COUNTYWIDE : Forum to Cover Plans for Bridges

County officials will hold a public meeting tonight in Costa Mesa to unveil evaluations of three proposed bridges across the Santa Ana River.

The proposed sites for new bridges connecting Banning Avenue and 19th Street, Garfield and Gisler avenues, and Atlanta Avenue and Wilson Street. The bridges would link Costa Mesa’s west side to Fountain Valley, Huntington Beach and Newport Beach.

The 6 p.m. public meeting at the Neighborhood Community Center, 1845 Park Ave., is the first of three forums where officials will explain the results of the Santa Ana River Cooperative Bridge Study.

Jenifer Rice, a planner with the County Environmental Management Agency, said the results of the study won’t be released to the public until tonight’s meeting. Copies of the executive summary will be available.

Rice said the meeting is intended to inform the public of the study results and receive written comments. Question and answer sessions will occur at the remaining two meetings, Rice said.

The proposal to build the bridges is part of the county’s master plan for arterial highways. But residents fear the river crossings will generate additional traffic and pollution, so Costa Mesa officials and residents sought the county study, which began last September.

“It’s been a very big issue for the city of Costa Mesa. We’re very much against the bridges over the river,” said Councilman Joe Erickson, a member of Costa Mesa Bridge Alternative Study Committee.

“Our position is that these (bridges) are not necessary and that regional traffic should not be handled through residential neighborhoods. That’s what we hope the findings of the study will be.”

The ad hoc committee of citizens, city officials and professionals was created by the City Council to monitor the progress of the study, Erickson said.

Erickson also said the city is opposed to the widening of East 19th Street, which would require that 69 homes be demolished. The study also examined the effects of the street widening.

Roy Pizarek, an 18-year Costa Mesa resident who chairs the study committee, said the group’s intent is to find out whether the bridges are actually needed to improve traffic circulation.

“I’m opposed to the bridges and I don’t feel that the bridges are warranted,” Pizarek said. “The bridges will not improve traffic circulation whatsoever.”

Newport Beach resident Dean Reinemann, whose home is at the end of 19th Street near the river, also has concerns that the bridge proposed there will change the ambience of his neighborhood. “It’s an area that is extremely quiet with the benefits of living near the beach,” Reinemann said.

The residential area, with its open space and wildlife, is unusual, Reinemann said. Building a bridge would only cause more traffic, noise pollution and crime, he said. In addition, he has environmental concerns because of the river’s wetlands and wildlife habitat.

“They may be selfish concerns, but they’re realistic concerns,” he said.

The next meeting will be held Sept. 29, 6 p.m., at the Fountain Valley School District offices, 17210 Oak St. The final meeting is scheduled for Oct. 13, 6 p.m., at the Newport Beach City Council Chambers, 3300 Newport Blvd.

More information is available by calling Rice at (714) 834-5383.