Lt. Governor Candidate: No Tunnel, No Quarry
Stewart A. Alexander
2006 Candidate
California Lieutenant Governor
Peace and Freedom Party
Today plans are ongoing for two massive land use projects that will affect the quality of life for millions of southern Californians; projects that will create more traffic gridlock, destroy much of our natural environment, will fill the air with higher levels of pollution and will destroy the quality of life for over a million Californians living in the Counties of Riverside, San Diego and Orange.
Presently there is planning for a ten mile tunnel that will connect west Riverside County to east Orange County; the tunnel is being planned to help reduce the traffic congestion between Riverside and Orange County. The second project is being planned for southwest Riverside County, a 155-acre quarry that will sit on 311 acres; the quarry has been planned to help reduce truck traffic in the region and to help lower the cost of aggregate. Stewart Alexander, Candidate for California Lieutenant Governor, is strongly opposed to both projects.
In a previous statement Alexander said the ten mile tunnel, which will extend beneath the Cleveland National Forest and the Santa Ana Mountains, will not solve the traffic woes for the region. Alexander says, “The tunnels will only create more congestion and pollution, it will only move the problem underground. The tunnel is poor planning and will create environmental problems that will last for thousands of years.”
Alexander has proposed moving forward by developing electric cars and hydrogen vehicles to reduce pollution and building an elevated twin rail system connection Riverside and Orange Counties. Alexander says these transportations systems will reduce the pollution in the air and create many jobs in the region.
Stewart Alexander resides in Murrieta, California, however he was a long time resident of Los Angeles. He first came to Temecula and Murrieta, both cities in Riverside County, back in the mid 70’s and what he enjoyed most was the tranquility of the valley. On occasions Alexander says he still enjoys going into the hills of Rainbow or the back roads of Fallbrook just to get away from traffic. Alexander says, “Sometimes when you go to the top of the Santa Rosa Plateau and look over the hills, you want to stay forever.”
This is what Alexander is hoping to save for Californians and for the future. He says, “When the planner and engineers for the tunnel and Liberty Quarry see the hills, they are considering the vast income potentials. Liberty Quarry is no less of a threat to the region and our environment than the tunnel.”
Many area residents from Temecula, Murrieta, Rainbow and Fallbrook are opposed to Liberty Quarry for a number of reasons; they believe the quarry will destroy the quality of life for local communities, the project will bring pollution and more traffic congestion, and it will destroy thousands of acres in a natural reserve.
Alexander says, “The freeways in the area, the I-15 and the I-215, presently needs more than $15 billion for expansion and repairs and a project such as the quarry would only exacerbate the problems. When you take all things into consideration, the truck traffic, the pollution, the environment, the noise, I say Liberty Quarry is a no starter.”
The tunnel project and the quarry may be a test to determine the will of Californians, will the people have the communities and environment they can enjoy with their families or will developers transforms the face of this land for profitable businesses enterprises.
Stewart Alexander is a candidate for the Peace and Freedom Party and the organization promotes conservation, protecting the environment, restoring and protecting the air, water, land and ecosystems.
For more information search the Web for Stewart A. Alexander for California Lieutenant Governor.
http://www.salt-g.com stewartalexander4paf@comcast.net