the Comprehensive Planning Organization (CPO) regional government plan in late 1974. At that time, there was an effort by the City of Oceanside to have SR 76 included as a scenic highway, but SR 76 has not been included in the system. The Chamber of Commerce decided to continue efforts to have SR 76 expanded at the end of 1974. In January 1975, Caltrans presented plans to realign SR 76 away from Mission Avenue and move it to the south side of the San Luis Rey River from I-5 to Frontier Drive. One member of the Tri-Cities Taxpayers' League suggested that the freeway be built on the northern side of the river, and follow the river all the way east to I-15. Following concerns that the project would be cancelled due to lack of state funding, the California Highway Commission (CHC) stated that the proposal was still being considered. The City of Oceanside raised concerns about the congestion on Mission Avenue, as well as the realignment being a part of the city master plan. After this, at the start of the next year, the CHC decided to keep the proposal, though there were concerns that construction would be delayed due to the state financial crisis. Caltrans stated a few months later that SR 76 would be delayed because of the funding issues and the relatively low levels of traffic that would not support building a freeway. Following this, State Senator John Stull alleged that Caltrans head Adriana Gianturco was purposefully delaying the project by delaying the release of the environmental impact report. A petition drive began soon after, supported by many North County leaders, with the exception of Bonsall due to concerns about a full freeway running through the community. From 1974 to 1977, Oceanside police kept track of over 1,000 accidents that occurred along SR 76. A citizen action group known as Concerned Citizens for Highway 76 formed soon after. Caltrans began holding hearings again in 1979, proposing the building of an expressway as opposed to a freeway or to widening Mission Avenue. At one hearing, local officials criticized the delay, while others criticized the routing, the decision to build an expressway instead of a freeway, and building a route through an environmentally sensitive area. In May 1980, the state Assembly Transportation Committee approved a resolution that requested an answer from the governor at the time, Jerry Brown, and