Bike Committee Wrestles With 19th Street - Both Ends

19TH STREET ISSUES DOMINATED THE DISCUSSIONS
The Costa Mesa Bikeway and Walkability Committee met again last night at the Costa Mesa Senior Center from 6:30 to 9:00 p.m. to continue their tasks.  Last night those tasks included heavy doses of 19th Street.  Most of the committee members were present

PACKED HOUSE
I arrived about five minutes late after my dash from Corona del Mar and missed Public Comments.  As I entered the room I found the audience section packed with interested residents, eager to hear, and participate, in discussions to be held.

WEST 19TH STREET BIKE TRAIL
First up was the much-flogged West 19th Street Bicycle Trail Project, which extends from the end of West 19th Street into Talbert Nature Reserve.  This issue was recently discussed by the City Council, who directed staff to return it to this committee for further vetting.  There's not much to vet because the issue at hand - the development of an environmental report for the proposed project - is already approved.  Nevertheless, the committee gave the issue a thorough going-over.

CINDY BLACK SAYS NO...
Resident and environmental activist Cindy Black - not a member of the committee - was invited to present a short slide show reflecting her opinion of why this project as presently constituted is a bad idea.  She showed slides of the current, rain-drenched condition of the area in question and also showed examples of recent illegal removal of vegetation.  She also questioned why, since the City of Costa Mesa does not own this property, we should be spending any money on these studys.  She showed images of protected and endangered species that would be impacted by the planned concrete roadway.  Five members of the public addressed this issue, too.  The committee ended up spending an hour dissecting and discussing this subject.

EAST 19TH STREET TRAFFIC CALMING
Next up was the other end of 19th Street - the so-called East 19th Street Neighborhood Traffic Managment Project.  This issue drew many of my Eastside neighbors to discuss it, particularly in context with a similar project completed a couple years ago on Broadway, which parallels East 19th Street in that part of town.  In a nutshell, this project will place traffic calming measures the length of East 19th Street from the city border at Irvine Avenue westward to Fullerton Avenue.  These consist of chokers at the intersections of all cross-streets, which will slow the traffic and, in theory, make it safer.  The project is funded by Federal Safe Routes To School funds.

MOST NEIGHBORS SUPPORTED THE PROJECT - EXCEPT ME
All of the neighbors who spoke supported this project - except me.  I opined, based on my more than 43 years of living in this neighborhood, that slowing traffic on 19th Street - much of which is headed for the terminus of the 55 Freeway at Newport Boulevard - will result in drivers seeking relief on parallel streets - most likely 20th Street and Costa Mesa Street.  My view was singular among those in the room.  Others praised the Broadway project, indicating it is now quieter and safer.  They addressed this project in similar terms, indicating that the traffic currently moves too rapidly through the neighborhood.  This project would certainly slow it down.

MONUMENT SIGNS AND SHARROWS
This project, which includes a monument sign at Fullerton identifying the area as "Eastside Costa Mesa" and a similar, but smaller sign near the intersection of Irvine Avenue, has funding for $855,000.  Discussion included the wisdom of actually designating East 19th Street as a "bikeway", including the application of "sharrows" markers along that route that would, could, should alert drivers of their responsibility to share the FULL lane with bicyclers.

MOVE IT FORWARD
After a 45 minute discussion the committee voted - 11-1 - to recommend moving forward with this project.  Member Cindy Brenneman voted no.

VACATION OF RIGHT-OF-WAY AT FULLERTON AVE./19TH STREET
Next up was the discussion of the vacation of right-of-way of a piece of city-owned property at the corner of 19th Street and Fullerton Avenue.   Following a short, fifteen minute, discussion, the committee voted 8-4 to recommend moving forward with the vacation plan.

UPCOMING PROJECTS
The committee also briefly discussed upcoming projects - Merrimac to the Golf Course rehabilitation and the Arlington Bioswale, which is 90% through the design process.

FUTURE DISCUSSIONS?
During the discussion of potential future agenda items the following issues were proposed:

CYCLE-CROSS EVENT?
Jim Erickson suggested they discuss a CycloCross event at one of the parks, or at least consider a skills clinic.  The group seemed to favor a further discussion.

GREEN COAST DAY AT OCC?
Flo Martin suggested a discussion of the Green Coast Day event in April at Orange Coast College, referring to local bicycler Roy Duval.  She also mentioned that he, Duval, has a source for new bicycle racks and would install them free of charge throughout the city.  That will get further discussion.

CLOSE THE LOOP
Staff liaison newly-anointed Public Services Director Raja Sethuraman, suggested they close the loop on some existing issues - the original list of projects and funding for them plus the Bike Master Plan itself.

"POLICIES" VS. "RECOMMENDATIONS"
Chairman Ralph Taboada inquired whether the new City Council will address the "Recommendations" vs. "Policies" issue that was sidetracked by Councilmember Jim Righeimer.

