MAILBAG - Sept. 25, 2006
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Point needs permit parking restrictions
Should there be permit parking in Newport Beach? Yes, at least for Peninsula Point residents.
There are no public parking lots; no beach facilities; Point homes in most cases are too small for garage use or more than one vehicle; residents cannot leave on weekends or risk having no place to park upon return.
Out-of-town beachgoers have no consideration around homes they park in front of. I live on Ocean on the Point, and they routinely leave their beach trash in the gutter and dump sand on walkways. I pick up diapers, bottles and trash every weekend.
I and my neighbors have had beachgoers walk into our garages if mistakenly left open and enter houses to use toilets for babies.
The adolescents race up and down the street using speed bumps as a “challenge.” Any Point resident can attest that from 4 to 8 p.m. on summer weekends Ocean and Balboa avenues are generally dead-stopped traffic trying to exit the peninsula, making it all but impossible to leave your homes.
TOM LOHNES
Balboa Peninsula
Patrol boats need to slow down
Harbor Patrol boats should go a controllable speed that allows them to safely avoid collisions with small boats and animals at all times. Rushing to save a life isn’t justification for putting others in harm’s way. Street chases by police have been curtailed for safety reasons, and no less than the same rules should apply on the water to the Harbor Patrol.
I’ve witnessed the Harbor Patrol dangerously speeding down the bay, without warning sirens, where it would have been impossible for a small sabot skippered by a young sailor or a kayaker to get out of the way.
ROSE PEREZ
Newport Beach
Too much of a rush to get to crime scene
In response to your question, “Should Harbor Patrol boats be forced to slow down?” the answer is a resounding yes. Just as police on the street must exercise due caution in vehicle pursuits, the Harbor Patrol cannot be allowed to recklessly speed through our harbor.
Newport Harbor is home to many small boats, kayakers and swimmers of all ages, from the very young to senior citizens. In a harbor with a posted speed limit of 5 miles per hour, it is downright dangerous for that limit to be exceeded by a magnitude of five to six times.
It is unfortunate that we always wait until there is a tragedy to speak up and make a push for change. I am a frequent harbor user in a small sailboat and kayak, and have had many previous brushes with Harbor Patrol boats speeding, tossing up large wakes and imperiling small boats with the danger of swamping them. It was just a matter of time before they injured someone; it could just have easily been a person as a swan. Anyone familiar with the Harbor Patrol’s cowboy antics knew they were a danger; sadly neither I, nor anyone else, spoke up sooner.
The excuse of being unable to avoid Rupert without hitting a navigation marker shows how poorly they were driving. Either their speed was far in excess of the 25 to 30 mph they admit to, or they weren’t looking where they were going — either of which is completely inexcusable. This is reckless endangerment, pure and simple, and if the driver has not yet been fired, he certainly should be. He really belongs in jail, but I doubt if we’ll be able to get that action taken.
The additional excuse of needing to speed in order to possibly revive the floating body is also unacceptable. The fire and police departments on the peninsula were in closer proximity and could have reached the spot without endangering people along their way. It seems clear the adrenaline was up, and the guy at the wheel was raring to go with the excitement of something more exhilarating happening in the harbor than responding to yet another complaint about a barking sea lion.
We need law enforcement officers, and I believe we have them for the most part, who can control that adrenaline rush and still act reasonably and rationally in a crisis. Obviously, the driver of the harbor patrol boat that ran over Rupert does not have the necessary professionalism to handle a crisis.
Goodbye, Rupert. You will be missed.
TERRY SENKO
Corona del Mar
Peninsula needs help beyond just parking
I sympathize with the people who have problems with noise, trash, vandals and parking, but why would the people writing into the Daily Pilot think parking permits are only required south of Main Street and Ocean Boulevard in Corona del Mar?
I live on the Balboa Peninsula and have to tolerate these problems year round as well as five rehab houses on our street. We have problems and need help.
SYLVIA BUCKLAND
Balboa Peninsula
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