HUNTINGTON BEACH : Traffic Plan Hits Territorial Glitch

After months of complaints about speeding drivers and heavy traffic caused by commuters who cut through Cascade Lane and neighboring streets as shortcuts to major thoroughfares, city officials came up with what they thought was a feasible solution.

Then they discovered that their solution would mean an unlawful border crossing into the neighboring city of Westminster.

After considering several courses of action, officials agreed in April to install a barricade on Cascade Lane and erect stop signs at the nearby junction of McFadden and Sugar avenues. But just as workers were about to install stop signs, a flashing beacon and advance warning signs, city officials discovered that the Sugar-McFadden junction is actually in Westminster, not Huntington Beach, as believed for years.

“It’s hard to believe that after agonizing over this for months, we don’t own the intersection,” Councilwoman Grace Winchell lamented.

Councilman Don MacAllister, who noted that city police have patrolled the junction for years, said it is “embarrassing” to learn that it actually is in Westminster.

Assistant City Administrator Ray Silver blamed the border dispute on a map of uncertain origin developed about 12 years ago to determine the legal boundary between Westminster and Huntington Beach. The mistake was discovered when engineers consulted another map before installing the stop signs.

The City Council voted Monday to put in the barricade on Cascade Lane--which is clearly within Huntington Beach boundaries--for a 90-day test. They also voted to ask Westminster officials to put in the stop signs.

Westminster Mayor Charles V. Smith said the request will be turned over to the city’s Traffic Commission to determine whether it’s feasible. But he noted that the stop signs would have to be installed at the bottom of an incline on McFadden Avenue after it crosses over the San Diego Freeway, which could cause an unsafe backup of traffic.

Smith also indicated that he is concerned that the Huntington Beach barricade might slow police cars and fire trucks. Huntington Beach officials said they plan to use a series of rubber posts for the barricade that emergency vehicles can drive over.

The issue caused a rift between residents of Cascade Lane and residents of adjoining streets who believe that the barrier would only spread the problem throughout the neighborhood.