Bridge effect on entire city must be considered

Geoff West

Returning from a holiday trip, I found among my accumulated Daily

Pilots the Sunday issue, which contained both an editorial

recommending the rejection of the Gisler Avenue and 19th Street

bridges (Editorial, “Costa Mesa needs to fight study of bridge at

Gisler”) and Robert Graham’s well-written Community Commentary

advocating the study of the impact of a 19th Street bridge on

Westside Redevelopment (“19th Street bridge plan needs study”).

Columnist Joseph N. Bell must be proud of the balanced discussion

provided to us on that page.

It is my understanding that Graham and others -- the Community

Redevelopment Action Committee, for example -- are seeking

information, not necessarily a costly new study. I am under the

impression that this issue has been “studied” ad nauseam in years

past. If this is the case, why not present the results of those

studies to all concerned?

If city officials in the past have made the decision to have the

bridges in question stricken from the county plan based on thoughtful

consideration of sound information, not just political expediency, it

should be a very simple matter to provide it to interested parties.

If such information does not exist, then I agree with Graham that a

comprehensive study of the impact of a 19th Street bridge should be

undertaken and considered in any plan for the Westside redevelopment.

Not surprisingly, Graham makes many solid points in his discussion

of the bridge. The questions he poses certainly deserve consideration

as the Westside issue is discussed. I was disappointed, though, to

see he avoided commenting on the bridge’s impact on the Eastside of

Costa Mesa. It seems logical if such a bridge is built, it will

generate a significant increase in traffic on 19th Street in both

directions from the freeway terminus at Newport Boulevard.

Graham believes the increase in traffic on the Westside would be

an economic boon to that side of town. That may or may not be true.

More information is necessary to validate his theory.

Graham’s supposition that Westside home values would increase

$100,000, to a level close to those on the Eastside, is flawed. I

contend that the corresponding guaranteed increase in traffic on the

east side of 19th Street would result in irresistible pressure to

widen that roadway to four lanes from Newport Boulevard to the

Newport Beach border at Irvine Avenue, thereby destroying the home

values and quality of life of several hundred Costa Mesa citizens

along that route. Yes, the property values on both sides of Newport

Boulevard may approach parity -- but to the detriment of Eastside

homeowners.

Of course, the city of Newport Beach would welcome such a widening

with open arms.

The extension of that four-lane road along Dover Drive to

Westcliff could likely be done without disrupting a single home in

that city. The result would be to take pressure off Coast Highway

through Mariners Mile and provide Newport Beach residents a fast

route to the Costa Mesa Freeway without causing one iota of

inconvenience to their citizens. Sounds like a nice deal for them,

doesn’t it?

So, as the issue of the 19th Street Bridge is discussed, I hope

its impact on the broader area of our city -- not just the

beleaguered Westside -- will be considered.

* GEOFF WEST is a Costa Mesa resident.