Scientology spokeswoman Catherine Fraser conceded this week that workers at Golden Era Productions can pass from one side of Gilman Springs Road to the other without crossing Gilman Springs Road.
Several people contacted The Valley Chronicle after reading recent stories in which Fraser said the safety of workers is a consideration in the group's consideration of asking that Gilman Springs Road be closed.
Fraser conceded the organization built two tunnels under Gilman Springs Road that can be used by employees who want to travel between the two halves of the Scientology complex.
Fraser said, though, that no decision to seek closure of the road has been made and expressed some frustration over the attention being paid to the issue.
"This is way premature," she said. "We have filed nothing. There is nothing to even talk about yet."
Fraser said the tunnels are not large enough for vehicles larger than golf carts. "Those aren't vehicles," she said.
That does not mean closing the road may be not be a way to solve problems associated with the increase in vehicle traffic over the last 10 years, said Fraser, but it could be a way to make travel safer.
"I don't know if that's going to be the thing to solve the problem," she said.
Verne Lauritzen, chief of staff to Riverside County Supervisor Jeff Stone, said representatives of the Church of Scientology have approached Stone several times regarding closure of the road.
