Amended in Assembly July 9, 2015

California Legislature—2015–16 Regular Session

Assembly Concurrent Resolution No. 58

Introduced by Assembly Member Williams

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(Coauthors: Assembly Members Achadjian, Alejo, Atkins, Baker, Bigelow, Bloom, Bonilla, Bonta, Brown, Burke, Calderon, Campos, Chang, Chau, Chávez, Chiu, Chu, Cooley, Cooper, Dababneh, Dahle, Daly, Dodd, Eggman, Frazier, Beth Gaines, Cristina Garcia, Eduardo Garcia, Gatto, Gipson, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gray, Hadley, Roger Hernández, Holden, Irwin, Jones, Jones-Sawyer, Kim, Lackey, Levine, Linder, Lopez, Low, Maienschein, Mathis, Mayes, McCarty, Medina, Melendez, Mullin, Nazarian, Obernolte, O’Donnell, Olsen, Perea, Quirk, Rendon, Rodriguez, Salas, Steinorth, Mark Stone, Thurmond, Ting, Waldron, Weber, Wilk, and Wood)

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April 22, 2015

Assembly Concurrent Resolution No. 58—Relative to memorial paths and access ways.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

ACR 58, as amended, Williams. Ralph Fertig Memorial Bicycle-Pedestrian Path and the Peter Douglas Coastal Access Way.

This measure would designate the bicycle-pedestrian path constructed as part of the project to widen State Highway Route 101 in the County of Ventura as the Ralph Fertig Memorial Bicycle-Pedestrian Path and the pedestrian undercrossing of State Highway Route 101 in the community of La Conchita in the County of Ventura as the Peter Douglas Coastal Access Way.

The measure would also request the Department of Transportation to determine the cost of appropriate signs showing each of these special designations and, upon receiving donations from nonstate sources covering the cost of the signs for which the donations were made, to erect those signs.

Fiscal committee: yes.

WHEREAS, Ralph Fertig, a longtime bicycle advocate in Santa
Barbara of such consistency, durability, and selflessness that his
presence achieved an almost geologic aspect, passed away on July
18, 2014; and

WHEREAS, Ralph Fertig, a lynch-pin of bicycle activism in
the Santa Barbara area and statewide, raised the profile of bicycling
in Santa Barbara and was responsible for bringing the 1998 ProBike
conference to Santa Barbara; and

WHEREAS, Ralph Fertig also served as the Regional Director
of the California Association of Bicycling Organization (CABO)
for the Central Coast for many years; and

WHEREAS, Quiet, unassuming, and absolutely dogged, Ralph
Fertig made it his mission for more than 20 years to attend every
transportation planning meeting to bear witness to the need for
more space on the roads for bicycles; and

WHEREAS, To an uncommon extent, Ralph Fertig understood
the complicated anatomy of transportation funding; he knew where
the money was hidden, what it had been set aside for, and far better
than most, he understood the rules and regulations guiding the
expenditure of those funds; and

WHEREAS, Ralph Fertig was respectful, positive, and persistent
and was the first local bicycle advocate to consistently assess and
provide public comment on the needs of the bicycling community;
and

WHEREAS, Peter Douglas, the former Executive Director of
the California Coastal Commission, passed away during the night
on Sunday, April 1, 2012, at his sister’s home in La Quinta,
California at 69 years of age after a long battle with cancer; and

WHEREAS, Peter Douglas was the commission’s
longest-serving executive director, a position he held from 1985
to 2011, inclusive. Prior to working for the commission, he served
in the Legislature as an aide to then-Assembly Member Alan
Siertoy (D-Beverly Hills), and as a committee consultant. During
that time he was responsible for the drafting and passage of
Proposition 20 (the Coastal Initiative) in 1972, as well as the
California Coastal Act of 1976 which created the California Coastal
Commission; and

WHEREAS, Over the decades, Peter Douglas’ name has become
synonymous with coastal protection. His accomplishments are too
numerous to list, but he played a part in creating, acquiring, or
preserving many coastal parks and state beaches, campgrounds,
trails, and overnight hostels, including Crystal Cove, Garrapata,
Tollowa Dunes, Steep Ravine and Sea West State Parks, San
Onofre and Doheney Beach State Campgrounds, the Monterey
Bay Recreational Trail, the Avila Lighthouse Trail, the Point
Buchon Trail, and many others; and

WHEREAS, Peter Douglas also worked to protect California’s
ocean waters from offshore oil development and other industrial
practices. During his 34-year tenure at the commission, Peter
Douglas earned the love, respect, and loyalty of his staff, and
inspired environmental advocates and stewards statewide and
beyond. He will be forever remembered for his kind heart and
unpredictable sense of humor; and

WHEREAS, Peter Douglas was the first recipient of the national
Julius A. Stratton “Champion of the Coast” award for leadership
in coastal management at Coastal Zone ‘95, an international,
biennial symposium on coastal zone management. He provided
technical assistance on coastal management issues to other
countries and served on the China-United States panel on integrated
coastal management and was a member of the first National
Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Science Advisory
Board and served on the National Academy of Sciences Committee
on Science and Policy for the Coastal Ocean; and

WHEREAS, In 2008, the Department of Transportation
approached the California Coastal Commission with a plan to
improve State Highway Route 101 in the Counties of Ventura and
Santa Barbara. This ambitious proposal involved adding a carpool
lane, bicycle lane, and a pedestrian undercrossing, and other safety
and access improvements. Peter Douglas suggested changes to the
project that involved a major redesign and, when all was said and
done, the department proceeded with his suggestions; now,
therefore, be it

Resolved by the Assembly of the State of California, the Senate
thereof concurring, That the Legislature hereby designates the
bicycle-pedestrian path (Class 1 Bicycle path) constructed as part
of the project to widen State Highway Route 101 (US 101 Carpool
Lane Improvement Project), from Mobil Pier Road to Bates Road
in the County of Ventura, as the Ralph Fertig Memorial
Bicycle-Pedestrian Path; and be it further

Resolved, That the Legislature hereby designates the pedestrian
undercrossing of State Highway Route 101 in the community of
La Conchita in the County of Ventura as the Peter Douglas Coastal
Access Way; and be it further

Resolved, That the Department of Transportation is requested
to determine the cost of appropriate signs, consistent with the
signing requirements for the state highway system, showing each
of these special designations and, upon receiving donations from
nonstate sources sufficient to cover the cost of the signs for which
the donations were made, to erect those signs; and be it further

Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies
of this resolution to the Director of Transportation and to the author
for appropriate distribution.