COMMITTEE COMMENTS
During Committee Member Comments several issues were addressed.
Jim Erickson suggested these comments might be restricted to 2 minutes.

Jim Kane had a laundry list of issues, including congratulating Sethuraman for his recent promotion; the recent award bestowed on the City for the Harbor Boulevard Bike Trail; the new bike racks at City Hall and the Senior Center (he suggested lighting the area at the Senior Center for safety); a Walkability webinar that was being conducted soon; he wondered about the Placentia Avenue bike crossing signal project, which seemed to have stalled; he complained about the Harbor Blvd. Bike Trail expansion joints, which apparently give riders a good jolt when crossing them and he asked about spacing of the Tanager Bike Trail posts.

Flo Martin also addressed the Harbor Blvd. Bike Trail, and wondered if the lights are on 24 hours and also addressed the bumps on the trail.  She also wondered about the cost of the new bike racks.

Taboada mentioned a recent trip to Ft. Collins, Colorado and observed many bicyclers out in 18 degree weather.

RAJA COMMENTS
Sethuraman told the group the Placentia Bike Signal project was stalled because of a problem with the contractor, who has been replaced by another via the Bonding company and the project should be completed soon.  He told us the new bike racks cost $500 each. He told us the posts at the Tanager trail would be widened.  He also mentioned that the discussion of the upcoming OC Marathon routes would be on the agenda at the next City Council meeting.  He also mentioned a Shuttle Transportation project with OCTA that would move from the South Coast Plaza area to the Lab/Camp location allowing residents and visitors to move between those two venues via public transportation.  Currently there is a shuttle from South Coast Plaza to Disneyland.

KUDOS, AGAIN...
The meeting adjourned to their next meeting on March 1st at 8:56.  Once again, I was impressed with the way this particular committee works.  They manage to vet issues without rancor, reach well-reasoned conclusions, considering opinions of the other members carefully.  Last night, due to the large turnout of residents to discuss 19th Street issues, Taboada held a light rein on the discussions and actually permitted brief comments by members of the public outside the normal Public Comments segment on each issue.  It made for a very comfortable situation and most viewpoints were heard and considered.  Kudos, once again, to the members of this committee for their diligence and dedication to these important issues.

Short Report For A Long Meeting

A BRISK PACE FOR A LONG MEETING
Here's the short version of events from the Costa Mesa Parks and Recreation Commission meeting last night that was held before an audience of fewer than 25 people at the peak.

DE ARAKAL AND PEDERSON KEEP THEIR SEATS

Right off the bat the four commissioners on the dais - Don Harper was absent - chose to re-appoint the existing leadership.  Byron de Arakal will remain as Chairman and Kim Pederson will remain as Vice Chair of the commission.  In my view, that's a good thing.  Byron has demonstrated that he's a strong leader and Pederson sits at his right hand, occasionally offering subtle stabilizing comments.

MORE LIGHTS NEEDED...
One of the major items on the agenda was the Athletic Field Use and Allocation Policy, HERE, which was dispatched promptly when it was agreed to bifurcate the subject of lighted fields from the main body of this agenda item.  Community meetings will be held during the summer to try to resolve the issue.  In the meantime, it was agreed that Woodland, Kaiser, Lindbergh and Back Bay schools would remain as possibilities for lights and Harper School - which currently has lights but was scheduled to be "rotated out" this time around - will remain on the "lighted list".  de Arakal received assurances that if agreement can be made with the School District to light any or all of the other four schools, that Harper would be dropped.

TREE REMOVAL REQUESTS APPROVED
There were three (3) tree removal requests on the agenda.  One, on Bismark Way, was continued a month.  In the case of the other two, the commission rejected the staff recommendations and approved the removals requested.

CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT BUDGET
Nearly an hour was spent discussing the Capital Improvement Project budget and the result was the recommendation to the City Council to add into the budget nearly $1.5 million in items not included this year in the Preliminary budget.  The biggest ticket item was the conversion of Field #1 at the Jack Hammett Farm Sports Complex to artificial turf, thus allowing its use all year long.  Other items involved studies in elements at Fairview Park.  We'll see how receptive the City Council is on those issues.  At one point, when emphasizing his perception of the need for more playing fields, de Arakal said, "We don't have enough lighted fields despite what some of those armchair statisticians think."

I AGREE...
Earlier, when the commission was discussing the possibility of buying the Balearic Center from the School District, he said, "We should not be spending a ton of money on capital improvements on property we don't own." 

 WEST 19TH STREET PROJECT APPROVED...
After a short break at 8:25 they reconvened to discuss the 19th Street West project, HERE, which covers the area along that major street from Newport Blvd., to the end of 19th Street.  A half-dozen residents spoke on the issue and most were supportive of the improvements planned.  The plan was approved.

