SR-55 Improvement Project Open House

FEW ATTENDED WORKSHOP
Last week, on Wednesday, September 14, 2011, I attended the two hour open house at the Costa Mesa Neighborhood Community Center conducted by the Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA). I was joined by a disappointingly small crowd - I would guess that no more than 50 residents and other interested parties attended - a much smaller number than the homeless folks loitering in Lions Park adjacent to the Community Center as I arrived. I do know that OCTA, city staff and consultants outnumbered residents at any time during the evening.

LITTLE INTEREST BY ELECTED LEADERS
I saw Planning Commission Chairman Colin McCarthy leaving as the event was about to start and Planning Commissioner and Sanitary District Board Member Jim Fitzpatrick wandered in, looked around, stayed long enough to qualify for a meeting stipend, then wandered off into the evening.

HERE WE GO AGAIN
If you recall, this is not a new issue. I wrote about it many times in the past, including HERE, three years ago when this study went into hibernation. Last week it was as though the needle on the record had been placed back in the groove and we start to move forward - hopefully.

SAME OLD, SAME OLD...
Basically, there is no new news. Three years ago the process for improving the stretch of SR55 - Newport Boulevard - as it passes through Costa Mesa's "Downtown" section, went on for several months and resulted in 4 options:

1) Do nothing - the so-called "No Build" option, which leaves Newport Boulevard as it is today.

2)The second involves a Transportation Management System(TSM), which would involve signal timing and bus turnouts.

3)The third involves elevated turn lanes at each end of the improvement zone - 19th Street and Industrial Way.

4)The fourth is the "Cut and Cover" option, which would dig a huge trench along that right-of-way through which traffic going through Costa Mesa to and from Newport Beach would pass and it would be 'covered' with a separate section of highway to accommodate local traffic. It is kind of like a pre-fab tunnel.

NO MONEY...
There are no funds identified for this project at this time. Right now OCTA is launching a Data Collection element. You can view the entire presentation by the OCTA at the workshop HERE.

AGONIZINGLY SLOW PROCESS
This is a frustratingly slow process, but most folks who drive this stretch of highway - more than 100,000 per day at the last count - will agree that "something" must be done. If the most costly of the current choices - the cut and cover - is chosen, the chaos in that area, including the residential neighborhoods in Eastside and Westside Costa Mesa and the Newport Heights section of Newport Beach, will be almost unimaginable. The impact on those businesses along that section of the highway - many of which are barely surviving now - will be cataclysmic. I seriously doubt if ANY of them could survive what would likely be at least a year of construction - maybe double that.

NOW IS THE TIME TO SPEAK OUT
If you have views on this issue, now is the time to share them with OCTA and the City of Costa Mesa.

SR 55 Public Meeting Wednesday

MEETING WEDNESDAY, 5:30 - 7:30
The City of Costa Mesa and the Orange County Transportation Authority are hosting a public meeting on the State Route 55/Newport Boulevard Improvement Study on Wednesday, September 14, 2011 from 5:30 - 7:30 p.m. at the Costa Mesa Neighborhood Community Center, 1845 Park Avenue, near the library at Lions Park.

EXPLANATION OF PLANS
Staff members will be available to explain the exhibits available for viewing and the options for the possible improvement of this critical stretch of highway within Costa Mesa. Those interested are encouraged to attend this critical meeting and bring your questions. You can get more information at the OCTA site, HERE.

NEWPORT-MESA 2009?

I'M BACK...
Well, I'm back. After enjoying a wonderful holiday hiatus I just couldn't stay away. And you thought you wouldn't hear from me until after the New Year!

...AND BUMMED OUT!
While gone I did stay abreast of things here in the Newport-Mesa, including reading the rambling rants of Costa Mesa's racist laureate - The Mouth From Mesa North. I'm trying to figure out whether he has the hots for Katrina Foley or Wendy Leece - or both. The poor, deluded guy just can't seem to get those two blond ladies out of his head! Even when he fabricates issues - like his inference that the miscreants who attacked the homeless fellow with paint ball guns earlier this week were Latinos simply because the crime occurred in an area of town where some Latinos live, even though there has been no evidence or official speculation to that effect - he still finds a way to insert Katrina Foley into the story. Ain't love grand? Yeah, I know he's "married with children", but he's also a big fan of plural marriage, so....

WHAT'S AHEAD?
As the New Year arrives I've been thinking a little bit about what stands ahead for Costa Mesa and Newport Beach in 2009. In both cities there will be difficult issues, many of them controversial, that will face their elected leaders and their city staff.

CITY HALL AND REHAB HOMES
In Newport Beach, the new City Hall is a biggie, as is the ongoing discussion about the proliferation of Rehabilitation Homes in that city.

