On July 11 in SLO, the California Coastal Commission will discuss the Oceano Dunes State Vehicular Recreation Area permit and transitioning the park to passive uses that don’t harm the environment and our communities. A study is being trotted out to prop up the position that without off-roading, the local economy would crash. This is rubbish, as it doesn’t account for the normal, non-vehicular beach tourism that would replace ATV tourism.
No area of the California coast is suffering because they don’t allow vehicles on their beaches. One need only contrast the economies of thriving Pismo Beach, which banned vehicles decades ago, and depressed Oceano, where such use continues, to see that off-roaders are not essential to success—and, in fact, they are a drag on the nearest community.
Further, the study was performed by a company owned by a self-styled adventure motorcycle rider and included areas in Pismo Beach such as the monarch butterfly grove. Still, “ATV riding” barely managed a 4 percent majority over beach campfires and looking at the sunset.
Let’s make Oceano Beach safe for sunset strolls.
Cynthia Replogle, president
Oceano Beach Community Association
This article appears in Jul 11-18, 2019.