HUNTINGTON BEACH : Parents Oppose Plan to Lock Up Bridge

Hoping to stem vandalism and reported drug activity on a pedestrian bridge, the City Council has ordered a locked gate installed there. The problem with this solution, area parents say, is that children cross the bridge to get to school.

The bridge spans a flood-control channel and connects a sprawling apartment complex with Vantage Drive, north of Beach Boulevard and west of Warner Avenue. It has long been used as a shortcut for children walking to Sun View School. Recently, however, the crossing has also been used by late-night vandals and as a site for drug exchanges, some residents have reported.

Consequently, council members last year began considering removing the bridge altogether. But in an effort to accommodate the schoolchildren, the council voted 4 to 3 last week to install a gate at the bridge, allowing it to be unlocked only during weekday mornings and afternoons when the children are most likely to use it.

The attempted compromise, however, has infuriated dozens of parents whose children use the bridge every day. They argue that if the gate is open only for 45-minute periods before and after school, many children will face a barrier. Last week, 50 residents signed a petition protesting the plan.

“By no means is this over,� said Lois Walker, who has led the parents’ opposition. “A group of us parents walk with the kids every day, and we always see at least 20 kids who are still straggling over (the bridge), long after the other kids have gone.�

She said that children often are late for school or stay afterward for detention or to play, and they will be forced to climb the fence or cross the intersection of Beach Boulevard and Heil Avenue, which traffic officials have listed among the most dangerous in the city.

Councilman Wes Bannister, who along with Mayor Thomas J. Mays and Councilman Jim Silva voted against the locked gate, said he was chiefly concerned that the city could be liable if a child was injured scaling the fence or going around it--a concern that Deputy City Atty. Robert Sangster said is valid.

“By locking that gate most of the time, I think we’ll be on a hook like you can’t believe,� Bannister said.

As for concerns about vandalism and drug sales on the bridge, the opposing parents contend the issue has been exaggerated by a small minority of residents.

“And anyhow, we see that as being more a police matter,� Walker said. “The people living near the gate have to call the police more often if they suspect there is some kind of problem.�

The city Transportation Commission looked into an array of possible alternatives for six months before deciding on the gate, according to traffic engineer Bruce Gilmer. But council members have again asked the city staff to explore options, such as giving keys to parents or a school administrator.

“This was a situation where neither side was happy,� Councilman Don MacAllister said. “But I think (the gate) is definitely a move toward solving the nighttime problem there.