NEWPORT BEACH : Cyclists, Residents in Flap Over Bike Paths

Proposed changes to two Newport Beach bike paths once again are pitting bicyclists and pedestrians against one another.

A proposal to widen the Seashore Drive bike lane has brought protests from oceanfront residents and the bicycle trails citizens’ advisory committee. The panel has offered alternatives, including a much-debated extension of the beachfront boardwalk into West Newport.

Bicyclists, meanwhile, are battling a separate proposal to lower the speed limit on Backbay Drive to 15 or 20 m.p.h. They contend they’re being blamed unfairly for the roadway’s safety problems.

Oceanfront residents and the bicycle trails committee argue that widening the Seashore bike lane to improve visibility is actually unsafe because it would move the lane--and swarms of bicyclists, pedestrians and roller skaters--closer to residents’ garages.

As a result, the bicycle trails committee has revived a proposal to extend the paved path across the sand. For years, the City Council has been reluctant to override beachfront homeowners’ opposition and extend the boardwalk through West Newport.

But in a report to the City Council, the trails committee stated that the concerns of “100 or so very vocal” homeowners should not outweigh the interests of thousands of other residents who use the Seashore bike lane regularly.

The committee recommends other options, including a 10-m.p.h. speed limit on Seashore and the elimination of parking on the north side to allow a second bike path for westbound traffic. The council has asked another committee studying overall improvements in West Newport to consider the suggestions.

The conflict over Backbay Drive involves efforts by some residents to reduce the speed limit from the current 25 m.p.h.

Newport resident Frank Robinson has long advocated such a change in order to control what he believes are reckless bicyclists. Some cyclists reach 30 m.p.h.--an unsafe speed for the narrow road that also accommodates pedestrians and cars, argues Robinson.

But bicyclists like Newport resident Don Harvey argue that they have the right to enjoy the nearly three-mile-long road as much as walkers and joggers. Harvey also said the proposed speed limit won’t stop bicyclists from riding at higher speeds.

“Cyclists, like anyone else, like to go on a nice road,” Harvey said during a city traffic affairs committee meeting Wednesday. The speed limit, he said, will spark “a lot of resentment.”

The traffic affairs committee, made up of police and traffic engineering officials, took public comments for about an hour but did not make a decision. Committee members said they want to review accident statistics and consider the matter again in two weeks.

Widening the road won’t resolve the speeding problem and would be a difficult task, since additional land would need to be acquired from state and federal agencies that oversee the ecological preserve, Robinson said.

Orange County harbors, beaches and parks Director Bob Fisher suggested the city allow automobiles and bicycles to use the road only on weekdays. Fisher said the county would prohibit motor vehicles if it takes ownership of the road, a long-controversial subject between city and county officials.

A solution hinges on a clear definition of the road’s purpose, Robinson said. Someone must make a decision as to what uses are appropriate, he said.

Said city traffic engineer Rich Edmonston: “There just isn’t enough room for all the activities out there.”