“Caltrans to prohibit access to Highway 1 roadsides”

 Carmel Pine Cone—May 26, 2026 (submitted, but not printed in the paper)

It’s particularly timely since the County just decided on May 19 in the Board item 7.1 to move forward with a highly controversial and I would argue illegal anti-access move to pursue a prohibition of any parking in the vicinity of Bixby Bridge — a 12 month moratorium (note that the cars being driven off into the freeway at Bixby now are due to an existing County emergency order that has been in place for two years that blocks cars from being able to park in 10 to 12 designated parking spaces, often forcing those who pause there into the freeway).

A friend of mine, Stephen Adair, and I discovered that the Big Sur Byways Organization and a group known as ParkIT were collaborating to ban anyone from parking anywhere in Big Sur with their private vehicles.  These people think that Big Sur should only be accessible by bus and by reservation.  Having discovered this, Stephen and I set about to oppose their efforts.

Now, in addition to ParkIt and State Park’s Monterey County Coastal permit PLN180431 (the permit application that ParkIT is using to try to convince the County that Point Lobos and Big Sur should only be accessible by bus), they are also attempting to convince Caltrans to completely prohibit access to sides of Highway 1 year round through all of Big Sur which is what my Letter to the Editor addresses.

Colin Gallagher, Monterey