MUNICIPAL FISCAL TRAUMA
Both cities face the uncertainty of the economy and it's impact on municipal budgets. Even though our state bureaucrats have dragged their feet for six months on a budget, both are already making adjustments and planning for more within the next couple months.

CHOPPING COPS TO BALANCE BUDGET
Our anonymous friend over at the CM TRUTH blog recently broke the story that the Costa Mesa Police Department folded it's Narcotics Unit into the Special Enforcement Detail (SED), delayed some promotions and reassigned officers into existing vacancies in an attempt to reduce costs. We hope that's all that will be necessary right now, but we won't know until we see the post-holiday sales tax numbers. Predictions are bleak. Automobile dealerships along our Harbor Boulevard of Cars are suffering the worst downturn in memory.

CAR DEALERSHIPS IN PERIL
Some dealerships have already disappeared and others consolidated operations to reduce costs. Of course, the elephant in the room is the future, or lack thereof, of the Big Three American automobile manufacturers. If GM, Ford and Chrysler are, in fact, forced into bankruptcy, the "ripple" that will go through all phases of our economy will be more like a tsunami. Predictions of millions of workers facing lay-off as a result is very unnerving. Locally, it could mean the demise of several dealerships in our town, which will result in a major punch in the gut to our municipal budget.

WHITHER SOUTH COAST PLAZA?
Our big sales tax generator, South Coast Plaza, seems to be doing OK this holiday season, if packed parking lots are any indication. We'll know in January.


ACOSTA DRAMA CONTINUES
Other shoes waiting to drop in Costa Mesa include the on-going drama of the Benito Acosta affair. The criminal case filed by the city has, once again, been rejected by an appeals court. The civil suit filed by the ACLU on behalf of Acosta against the city is pending, with the trial scheduled to start in February. In my opinion, the city should instruct Jones & Mayer, our contract legal counsel, to stop any further action on the criminal case and find a way to settle the civil case before goes to trial. If we don't, it's very likely that the ego of Mayor Allan Mansoor will cost our city dollars in seven figures - something we certainly cannot tolerate in these difficult financial times.

SR-55 WIDENING TO BEGIN
In January the widening of SR 55, Newport Blvd. as it passes through the Downtown section of Costa Mesa, will commence. This construction will be a short-term solution to a growing traffic congestion problem. Unfortunately, even though most of the work will be done at night, cut-through traffic adjacent to the construction area will almost certainly increase.

WENDY'S WITCH HUNT
Councilwoman Wendy Leece's on-going interference in the operations of the Senior Center is sure to get much ink in the press as she continues to let the unfounded gripes of a couple seniors drive her own personal agenda and keep the center in a state of turmoil. She has recently complained about being "out of the loop" on issues, yet conveniently didn't mention that she has not attended six of the last seven meetings of the Senior Center Board.

TROIKA BECOMES A JUNTA
As mentioned above, the budget will be a huge concern for the "new" City Council. Of course, none of the members are actually "new" - they've all got at least 2 years experience under their collective belts. That doesn't necessarily mean they're smarter. They just have a lot of tenure between them. We'll see how the new majority will use the power they have as a group, and how much they try to marginalize Katrina Foley's contributions.

PLAYING FIELDS
The condition and use of school playing fields will also be a big issue to be tackled by the Costa Mesa City Council. We'll find out whether our current council plans to take a constructive, conciliatory role in this issue, or if they will attempt to bully the school board into following their requirements.

ANNEXATION
Annexation will also be another big issue. We'll find out, for example, whether Gary Monahan has moderated his position on this subject from his last term on the council, when he exhorted his peers to "play hardball" with Newport Beach on this issue. I thought at the time, and still do, that it was a strange position to take, since Newport Beach held all the cards.

STRETCHING MONAHAN
Regarding Monahan specifically, we'll also find out if a faltering business - he told us he had to lay off a few people this summer - and participation on both the Sanitary District Board (where among his first acts a couple years ago was to vote himself a raise) and as a city council member will stretch his limited skills too far.

BANNING RANCH
The future of Banning Ranch continues to churn. Will it be developed? How much of it? By whom? What will the impact be on Costa Mesa?

DAILY PILOTS FUTURE?
What does the future hold for the Daily Pilot, our local newspaper of record for a century? The bankruptcy chaos continues at the Tribune Company, owner of the Los Angeles Times who, in turn, owns the Daily Pilot and her sister community newspapers. Staff cuts over the past year have severely impacted the news gathering and dissemination by the Pilot. Chops at the top - publisher Tom Johnson and Director of New and Online Tony Dodero - are two very significant losses. Will the Pilot survive? I sure hope so.

NEW COMPETITION?
And, will Tom Johnson and former Daily Pilot editor Bill Lobdell succeed in their recently-announced plans - a story broken here first - to launch an online newspaper to compete with (or replace) the Daily Pilot? According to their web site, HERE, they plan to use the VoiceOfSanDiego publication as their model. As I've said before, my preference would be for them to acquire the Daily Pilot and morph it into the model they have in mind - online first, with a once-a-week print edition. Time will tell.

