Letters to the Editor: Mariners’ Mile is the slow route — keep it that way

Re. “Mariners’ Mile should be transformed into a village akin to Corona del Mar,” (April 14): While I appreciate your letter of concern, and the fact you’ve acted on this matter in a timely fashion, there are many views. We don’t want ours to change.

The Pacific Coast Highway is the scenic route. The slow route!

Those of us who live above Mariners’ Mile want our nautical heritage of Newport Beach to be visible to those passing through our slow, scenic route.

As it stands now, anyone who wants to visit has plenty of parking. It should not be metered.

If we change the parking and build two-story hideous parking structures with possible bridges connecting everything, our neighborhood will be ruined. We like our sleepy nautical village. We wish the shipyards were still bountiful.

We get plenty of tourists at our bayfront restaurants. Maybe some of the buildings need a facelift, but that’s already happening. We can all walk the area easily. PCH should have stop lights to slow people down to enjoy the journey.

All us residents walk down to the “Mile” frequently to visit the restaurants, post office and quaint stores there. I say preserve the past. Keep it as is.

If bikes need more room, give them a lane like Corona del Mar has. Let the traffic go up Superior or Jamboree to go around the “Mile.” This is the historic route. There are already many alternative roads.

Here are some ideas:

• Take our beloved and historic Mile back from Caltrans.
• Retain street parking.
• Remain as it is now with no new vehicular lanes.
• No more two-or-more-story buildings, which block views of the bay.
• Any new buildings should have low profile and view corridors.
• No more hotels. This is our neighborhood.

The city has not always acted in the interest of its residents. They are often motivated by other things. It is my understanding that the land on which the Balboa Bay Club sits was a gift James Irvine gave to the city of Newport Beach as a park for the people of Newport Beach. Think how beautiful that would be on our Mile!

Val Carson

Newport Beach

Laguna spill could have been avoided

Re. “Sewage spill in Laguna Beach closes part of ocean to swimmers,” (April 17): Something doesn’t add up in this situation: Grease alone cannot block a main trunk line like this. Moreover, if properly monitored and maintained, this shouldn’t happen at all.

This is the exact location where an almost identical situation occurred in June, 2000. I saw it and called it into Public Works. So definitely a known problem area that should have had more aggressive clearing/cleaning over the years. From the information provided, this spill was avoidable, and gee, whatever happened to that city vow in 2015 to spend the money to fix the problems?

Roger E. Bütow

Clean Water Now

Laguna Beach

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