Safe Trestles

Access to Trestles, one of North Americas most celebrated waves, is under threat due to safety and environmental concerns. Currently, over 100,000 people each year follow informal trails through wetlands and over active train tracks to gain access to the surf breaks at Trestles. These impromptu manmade paths present a safety hazard with passing trains and threaten the fragile ecosystem of Trestles.

In response, a coalition of concerned groups organized by the volunteer non-profit organization Architecture for Humanity, are launching Safe Trestles, an open-to-all, two-stage design competition to create a safe pathway to serve surfers, the local coastal community and day visitors to San Onofre State Beach. This coalition is looking for cohesive designs that eliminate the danger of crossing active train tracks, help to restore wetlands that have been damaged by the present path, preserve and improve vistas, and offer education about the history of the site and the beach marsh environment. The new path should ensure continued access to the resources by all members of our community and adhere to Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) standards.

While placing no limitations on the originality or imaginativeness of design ideas, we are looking for tangible low-impact solutions that can actually be built at a future date. Ideally, the winning entry will be sensitive to the remote and undisturbed nature of the area—providing safe access without compromising the pristine environment and views of this rare example of natural Southern California coast.

Category:

Nonprofits & Activism

Tags:

• Trestles
• Architecture for Humanity
• Surfrider
• Safe Access
• Surf
• Environmental Design
• Landscape Architecture
• Open Access

[JCBPartners]

PAVE PARADISE

[JCBPartners]

"It may be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satisfied; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end."

[JCBPartners]

I'm all for minimizing man's impact on Trestles, I don't know if this project will do that though. Part of the beauty of Trestles to me is it's rugged in-accessibility. The last thing Trestles needs is a way to make it easier (aka safer) to get to the beach, wouldn't this mean more people would be coming down their if it was easier? Don't more people equal more impact to the beach, trash, crowding?

If the driver for this is safety - where is the data that shows it's not safe?