INSIDIOUS INFLUENCE BY "YOUR NEIGHBOR"
It's going to be very interesting to watch to see just how much influence the guy mentioned in the second paragraph above will continue to have on the policies and actions of the "improver" council majority. His warped agenda has been a driving force for the past decade and has resulted in a definite anti-immigrant slant on many things proposed by the majority.

IT'S GOING TO BE INTERESTING
Right from the get-go 2009 is going to be a very interesting year here in the land of Newport-Mesa. The very first Costa Mesa City Council meeting on January 6th promises to launch the new year with controversy if rumors about pending agenda items are true.

THANKS FOR READING
Thanks for reading my take on these issues. I hope you'll find your way back to these pages in the coming months.

We wish you all a safe, prosperous and Happy New Year!

Widening of Newport Blvd. On Schedule For January

NAGHAVI SAYS WE'RE ON SCHEDULE
When checking with Peter Naghavi, Public Services Director for the City of Costa Mesa, earlier this week he informs me that the approved and funded widening project for Newport Blvd. south of 19th Street is all ready to go. Construction begins on January 9, 2009.

SHORT TERM SOLUTION
You will recall that a new 4th full lane will be installed northbound from 17th Street to 19th Street and a short southbound lane will be installed from 19th Street to Broadway, adjacent to Triangle Square. There will also be a new right turn lane added southbound at 17th Street. These are short-term solutions to one of the busiest stretches of roadway in the county.

MOST WORK TO BE DONE AT NIGHT
Naghavi tells me that most of the work, roughly 80%, will be done at night - 10:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. - to provide for the least amount of interference with daytime traffic. There will be times when nighttime work doesn't get completed, in which case it will extend past the 6:00 a.m. target.

DOESN'T SOLVE ALL PROBLEMS, BUT IS A START
This is a good step for those of us who live in this end of town. It will not solve the cut-through traffic issues and is not a long-term solution to the crowded condition of Newport Blvd. as it passes through Costa Mesa's Downtown area, but it's a start. And, as is always the case with road construction projects, it will test the patience of all drivers in the area.

Council To Hear SR-55 Report Tuesday

FINALLY!...
At its meeting tomorrow, Tuesday, October 7, 2008, the Costa Mesa City Council will receive the initial screening report on the SR-55 Access Study, at which time they will very likely request that the Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) to fund and initiate the next phase of the study.

DISTILLED CHOICES
This report is the result of many meetings and workshops held with officials and the public in both Costa Mesa and Newport Beach and has distilled down the viable alternatives to the continuation of the Costa Mesa Freeway through or past Costa Mesa's "Downtown" area - from it's current terminus at 19th Street to the city limits at Industrial Way.

CUT-THROUGH TRAFFIC
This issue, one of the "Hey, look what I did!" planks in Eric Bever's campaign platform, is critical to many residents on the Eastside of our town because the more than 100,000 cars that travel past 19th Street and Newport Blvd. each day generate significant cut-through traffic into otherwise calm residential neighborhoods. Noise, safety and pollution are all concerns expressed by our neighbors living in those communities.

FORUM ON THE 9TH...
Two days later, on the 9th, many of those neighbors will hold a candidate forum at the Neighborhood Community Center - see previous post - at which this issue will almost certainly be presented for comment to each of the nine candidates for City Council next month. All the more reason for concerned residents to attend the forum to hear the solutions presented by our potential future leaders.

Study Session Report

The much-anticipated City Council Study Session yesterday afternoon provided less in the way of new information and much more on the collective attitude of our residents.

SESSION STARTS LATE - AWAITING A QUORUM
The session, held at the Neighborhood Community Center in anticipation of a large turnout, began about ten minutes late. It was necessary to await the arrival of council member Katrina Foley so there would be a quorum. Apparently Mayor Eric Bever and council member Linda Dixon had better things to do.

CALTRANS MAINTENANCE A SNOOZER
In any event, the agenda included 4 items. The first, a presentation by a representative of CalTrans on the landscaping and maintenance of their rights-of-way, was a real snoozer and took 40 valuable minutes. Even Mayor Pro Tem Allan Mansoor, the presiding officer at this meeting in Bever's absence, was fighting off yawns.

BIG TURNOUT FOR THE SR-55 STUDY
The second item was the hot button - the presentation by LSA Associates and OCTA on the winnowing process of the options for possible improvements on SR-55, the Costa Mesa Freeway - as it clogs our "downtown" area. By the time this presentation began at 5:25 approximately two-thirds of the 150 or so seats available had been filled, about 60 of which by residents. The remainder were occupied by reporters and staffers from the consultants, OCTA, CalTrans and the city.

