A BRIDGE TOO FAR

 

Construction on the long awaited Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing is now under way.  The fully landscaped passage will be 165 feet wide and stretch 210 feet over 10 freeway lanes.  Enthusiasts for the crossing state that "big cats, coyotes, deer, lizards, snakes and other creatures" now tragically marooned in the hills of Agoura will have a safe route to the Santa Monica Mountains and better access to food and potential mates.

Might it be that the potential boon to the animal kingdom provided by the crossing has been overstated?  Google Maps says if you travel by way of Kannan Road, it is 17.5 miles from Agoura Hills to the center of the Santa Monica Mountains.  One hopes the snakes and lizards know a shortcut. 

As for mountain lions, five have been killed this year trying to cross Southern California freeways. "This wildlife crossing could not have come at a better time," said Jeff Sikich, a wildlife biologist with the National Park Service.  Forgive me Jeff, but at least for those five lions, last year would have actually been better.

I haven't come across any statistics on the freeway fatalities for coyotes, deer, lizards and snakes but I did see where 1,081 human pedestrians were killed by automobiles in 2021.

Kato, the akita and source of the "plaintive wail"

However it should not come as a surprise that Southern California would want to assign a higher priority to animal crossing safety.  When the initial news reports of Nicole Simpson and Ronald Goldman's deaths were broadcast, the desk sergeant at the Beverly Hills Police Department was flooded with calls from the general public.  Over 900 people offered to care for Nicole's dog, yet not one call was received concerning her children Sydney and Justin, aged 8 and 5 at the time.

Wallis and her father at the races

The initial price tag for the crossing is in the neighborhood of 90 million dollars with 36 million coming from public funds.  This made me curious as to the amount of public funds devoted to giving taxpayers better access to food.The crossing's namesake, Wallis Annenberg, made the largest private contribution to the project.  She and her family are somewhat legendary for their philanthropy.  The source of the family's wealth comes from publishing and I find it ironic that she would be the major player in a project devoted to improving the lives of animals.  Her family's company, Triangle Publications, produced The Daily Racing Form for decades which it could be argued to this day is integral to the survival of the industry of thoroughbred racing.  Mind you, an industry according to state racing commission reports where an average of 2,000 thoroughbreds die horrific deaths annually.

Once completed, the crossing may attract more than local wildlife.  If I were homeless, a nicely landscaped area in Agoura Hills would look a great deal more desirable and safer than a sidewalk on skid row.   Living in a California wilderness with a steady cross traffic of wildlife at arms length, one would find themselves in a hunting and trapping paradise.  Picture if you will the smoke from dozens of barbeques atop the overpass blending with the exhaust fumes from below.