SANTA ANA : Joggers Find Rocky Road to City Hall

Gerald Tiritilli thought his days of fighting City Hall had ended last summer, but one year later, he once again finds himself in the role of community activist.

In June, 1989, Tiritilli went for a jog along a dirt trail near his house in an undeveloped section of Santiago Park. He became incensed when he discovered that a portion of the trail had been covered with what he described as “chunks of asphalt.”

He made a call to the city voicing his concern and was pleasantly surprised to see that the asphalt was removed days later.

End of story. Or so he thought.

Last month, Tiritilli was walking along the same trail and discovered that it had been covered again, this time with decomposed granite. He again complained to the city, but this time around, he was told that the surface will stay.

“It makes me angry,” said Tiritilli, a 34-year-old registered nurse. “You walk out there and there’s this asphalt road in a park that used to be natural, which was one of the things that I liked best about the park.”

Convinced that others would also be upset with the new surface, Tiritilli questioned other joggers who frequent the path and said the granite was not popular with many of the regulars.

“This is deep, loose gravel,” Tiritilli said. “Trails have formed beside this stuff because everyone has been avoiding it. I don’t like running on it, and I don’t like looking at it.”

On Tuesday, Allen Doby the city’s executive director of recreation and community services, said the granite would only be removed “if we see it doesn’t meet our needs.”

“I don’t get involved with John Q. Public and with what they want,” Doby said. “We rely on the experience and expertise of the people on our staff. Our staff thinks this is a good project.”

Doby added that the earlier surface was not removed last summer because of Tiritilli’s efforts but “because it was not meeting our needs.”

Doby said the city has been trying to decide for several years how best to maintain the trail.

“We’ve used assorted methods, and we think this one better defines the trail and provides a decent footing for runners. It also allows for us to maintain it better,” said Doby, who added that the granite would help prevent users from getting shin splints--an injury common among runners.

Robert Hickey, executive vice president of the Southern California branch of The Athletic Congress, said decomposed granite is an acceptable surface to run on if it is somewhat compacted. He said if the granite is loose, it can be difficult for runners and can cause injury.

This week, Tiritilli presented the City Council with a petition signed by 34 people who said they would like to see the granite removed.