EASTSIDERS PAYING ATTENTION
I was pleased to see so many of my Eastside neighbors in attendance. The fledgling Eastside Neighbors Group was represented by no fewer than 17 individuals, each of whom is concerned about the impact of the decision - or lack of a decision - will have on cut-through traffic in their neighborhoods.

COUNCIL CANDIDATES IN ATTENDANCE - OR NOT
Among the residents present were city council candidates Chris Bunyan, Chris McEvoy and Bill Sneen. Counting Foley, that made 4 of the 9 candidates in attendance. Nick Moss and Lisa Reedy were not in attendance. Eric Bever's absence was particularly curious, since this issue is one of his campaign platform planks. None of the "Big 3" - Bever, Gary Monahan and Jim Righeimer - made it to the presentation. This is also very curious in Monahan's case, since this is the very issue that got him involved in city politics almost 15 years ago and, considering the location of his restaurant, he has a very real vested interest in how this planning goes.

RIGGY ARRIVES LATE
In fairness, I must tell you that Riggy - fresh from hob-nobbing at the Republican National Convention - eventually made it to the meeting, but not until after the presentation and discussion had ended and the discussion of the third item on the agenda, the Library Master Plan, was underway. He must not have cared about that subject, because he chattered non-stop in the back row through the entire presentation and discussion.

DISTILLED CHOICES
Back to the SR-55. If attendees had gone to the city web site and reviewed the PowerPoint presentation ahead of time, as I did, they would have received very little new information. Basically, the choices have been distilled from the original 8 or 9 down to four. Those are:

1) No Build - Baseline - This choice would basically do nothing, leaving Newport Blvd. through downtown clogged like a plaque-filled carotid artery, although elements of Number 2 would be anticipated. Costs would be nearly 0.

2) Transportation Management Systems - This leaves everything as-is except the city would collaborate with OCTA and CalTrans to utilize advanced planning techniques - signal phasing, etc.- to smooth out the traffic flow. This does nothing to re-direct the traffic, it only massages the pig through the snake and might cost over $10 million.

3) Terminal Enhancement - This plays with both ends of the problem area using fly-overs and similar traffic manipulation devices to tinker with the flow of traffic at both ends and could cost between $50-100 million.

4) Cut and Cover - This digs a trench down the middle of Newport Blvd. in which the through traffic would flow and puts a lid on it - a street on which the local traffic would matriculate to it's destination. This plan might cost more than $300 million.

5) Phase II options (1-4) may evolve into hybrids of more than one of them in the final planning. Costs are unknown.

REJECTED OPTIONS
Options discarded from consideration were the following:

1) Bored Tunnel, which would cost too much and be a problem with ground water and utilities. The relatively short span of this project makes the use of the machine - 350 feet long - impractical;

2) Reversible Lanes, which were deemed to be inappropriate for this site;

3) One-Way Couplets, another concept unworkable here;

4) Parallel Routes, which are impractical because the options (Superior and Irvine) are too far from the congestion area.

THE NEXT STEPS
During the discussion the moderators advised that the same presentation would be made to the Newport Beach City Council on September 23rd, then would be taken to the OCTA Highway Committee on the 29th and eventually be presented to the OCTA Board on October 10th.


CITY WANTS DETAILS AVAILABLE AND COMMENTS CONSIDERED
City Manager Allan Roeder requested that the full study document be made available to the city and interested residents immediately, so they could have a chance to review the detail that made up the study. Katrina Foley requested that another workshop similar to those held earlier this year be conducted for residents to consider and comment on the remaining choices BEFORE any final decision is made by the OCTA Board. She also requested that this item be placed on the agenda for the October 7th City Council meeting, to provide the council a chance to consider the details of the report and interested residents to speak to this issue. She expressed much frustration with the slow pace of this process.

PRIORITIES
Once the discussion of the SR-55 was completed at 5:55 the room emptied like a flushed toilet.

LIBRARY SERVICES MASTER PLAN
A scant dozen or so residents remained to hear the discussion about the possibility of a Library Services Master Plan being funded. It was painfully obvious that way too few of Costa Mesa residents care, or even know, about how deficient our city is in library space. It was clear during this discussion that Allan Mansoor was not interested in preparing a Request for Proposals (RFP) for the creation of a Master Plan - which proponents were requesting for the next budget year - this far ahead. It's kind of a "which came first, the chicken or the egg?" situation. Supporters want the RFP issued so they can get bids from consultants so they know how much to request in next year's budget, while Mansoor thinks we should wait until the next budget cycle before doing anything. This is typical of him - never think ahead or plan - just react to the moment.

MORE FIRST TIME HOME BUYERS WILL BE HAPPY
Once that subject was flogged the remaining item - recommendations for Employee of the Month - took about 30 seconds. At that time the meeting was closed and the regularly scheduled meeting of the Redevelopment Agency was called to order. That entire meeting took 5 minutes, including the staff presentation which recommended tinkering with the formula for our First Time Buyers Program to make it more available to more people.

