Council burns 19th Street bridge notion

Lolita Harper

Council members thwarted a recommended study on the feasibility of

a bridge at 19th Street Monday, saying it would be improper to embark

on any independent research until a regional consensus is agreed

upon.

The council voted 4 to 1 to disregard a recommendation from the

Community Redevelopment Action Committee to study the economic

feasibility of a bridge at 19th Street to cross the Santa Ana River

into Huntington Beach. Councilman Allan Mansoor dissented.

Members of the committee created to push for Westside development

argued that the council should at least look into how a bridge could

revitalize the western portion of town.

Mayor Karen Robinson said it would be improper to fund an

independent study when four area cities have agreed to work

collaboratively on bridge issues at both 19th Street and Gisler

Avenue.

Robinson and the council vocally opposed a similar move by

Fountain Valley council members in December to fund their own study

of a bridge at Gisler and said it would be inappropriate to criticize

that city for its action, only to turn around and do the same thing.

“We have an agreement,” Robinson said. “We are committed to

waiting for a [regional consensus]. Spending $150,000 on something

that we need consensus from other cities for would be a waste of

scarce resources.”

Bridges at Gisler and 19th, which would cross the Santa Ana River,

are included in county transportation plans, but Costa Mesa and other

cities have been working for years to erase them from the plans.

Costa Mesa officials have largely led that fight, contending that

either bridge would simply create a “cut-through” for drivers looking

for a shortcut to the Costa Mesa Freeway.

Costa Mesa, Fountain Valley, Newport Beach and Huntington Beach

commissioned a study -- named the Santa Ana River Crossing Study --

to research the effects of removing the bridges from the county

master plan.

Bill Morris, the city’s director of public services, said he did

not know when the four cities would come to a consensus on a possible

solution, which would then be studied for its feasibility. But talks

are underway, and the various cities are making their independent

decisions to bring to the table, he said.

Robert Graham, a longtime proponent of a bridge at 19th, led the

Community Redevelopment Action Committee’s recommendation, convincing

a majority of his committee members that the roadway could revitalize

the Westside.

Vocal resident Martin Millard, also a committee member, said he

supported the study because it could prove beneficial for a shopping

center on the Westside -- something the community has wanted for

years.

“We need a practical study to evaluate whether it would bring

traffic to support a shopping center or if it would be a freeway

cut-through,” Millard said, adding that he would not support a bridge

if research predicted it would serve as a mini-highway.

Westside resident Paul Ables agreed with the majority of the

council, adamantly opposing spending taxpayer money on the bridge

study.

“Scrap the study, scrap the bridge and start building our

community,” Ables said.

* LOLITA HARPER covers Costa Mesa. She may be reached at (949)

574-4275 or by e-mail at [email protected].