Tollway Foes Again Line Road in Vigil : Protest: About 50 people brave cold to light candles in Laguna Canyon. Injunction has stopped grading--for now.

LAGUNA BEACH —  About 50 people, many bundled in ski parkas, weathered the cold wind Friday night to light candles in the third vigil in a month protesting development through Laguna Canyon.

Holding candles lighted in paper cups, opponents of the San Joaquin Hills Transportation Corridor lined the northbound lane of Laguna Canyon Road south of El Toro Road to publicize what they call “murder” of the scenic route, said John Chaney of Laguna Beach.

“They are killing what is almost a culture, a way of life for those of us who live out here,” said Chaney, who is an artist.

As horns tooted from passersby in support of the group, 10-year-old Haven Kent of Laguna Beach said, “More people are honking for us, and not as many people are cussing at us.”

Haven has attended all three recent vigils and said she would do “whatever it takes” to stop the Transportation Corridor Agencies from building the 17-mile corridor that will stretch from Newport Beach to San Juan Capistrano. The agency is in charge of building three Orange County toll roads including the San Joaquin Hills corridor.

On Dec. 23, a federal judge ordered the halt of bulldozers until Thursday, when project opponents go to court to fight an earlier ruling that allowed the clearing of 175 acres of the disputed stretch.

In the week before the injunction, hundreds of project opponents had protested as early as 6 a.m., some even tying themselves to the bulldozers. By week’s end, 21 people had been arrested and most of the 175 acres had been cleared.

With the latest injunction, volunteers are using their newfound hope and their vacation time to lengthen their phone list and to think of new tactics. For instance, said Vanessa Sprungl, the public seems to think that this is an environmental issue.

“It is much more than that,” she said. “We have to get out the word that this affects their pocketbook, if we can do that, we’ll wake them up.”

Project opponents plan another protest Thursday at Laguna Canyon Road.