Reminder - SR-55 Freeway Extension Presentation on Tuesday

STUDY SESSION TUESDAY
Just a brief reminder, neighbors, that the Costa Mesa City Council will hear a report from consultant LSA Associates and representatives of the Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) regarding the progress on the study of the possible extension of SR-55 from 19th Street to the Newport Beach city limits at their Study Session Tuesday, September 9 2008 (tomorrow).
STARTS AT 4:30 SHARP!
Festivities begin at 4:30 p.m., with the presentation on SR-55 anticipated to commence at 5:00. If normal study session rules are followed, only 15 minutes TOTAL will be alloted for public comments on ANY agenda item, so the long-winded among us will be disappointed.

LIBRARY PRESENTATION TO FOLLOW
Following the OCTA presentation there will be a staff presentation on the proposed library near City Hall.

PLUS, THE REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY MEETS AT 6:30
And, after all that - around 6:30 the council will morph into the Redevelopment Agency and conduct it's regularly scheduled meeting. Whew!

SR-55 Study Session Slide Show

Further on the SR-55 presentation at the Costa Mesa City Council Study Session next Tuesday, September 9, 2008 at 4:30 in the Neighborhood Community Center at Lions Park...

STUDY SESSION POWERPOINT PRESENTATION AVAILABLE
The PowerPoint presentation that will be used by the consultants and OCTA staff to illustrate the results of their winnowing process is available for viewing on the City of Costa Mesa web site. To access this presentation simply slide your cursor over to the right of the page and click on my link to the City of Costa Mesa web site. Once there, scroll down the middle of the page to the SR-55 Access Study section and then on down to the link that is entitled "Initial Screening of Alternatives". Click on that link and you will be presented with the OCTA's 18 slide program.

REJECTED CHOICES
A little homework on this presentation ahead of time while help interested parties follow the discussion better on Tuesday. Certain elements jumped out at me as I reviewed the presentation. For example, near the end of the presentation slide #17 lists the options considered, but rejected. These are 1) Bored Tunnel Freeway; 2) Reversible Lanes; 3) One-Way Couplets and 4) Parallel Routes. The reasons for their rejection are shown on the slide.

BRING GOOD, BRIEF QUESTIONS
Take your time and review this presentation. As I mentioned in an earlier post, time for comments will be extremely limited Tuesday if they follow the Study Session format.

NEWPORT BEACH IS NEXT
The OCTA will make the same presentation to the Newport Beach City Council in their Council Chambers at 4:00 p.m. on September 23, 2008.

THE BALL'S IN THE OCTA BOARD'S COURT
According to the OCTA staff, once this presentation is made to the elected leaders of both Costa Mesa and Newport Beach it will also be made to the OCTA Board, probably at their meeting in October. At that point the OCTA Board will decide to fund further study of the options or not. If not, the issue will be pitched back into the laps of the cities involved to fund their own studies if they choose to do so.

MORE OUTREACH - MAYBE
If the OCTA Board chooses to move forward there will be another community outreach program to present the choices and costs.

SR-55 Study and More Threats By The Mouth

SR-55 - A BIG ISSUE
One of the big issues expected to garner much attention during this campaign season is what the future holds for the possible extension of SR-55, (Newport Blvd.) from it's current terminus at 19th Street in Costa Mesa to the Newport Beach city limits. This issue has been studied by the city, CalTrans and the Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) for months, with public workshops being held in both Costa Mesa and Newport Beach to gather input from members of the community and officials.

THE NEXT STEP PRESENTED
The next step in this process is a presentation before both city councils in study sessions by OCTA and CalTrans. The first of these presentations will be in Costa Mesa at the regularly-scheduled study session to be held on Tuesday, September 9, 2008. Because of the extraordinarily large turnout anticipated, this study session will be held at the Neighborhood Community Center at Lions Park. The meeting will commence at 4:30, with the SR-55 presentation anticipated to commence around 5:00.

LIMITED COMMENTS
This will not be the kind of meeting folks have experienced in the past, with unlimited opportunities for comment, questions and criticism. This presentation is, according to City Manager Allan Roeder at the City Council meeting last night, simply a presentation to the city leaders of the distillation of the process so far, showing the choices currently under consideration. Don't show up next Tuesday expecting unlimited access to the parties involved - it won't happen.

MORE WORKSHOPS ANTICIPATED
Roeder anticipates that the involved parties - the consultant, CalTrans, OCTA and the city, will host subsequent workshops so residents will have the opportunity for extended dialogue on this very important issue.

NEWPORT BEACH LATER IN THE MONTH
The second of these study sessions will be held at the Newport Beach City Hall on Tuesday, 9/23/08 at 4:00 p.m.


