Editor,
(This letter was also addressed to the City Council.)
Here is a suggestion for the City Council and Caltrans regarding reducing the traffic congestion on Coast Highway in downtown Laguna. That is build a two or four-lane overpass (elevated section) of Coast Highway starting on the hill somewhere between Legion Street and Laguna Street and ending on the hill somewhere between downtown and Aster Street. This elevated overpass would primarily be for through traffic and could include a scenic walkway. The bypassed current section of downtown Coast Highway would primarily be for local traffic.
Long ago the state did this on Pacific Coast Highway north of the San Francisco Bay Bridge, building a mile or so long elevated road right over PCH bypassing an entire small town that had been causing long delays for cars going both north and south on PCH. It was a great success though some of the small town business people initially objected because of the fear of losing some customers.
Incidentally, just in case the environmental extremists are right and years from now the ocean rises and floods downtown, the elevated section of Coast Highway will save Laguna and save Coast Highway as a major highway.
Dave Connell, Laguna Beach
Dave: Build that in SimCity first and test it, let us know how it works out at $50 million per mile.