Those of you who live in SoCal have undoubtedly seen stickers on countless cars bearing the slogan “Save Trestles, Stop The Toll Road.”  Well, the fight’s still on (though hopefully near a temporary end).  On September 22, 2008, the US Secretary of Commerce is holding a hearing at the Del Mar Fairgrounds that could very well spell the final word on the fate of one of the best surf breaks in the world.  The TCA (people who wanna build the toll road) are appealing the decision of the California Coastal Commission from a couple months back.  The CCC overwhelmingly voted against the toll road extension, and now the TCA is trying to go over their heads to Washington, where they can make the case to an audience far removed from the actual site in question.  You can help put this issue to bed by showing up on 9/22 at the Del Mar Fairgrounds.  Thousands of people showed up to the CCC meeting to protest the toll road extension, and their voices DID make a difference.

If you can’t make it to the meeting, either because of your schedule, your location, or otherwise, then at least take a moment to fill out a letter to the Secretary of Commerce voicing your protest.  I already did.

The extension of the 241 Toll Road would do nothing to relieve traffic, and would in fact probably worsen it.  Grading of the land, runoff from the road, and the countless tons of concrete that would be poured into the San Mateo watershed area, will all conspire to severly impact both the wave and water quality at Trestles and the surrounding beaches.  And all of this to put money into a giant company’s pockets, while doing nothing to serve the public (literally, nothing).

And even though the rocks there took more than their fair share of skin off the bottom of my toes this morning (pic – not for the squeemish!), it’s still one of the best places in the world to be if you’re a surfer.  So take a minute to help keep it here for future generations!  Save Trestles!

Learn more about the fight at the Surfrider Foundation’s website – www.savetrestles.org.

Check out a video on Trestles at Surfline.

(pic above grabbed from www.surfrider.org – please don’t sue me)