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Equestrian and Montara resident Larry DeYoung, like many others, enjoys riding on the Caltrans-owned right-of-way land no longer needed for the bypass.

Devil's Slide Tunnel could mean opportunity for open space
Unused right-of-way could become public land
by April Vargas

We expect that ground will be broken for the long-anticipated Devil's Slide tunnel this spring. Besides providing a safe, permanent road along Highway One while protecting the spectacular views and fragile resources of the San Mateo County Coast, construction of the tunnel will create exciting new opportunities to preserve open space and enhance public access to the lands and trails surrounding Montara Mountain.

CGF supporters saw four decades of unyielding activism rewarded late last year when the tunnel won final approval. Certification of the tunnel as the preferred alternative for Devil's Slide terminated Caltrans' original plan to build a seven-mile-long bypass from Pacifica to the Half Moon Bay Airport in Moss Beach. Elimination of the bypass means that 300 acres of land purchased by Caltrans in the 1970s for the bypass right-of-way will no longer be needed for highway purposes.

Thanks to the Coastal Commission's perseverance and the last-minute passage of SB 792 in the State Legislature, Caltrans will sell much of the original bypass right-of-way (ROW) land that bisected McNee Ranch to State Parks for the price Caltrans originally paid. The southern portion of the bypass ROW, which extends behind Montara and Moss Beach, will be designated as "excess property" to be sold off by Caltrans once the tunnel is constructed.

This southern portion of the bypass ROW contains minimal development and is barely 100 feet wide in some places. It borders two working farms and runs along the boundary that separates subdivided neighborhoods from undeveloped rural acreage.

For decades local residents and visitors have enjoyed this southern portion of the bypass right-of-way by hiking, dog walking, horseback riding and cycling. Spectacular views of coastal peaks and easy access from local neighborhoods make it a popular outdoor destination. With tunnel construction about to begin, renewed discussion about the imminent sale of the bypass ROW has heightened local interest in this piece of property - and inspired a growing community effort to preserve it as a public resource.

Public ownership of the surplus ROW would enable people to enjoy a recreational trail, inland away from Highway One, stretching all the way from the Half Moon Bay airport to Pacifica.

Responding to the will of the citizens on this important issue, San Mateo County's Midcoast Local Coastal Plan Update contains recommendations that will help to protect the bypass ROW permanently as a bicycle/pedestrian/trail and community open space. One proposal to rezone the property from residential to open space use would preserve the land for recreational use.

Other Local Coastal Plan recommendations urge Caltrans to voluntarily merge existing subdivided lots within the ROW and then sell the resulting single parcel to a public agency at a price not to exceed its original cost. County adoption of these new Local Coastal Plan policies will facilitate efforts to add the bypass right-of-way to adjoining parkland, promote trails on the property, and provide other low-intensity uses.

We at Committee for Green Foothills look forward to the day when a trail on permanently protected land runs from the cypress groves of Moss Beach through the wildflowers of McNee Ranch State Park up beyond the new Devil's Slide tunnel and down into Pacifica's Linda Mar Valley.