SANTA ANA : School Board Delays Vote on Bridge Plan

The Santa Ana Unified School District has postponed a vote on whether to support completion of a controversial Caltrans pedestrian bridge project, which residents say would increase crime in their neighborhood.

The California Department of Transportation is building the bridge across the Santa Ana Freeway at 20th Street to replace a pedestrian tunnel that once went under the freeway. That tunnel was demolished as a part of Caltrans’ freeway-widening project.

About 100 residents attended the board meeting Tuesday, and most opposed the construction of the bridge. Many told the board it would promote crime, graffiti and vandalism in their neighborhood in part by giving criminals an easy escape route.

Residents also said that crime dropped noticeably in their neighborhood when the tunnel was demolished and urged the board to formally request Caltrans to not replace it.

Caltrans has spent $600,000 on the bridge, which is about 60% complete, according to a report to the board. The bridge would be finished in January, 1995, but residents said they received notice from Caltrans that the agency would stop construction if the school district opposed the bridge.

The crossing is intended to benefit 170 schoolchildren who live west of the freeway and attend Hoover Elementary School, which is east of the freeway.

District staff recommended that the board support completion of the bridge. Otherwise children would be forced to walk another half a mile on a busy street to get to school.

However, board members said they were uneasy with taking a formal position until hearing about safety and other concerns from the parents whose children would use the bridge.

The board will consider the item on July 12 at a meeting site which is to be determined, district spokeswoman Diane Thomas said.