...AS WAS DEL MAR AVENUE
After a short discussion the commissioners agreed to support the "simulation A" version of improvements for the stretch of Del Mar Avenue east of Newport Boulevard.

EAST 19TH STREET MOVES FORWARD, WITHOUT MONUMENTS YET

Last on the agenda was the East 19th Street "improvements", which are really methods of slowing traffic along that corridor from Irvine Avenue to Newport Boulevard.  There is $855,700 in Grant Funds available to do this project.  Approvals should occur and design will begin by August of this year and construction will begin early next year.  Those of us who live on the Eastside are concerned that it may result in more cut-through traffic along parallel streets, like Costa Mesa Street and Flower Street.  Much discussion was held on the various suggestions for monument signage for this area.  The commission asked the staff to return to the drawing board, since nobody seemed interested in any of the suggested styles.

BIKEABILITY MOVIE CLIP
At the end of the meeting de Arakal played a preview of a video production created by Costa Mesa Television on "Bikeability" that will begin appearing on CMTV in the normal rotation on June 4th.  There was one person in the audience to see that film - me.  the meeting ended just after 10:00 p.m. - a long night for the Parks and Recreation Commission and another long night for the staff.

Field Use Tops Parks & Rec. Commission Agenda

PACKED AGENDA TONIGHT
Tonight the Costa Mesa Parks and Recreation Commission will meet at 6:00 p.m. in City Council Chambers at City Hall for the regular monthly meeting of that group.  You can read the agenda HERE.

NEW OFFICERS AND FIELD USE ALLOCATION POLICY
Following the election of officers, HERE, the commission will launch right into what is probably the most interesting, and potentially contentious, issue of the evening - the Athletic Field Use and Allocation Policy Recommendations, HERE. The changes will be recommended to the City Council for approval.

MINOR AND MAJOR CHANGES - BUT NOT LIGHTS
That 35-page staff report includes minor modifications to the policy - the re-naming of the new Parks and Community Services Department - to major changes to the definition of user groups.  It also includes a red-line version of the new policy so the changes are quite evident.  The staff recommends that the commission NOT include the issue of portable lights, but that studies should be made during the summer and that issue be brought back at a future meeting following those studies.

THREE TREE REMOVALS
Next up are three requests for tree removal - 2550 Fordham Drive, HERE; 2721 Cardinal Drive, HERE and 1164 Bismark Way, HERE.  The staff recommendation in each case is to deny the request.

NEW MONUMENT AT ESTANCIA PARK
Item 10d is the request for a granite dedication stone at Estancia Park Sepulveda Adobe, HERE.  The Costa Mesa Historical Society has requested this stone be placed in the park by the "Native Sons of the Golden West", with a dedication ceremony on Saturday, November 15, 2014.

CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT BUDGET
Item 10e is the Capital Improvement Budget for the period including fiscal years 2014/2015 - 2020-2021, HERE.  Included in the staff report is more than 30 pages from the current proposed fiscal year budget dealing with Capital Projects.  The commission will consider the budget proposal and make recommendations to the City Council for their approval next month.

WEST 19TH STREET STREETSCAPE PLANS
Item 10f is the concept plans for West 19th Street, HERE.  The commission will consider and approve the concept plans as presented.

DEL MAR AVENUE BEAUTIFICATION
Item 10g is the Del Mar Avenue Beautification Concept plans, HERE.  The commission will be asked to approve the conceptual design.

STRANGLING EAST 19TH STREET
Item 10h is the East 19th Street Landscape Plans and Monument Signs project, HERE.  You will recall that there have been community meetings on this issue at which the strangulation of the traffic along that stretch of roadway from Irvine Avenue to Newport Boulevard was discussed.  The commission will be asked to approve the concept and one of the monument sign options.

C'MON DOWN!
It's going to be a long night tonight - again.  Join me watching your government in action and express your views to the commissioners on these many important issues that will affect the lives of most Costa Mesa residents for decades to come.

Plans To Strangle East 19th Street Traffic Discussed

A SMALL, BUT ENTHUSIASTIC, TURNOUT
Last night a small group - approximately 35 people - of mostly Eastside Costa Mesa neighbors gathered at Kaiser Elementary School to hear representatives of the City discuss plans to "calm" the traffic on East 19th Street from Irvine Avenue at the Newport Beach border to Newport Boulevard at the terminus of the 55 Freeway.

SHOWING OPTIONS
Transportation Services Manager Raja Sethuramin led the 90-minute discussion, which included a PowerPoint presentation of some options considered, and visitors had a chance to view story boards around the room that reflected plans for specific segments of that roadway, showed intersection improvements and plant selections being considered for this $855,000 project.