***

MORE THREATS FROM "THE MOUTH"
Sadly, we feel obliged to mention that The Mouth from Mesa North is at it again. He's embarked on another campaign of threats and intimidation against those of us who speak out against him. Yesterday, in his blog entry #474, he amended his original post to make it clear that he will soon stop "pulling punches". Now, that could mean many things, but his history is that of a thug and bully, so it's hard to know what to expect.

ANONYMOUS POSTS MAKE HIM ANGRY
It becomes more clear every day that the anonymous posts on the CM Truth blog are really getting to him. Perhaps that's because they are true. The Mouth would be amusing if he wasn't so darn pathetic. In the aforementioned #474 he refers to a missed opportunity to be a living "Rambo". Ha! Yet another fantasy of a man with many unfulfilled goals in his sad life. He frequently lists many "careers" he's had in his miserable life, yet never talks about success in any of them. The fact that those of us he clearly considers "inferior" manage to strike a chord with readers must be really bugging him...

SUPERIOR IN HIS MIND ONLY
In typical Mensa Marty fashion, he looks down his nose at those of us who dare to disagree with him and criticizes our every move. It must be very frustrating for him to think he's the smartest guy in the room, yet he fails to win the debate of important issues over such sub-humans as those of us who challenge him.

CHRIS STEEL REMEMBERED
It brings to mind the perpetually inept Chris Steel, whom he managed to get elected to the City Council nearly a decade ago. Old Chris - he's my age so I can call him that - was not the brightest bulb, but he was smart enough to recognize that The Mouth was trying to manipulate him. Chris rejected him and it made The Mouth furious - an emotion he displayed time after time at the podium as he and Steel would spit venom at each other in a low water mark for our municipal governance that stands today. He eventually managed to get Steel un-elected - something he's proudly crowed about when he attempts to knock his chosen candidates back into line.

OH, I'M SCARED...
So, we sit here, shivering in our collective boots, waiting for him to quit pulling his punches - whatever that means - and will continue to comment on his lame attempts to swing voters his way. We'll comment when he attempts to sandbag new candidates that pose a threat to the stranglehold his chosen "improvers" have on the city today. As smart as he purports to be, his tactics and motives are laughably transparent.

OUR PICKS COMING IN A MONTH OR SO
Somewhere along the line - maybe in a month or so - we'll give our views of the candidates running for City Council this year. He's already picked his crew. We're willing to let this cycle run a little longer, to give the newbies a chance to get up to speed and demonstrate they are worthy of serious consideration. The men he's supporting are known quantities. Their strengths and weaknesses have been demonstrated for several years. We have their past actions and motivations to examine.

EXPECT THE WORST
In the meantime, expect only the worst from The Mouth From Mesa North. Expect him to yowl and puff, yelp and pontificate on every issue and - above all - expect him to attempt to demean those of us who disagree with him. The fact that his right-wing essays have won favor with David Duke, the former honcho of the KKK, should be a good starting place to evaluate this guy's true core beliefs. Even more telling is that he uses that Duke praise as a marketing tool to try to sell his inconsequential books. Pardon me while I fight back my gag reflex!

Newport Beach SR 55 Workshop Report

FINAL SR 55 WORKSHOP IN NEWPORT BEACH
I attended the Orange County Transportation Authority's final public outreach workshop on the subject of resolving the traffic snarl currently occurring on Newport Boulevard (SR 55) in Costa Mesa's "downtown", just beyond the terminus of the Costa Mesa Freeway at 19th Street.

SPARSELY ATTENDED
Unlike the two similar workshops in Costa Mesa last week, this one was sparsely attended. A dozen folks who identified themselves as Newport Beach residents attended, plus some Costa Mesa residents. The total headcount at the meeting, including OCTA and consultant staff, was fewer than 30 people. It made me wonder if our good friends in Newport Beach would rather sit on the sidelines until this process is well down the road, then jump up and say, "NO WAY!"

NO ELECTED OFFICIALS CARED ENOUGH TO BE THERE
One disappointing fact was that, with the exception of Newport Beach Councilman "Walkin'" Don Webb - who kicked it off then left - no Newport Beach elected or appointed official attended the meeting to hear what their constituents thought about the plans presented. Former controversial councilman Dick Nichol showed up after the formal presentation, but was actively engaged in the subject, asking many questions and making very relevant comments. And, even better, not once did he mention "Mexicans on the grass". (That's a kind of inside joke, folks.)

NEWPORTERS FEAR TRAFFIC DUMPING
Many of the comments made by the Newporters were concerns about the traffic being "dumped" into Newport Beach. I had to chuckle, because they already get that traffic. Most of the more favorably viewed options presented would help folks heading for Newport Beach arrive there more quickly and with much less stress. No matter how carefully the moderators of the workshop tried to explain the situation, much apprehension still existed at the end of the meeting.

