LAGUNA NIGUEL : Street Closure Focus of Upcoming Poll

The city plans to poll hundreds of residents this month about whether to close a street that is the focus of a passionate neighborhood dispute.

Safety and convenience are the issues, according to residents in the community served by El Sur and Greenfield Drive, a single street that changes names as it connects Paseo de Colinas with Crown Valley Parkway.

Citing two recent accidents, some residents say the street, a shortcut for motorists en route to nearby Rancho Niguel Center, has become dangerous for neighborhood youngsters.

“The children who live on El Sur-Greenfield are told not to go near the street,” said El Sur resident Karen Cressman. “It’s that kind of situation where they can’t even play in their front yards.”

Others, however, say residents along the two-lane street do not represent the larger community, most of whom would prefer to have convenient access.

“This whole thing has turned into an emotional debate,” said David DiLucente, a resident of the Sparrow Hill neighborhood, located at the corner of El Sur and Paseo de Colinas.

After a lively public hearing Tuesday, the City Council voted 4 to 0 to send ballots to more than 200 households asking whether they favor closing El Sur and if so, at which of two locations, Del Norte or El Oeste.

The council acted despite city staff’s conclusion that closure of El Sur was unwarranted. Instead, the staff suggested restricting rush-hour turns into the neighborhood, installing speed bumps or increasing police enforcement.