Like Meyberg, many say that the parking lot itself, while paving over approximately half an acre of open space, won't threaten the bewinged bugs as much as the intensified traffic it will create along Pelton Avenue. Supposing only 250 out of 300-plus students get dropped off and picked up every day, that would still create one thousand additional car trips a day along Pelton, a conservative estimate that already has neighbors concerned about accidents, pollution and an increased butterfly mortality rate. The Oblates' did hire a butterfly expert, Elizabeth Bell, to conduct the further study that the Coastal Plan says is needed within this area to determine precise habitat areas. Her study showed that the parking lot itself would have little or no effect on the wintering butterflies. Public outcry prompted the city to hire another expert, who corroborated Bell's study.
Butterflies are only able to fly when it's warm.
If it's too cold for them to fly and they end up on the asphalt where there are no long grasses for them to crawl onto for safety, they are often crushed by passing vehicles. This is about the problem of terminating a miracle. We're talking about an ecosystem here. Private property is of little consequence to wildlife. The only effect it has on them is that it kills them.