CUT-THROUGH TRAFFIC A CONCERN
Our good neighbors - most of whom lived in the Newport Heights area - were concerned about cut-through traffic in their neighborhoods. If that sounds familiar, it should, because many of my Eastside Costa Mesa neighbors expressed the same concerns at the two previous workshops. The difference between them is the fact the the Eastside of Costa Mesa is feeling the impact of cut-through traffic NOW due to the long delays on Newport Blvd.

TRAFFIC DISPERSION CONCERNS
Much was made about the need to disperse the traffic at the end of the freeway. Nichol was concerned about the freeway ending at one single traffic light at Industrial Way - as it does now at 19th Street. Nichol - who had not yet viewed the options on the display boards - suggested off ramps at 16th Street and 17th Street to help with the dispersion of traffic. That rankled residents, who "heard" that to mean more traffic on their residential streets.

OFF-THE-WALL SUGGESTIONS, TOO
Along with valid concerns and suggestions there were, predictably, some pretty off-the-wall suggestions. One woman suggested discarding all the proposed solutions and concentrating on public transportation alternatives. She apparently just arrived from Mars, or would have known that southern Californians don't leave their cars to go anywhere. Another speaker took my tongue-in-cheek suggestion about installing toll booths and turned it into a suggestion!

THE NEXT STEP
Despite the paucity of attendees, the OCTA and consultant staff dutifully took copious notes of the concerns and suggestions. Now this process will continue with the blending of existing proposals with suggestions made by attendees of the workshops and the distillation of the options to 3 or 4 possible choices. Those will then be presented to the OCTA Board and elected officials. More community outreach will be conducted following that effort. The target for the end of this phase of the project is August of this year.

FUNDING? - NO DOLLARS ARE AVAILABLE
At that time cost estimates will be compiled and possible sources of funding will be investigated. No funding is available for any of the long-range options at this time. When I asked how long it would take to get something built, the moderator, using assumptions that one of the more costly options would be chosen and it would involve property acquisition, speculated that it would take 10-15 years. Yikes!

LOOKING FOR MATURE LEADERSHIP
I fear, based on some of the comments made this evening, that this project is going to be one more contentious issue that the cities of Costa Mesa and Newport Beach will butt head on. The problem that generated this study is clearly a Costa Mesa issue. At the two workshops conducted in Costa Mesa many residents expressed displeasure that Newport Beach even gets a vote. I hope the elected leaders and staff will be able to mediate an amicable approach to this subject because there are many more issues that require close cooperation that are at least as important as this one. If we allow this to deteriorate into a schoolyard spat there is much to lose on both sides of our common border.

Smoother Sailing at Second Workshop

THAT'S BETTER!
Well, that's more like it! Last night's second workshop on the SR 55 Access Study, conducted by the OCTA and their consultants, LSA Associates, in the City Council chambers at City Hall, ran more smoothly than the first one on Monday. These workshops are designed to facilitate development of solutions to the growing volume of traffic through the Costa Mesa "downtown" area, which will soon strangle commerce and create major traffic issues on adjoining residential neighborhoods as frustrated drivers cut through seeking relief.

STRUCTURE IS BETTER
While the auditorium setting was a little less user friendly for the 70 or so attendees (roughly half of Monday's contingent) - it was more difficult to meander around and see the exhibits, for example - the meeting had a little more much-needed structure. Instead of permitting speakers to jump up and speak randomly, as was the case on Monday, a "speaker card" system was used to permit orderly presentation of questions and suggestions. The result was a much smoother flow of both questions and answers.

CIVILITY RETURNS
The tone of the meeting was more civil, too. In a refreshing display of candor, two speakers apologized to the moderators for their allegations Monday that traffic numbers they presented were bogus. Both speakers, among the most emotional on Monday, acknowledged that the consultant's numbers were accurate and the numbers they, the speakers, had been throwing around were way, way off the mark. And, last night there was no vitriolic criticism directed at the City Council.

EXCELLENT QUESTIONS/SUGGESTIONS
The array of questions from residents were thoughtful and relevant. For example, former Planning Commissioner and two-time city council candidate Bruce Garlich used part of his time at the microphone to suggest a modification to the apparently most popular choice - the so-called "cut and cover" option. He suggested that a "boring" alternative be investigated, citing the advantage of being less disruption to traffic and commerce in the Downtown area during construction. His suggestion was seconded by a subsequent speaker. It was good to see Bruce back in harness again, bringing his wisdom and insight to city affairs.

ONE MORE WORKSHOP SCHEDULED - IN NEWPORT BEACH
This workshop was the final presentation in Costa Mesa. There remains one more workshop scheduled - at the Sea Scout base in Newport Beach on April 10th, 5-7 p.m. After that meeting representatives of LSA, the OCTA and Cal Trans will assess all the options, use the comments presented to promulgate others and distill those down to 3-4, from which a course of action may be chosen. It is hoped that once those final choices are prepared the residents and other stakeholders involved in this process will have a chance to hear about them before the responsible government entities make their final selection.

