Parents celebrate street light

Parents living on the Eastside of Costa Mesa are hoping that a new stoplight-controlled crosswalk on Irvine Avenue will allow their children to safely walk to Mariners Elementary School.

The stoplight, which just began operating, regulates the main traffic artery that students have to traverse to get from some surrounding neighborhoods to the school.

The crosswalk prevents parents and kids from having to jaywalk across the street to save time, said Jim Fitzpatrick, who lives in the neighborhood with his wife and school-aged children.

More than a dozen families joined city officials from Costa Mesa and Newport Beach as well as Mariners Principal Pam Coughlin to celebrate the new addition Tuesday morning and enjoy a bagel or cookie on the way to school.

— Alan Blank