even toll road opponents conceded was flawed, the TCA said. After the staff recommendation was released, the corridor agencies asked that the project be pulled from the commission’s October agenda.

The proposed 16-mile extension of the Foothill tollway is the final link in Orange County’s network of toll roads, allowing drivers to bypass the clogged 5 Freeway in the southern part of the county. The tollway would begin at Oso Parkway in Rancho Santa Margarita, pass through the state park north of the beach and connect with the 5 at Basilone Road in northern San Diego County.

The commission will hear the proposal at its meeting Feb. 6-8 in San Diego.

Commission staff cited a study by Smart Mobility Inc. of Vermont that found that improving the 5 in southern Orange County was a better option than building the controversial six-lane turnpike.

But Smart Mobility neglected to account for the planned carpool lanes, underestimated the cost of condemning homes and buildings, and unilaterally proposed narrowing frontage roads, according to proponents of the toll road. Tollway opponents conceded the report’s mistakes but said revisions of the study still show that a revamped 5 is a better option than the proposed toll road.

But in its report released Wednesday, the TCA said the earlier study was insensitive in suggesting that the condemnation process was a desirable alternative to the toll road.

Such language is “small comfort to the families in 838 homes and owners of 382 businesses” who would lose their property if the 5 were widened, said the TCA, which operates a 51-mile network of tollways in Orange County.

Commission officials were in meetings Wednesday and could not be reached for comment.

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david.reyes@latimes.com