WHERE'S THE MONEY?
Unclear is where the mountain of money necessary to fund any of the long-term options will come from. The current, funded and approved, plan to add one northbound lane on Newport Blvd. through the downtown area and one short southbound lane from 19th Street to Broadway will be constructed later this year. Other short-term solutions, such as signal synchronization, will be implemented in the relatively near future.

RELEVANT READING
For those of you interested in reading some relevant contemporary articles on this subject, you can follow these links. Byron de Arakal published two columns in the Daily Pilot the past two weeks. The first is entitled, "Don't count on 55 Relief". The second is, "55 outlook grim at OCTA forum". Between those two commentaries the Daily Pilot published an article entitled, "OCTA asks for 55 Freeway input". In addition, you can go to the OCTA website for more detail, including charts and descriptions of the several alternatives proposed at this time.

SOLUTIONS BEYOND THE HORIZON
Based on comments made by officials at the meeting last night, regardless which is selected, none of the longer-term solutions will begin for more than two decades. By then, most of the attendees will either be long-gone or will be residing is a care facility, concerned only about the traffic to and from the dining room.

NEW ACTIVISTS
In the meantime, the recently-energized cadre of citizen-activists promise to pay close attention to this issue and provide guidance to our elected officials - whether they want it or not. That's good news for all of us.

First SR 55 Access Study Workshop

THE MEETING TONIGHT
Tonight, at the Neighborhood Community Center, representatives of the Orange County Transportation Authority and the City of Costa Mesa presented an overview of the current plans for the mitigation of the traffic problems on Newport Boulevard from the terminus of the Costa Mesa Freeway at 19th Street to the city limits at Industrial Way.

STANDING ROOM ONLY
This was the first such workshop and it played to a packed, standing-room-only crowd, some of whom were more than a little vocal. This meeting is the first of two - the second will be held in the City Council Chambers at City Hall on Wednesday, April 2, 2008 from 6:30 - 8:30. A third such meeting will be held in Newport Beach on April 10th to provide it's residents a chance to chime in on this issue.

ANXIETY
It was clear from the tone of the questions tonight that many folks attending this meeting were very apprehensive about a "solution" being decided without having been given a chance to provide input. This is understandable, since this process has been going on for more than 6 months and this is the first such opportunity for the general public to express their views. Meetings have previously been held with city government and business owners plus a select few "stakeholders" - a description that certainly fit every person in attendance tonight. Some speakers were clearly nervous about being left out and some were quite hostile toward the officials present.

TIME LINE
The charts provided good information about the current roster of alternatives. These are, according to the folks who led the meeting, not the only options available, but represent the current thinking of those people in OCTA and Cal Trans who have studied this subject. Following the other public workshops those responsible will cull through the suggestions and concerns and try to generate three or four alternatives for consideration. At that time representatives of the various government entities involved will consider each and attempt to make a final determination of the right solution.

JUST THE BEGINNING
Speakers indicated that this is a long-term issue - that nothing could happen for at least 5 years, maybe longer - once a final plan is adopted. Approvals and funding must be secured before the first shovel of dirt is turned - a long, complicated, expensive process.

PARTICIPATE NOW!
So, if you have an interest in how the traffic flows through our city at that location I encourage each of you to attend the next workshop or to communicate directly with the OCTA and/or the City of Costa Mesa Transportations Services Department with your thoughts.

SR 55 Access Study Workshops

For those of you in the Newport-Mesa concerned about the growing traffic problems along SR 55, the Costa Mesa Freeway, and it's extension along Newport Boulevard, there will be two workshops conducted within our city limits next week.

The first is scheduled for Monday, March 31, 2008, 6:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. at the Costa Mesa Neighborhood Center, 1845 Park Avenue - adjacent to Lion's Park.

The second will be conducted on Wednesday, April 2, 2008, 6:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. at the Costa Mesa City Hall, Council Chambers, 77 Fair Drive.

More information can be found HERE, a link provided by the Orange County Transportation Authority.

Additionally, Byron de Arakal, in his column in the Daily Pilot today, provides his view of this issue in his own special way. You can find his commentary HERE.

For those of us who live on the Eastside of Costa Mesa, the management of the traffic on Newport Boulevard from the terminus of the 55 Freeway to Pacific Coast Highway is in a dead heat with the growth of John Wayne Airport as the most important long-range issues directly affecting us. The traffic on Newport Boulevard has an even broader reach, affecting the future plans for the revitalization of the Westside, too.

I encourage any of you seriously interested in this issue to attend one of the workshops and provide your views on this subject.