LIVELY Q & A SESSION
Most of the evening was taken up with a lively question and answer session in which the "success" of the recent Broadway project frequently was used as an example for this pending project.  According to Sethuramin and residents of that street, the traffic calming measures taken have been effective for what was a very busy neighborhood street.

 "CHOKERS" AT INTERSECTIONS
Plans for East 19th Street include the installation of traffic "chokers" at intersections, which will effectively slow down the flow by squeezing it by the throat at intersections.  New center dividers will be installed at the ends of the street, at Fullerton Avenue and at the approach of Irvine Avenue.  New community markers stating "Eastside Costa Mesa" will be installed in those landscaped dividers.  Because 19th Street is narrower than Broadway - 10 feet or more according to one resident who was active on the Broadway project - there is no room for centerline planters as was done on that street.

 RE-DIRECTION DENIED
Residents expressed concern - just as many did at the first of these meetings in January - that slowing the traffic along 19th Street will simply force it to parallel streets, like Costa Mesa Street, Flower Street and 18th Street.  According to Sethuramin, studies show that this likely will not happen - even though that flies in the face of logic.

INCREASING DENSITY

Several residents expressed concern about the increasing density of the housing on the Eastside.  Very few have been seen at City Council or Planning Commission meetings when this issue has been discussed.  So far, claims by residents that density is a serious problem have been rejected by the current council majority - Mayor Jim Righeimer specifically - as recently as the General Plan Land Use meeting Tuesday evening.  Apparently, if he doesn't see several thousand people in the streets outside City Hall complaining about an issue, then it simply does not exist.  Of course, he's equipped with blinders and earmuffs provided by his developer-buddies to prevent him from hearing that kind of stuff.

 TIME TO SPEAK UP
Since the City is presently in the midst of updating the General Plan, now is the time for residents to express their views on issues like density, traffic, affordable housing, etc.  They can do so by speaking at City Council meetings and/or Planning Commission meetings and by writing to the City Council.  Contact information for them can be found HERE.

NEXT STOP, PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION
The next stop on this project will be the presentation by the staff of the landscape plans, including choices for the monument signs, to the Parks and Recreation Commission - probably at their meeting on May 24th.  Interestingly, when Sethuramin tried to take the pulse of the audience to determine their preference of the four examples provided last night the results were almost equally split among all four.  There certainly was no clear consensus by that group.

CONSTRUCTION NEXT YEAR
Presuming that this project will go forward, and that the staff will successfully locate grant funding - mention was made of the Federal Safe Route To School program - construction won't begin until 2015.  There's still plenty of time for those concerned to make their views known to the City Council and staff.  Information about this project will appear on the City Website.

Residents Hear About East 19th Street Plans

SIX DOZEN RESIDENTS CAME AND MANY SPOKE

Last night around six dozen anxious and vocal residents joined members of the Costa Mesa City Staff to hear about the proposed plans to slow traffic along East 19th Street from Irvine Avenue to Fullerton Avenue.

RAJA MODERATED
Transportation Services Manager Raja Sethuraman moderated a brief slide show and then fielded questions - several of which bordered on the hostile - from concerned residents.

COMPARISON TO BROADWAY
The theme for this meeting appeared to be "It's Not Broadway" - that nearby Eastside street that underwent traffic calming measures last year with apparent great success.  Folks kept bringing up that project throughout the 90 minutes or so that the Staff answered questions.

 Fullerton Ave. Intersection with "enhancements"

Orange Ave. Intersection

PRESENTATION AND DATA ON WEB SITE
No handouts were available for this meeting, but we're told that the entire slide presentation and other data will be available today sometime on the City Website.

Raymond Avenue

Westminster Avenue

FED'S CASH
Sethuraman frequently emphasized that this project, funded by over $850,000 in Federal "Safe Routes To School" grants, is designed to slow the traffic on that stretch of street, not to divert it to other routes on the Eastside.

Santa Ana Avenue

Tustin Avenue

UP CLOSE LOOK AT PLANS
They had images around the perimeter of the room depicting each of the intersections involved.
Most of the improvements will be done at the intersections as shown on the images displayed here. 

                                                                   Irvine Avenue

AT LEAST ONE MORE MEETING

There will be at least one other similar meeting to give residents another opportunity to express their views on this important Eastside subject.

 STAFF WILL GATHER DATA
The staff will take the information gleaned from the questions and comments by audience members and modify the plan if practicable to accommodate residents concerns.

FITZY AND RAMOS

And, of course, Eastsider Jim Fitzpatrick was at the meeting, buzzing around City Council Candidate Lee Ramos' shoulder much of the night.

LONG-TERM PROJECT
The next meeting will be scheduled for sometime in April and, if eventually approved by the Parks and Recreation Commission and the City Council, the actual construction on this stretch of roadway would not begin until early next year.