An article by Marianne Napoles in last Saturday's Chino Valley Champion informed readers of plans by CalTrans to, starting in summer 2028, widen the S-curves at the summit along Carbon Canyon Road, which is State Route 142, and it looks as if the reason for doing this was to set the table for a reversal of the ban on trucks with five axles or more on the highway.
This prohibition was years in the making as the cities of Brea and Chino Hills, as well as citizens in both cities, lobbied persistently to persuade CalTrans to enact the policy for a number of reasons, not the least of which was the safety of other drivers because large trucks were continually crossing center lines and entering opposing traffic lanes.
While there are certainly no shortage of violators now, as enforcement is pretty light, the idea of reversing the ban because one section of the highway is being widened has definitely struck a nerve in Chino Hills, as evidenced by the turnout of concerned residents at Tuesday night's Council meeting, even though there were no agenda items relating to the matter.
This meant that it was during general public comment that Carbon Canyon residents took the opportunity to implore the Council to do whatever it could to fight against CalTrans' purported purpose. Many reasons were cited, including those related to evacuations in case of a wildfire, something, obviously, paramount in many minds given last weekend's 210-acre blaze on the Brea side of the Canyon, along with safety and others.
Because Amazon is in the process of converting a former Bank of America processing center just outside the Canyon on Highway 142 (Valencia Avenue) in Brea, the speculation, naturally, has been that CalTrans' work on the S-curves is at least partially, if not largely (or completely?), based on this project, dubbed the DJT4 Parcel Delivery Facility (on those initials . . . hmmmm). This lead to some public comments about this possibility.
It was stated that there is a scheduled meeting on 4 May (next Monday) between officials from CalTrans and the City of Chino Hills, so, of course, it'll be very interesting to see what comes out publicly afterward and then what steps will be taken for public comment. As another commenter said, CalTrans did not notify many residents about this early stage work because it followed an absolute minimum of 500 foot-distance from the work area for notification, but any reasonable effort at transparency would extend that to a fair distance given the size of the Carriage Hills and Summit Ranch tracts, in or near which council members Ray Marquez and Peter Rogers reside.
A concluding point is that one speaker observed that, even if the S-curves were widened to more easily accommodate larger trucks, this would not be the case for Sleepy Hollow, where any such attempt would have to involve condemnation through eminent domain. Those of us who live in that community (including those who have a roadside view) know how often trucks cross the centerline, have to honk to warn oncoming vehicles or, on occasion, hit residential property.
Widening the S-curves would change nothing in this part of the Canyon and, therefore, pose unacceptable risks to residents and drivers. We'll see how all this plays out as the project moves forward, but anyone who drives Carbon Canyon Road on a regular basis, beyond those who live in the Canyon, should be aware and concerned about this and find a way to get engaged.
The Champion article states that a public hearing can be requested by 10 May by emailing CalTrans at: D8.1M780.Comments@dot.ca.gov or writing to CalTrans District 8, Attn: Hannah Duarte, Senior Environmental Scientist, 464 W. Fourth Street, MC-820, San Bernardino, CA 92401-1400.
The Chronicle will try to keep updated on the development of this project and share what it learns.
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