Countywide : Residents at Forum Oppose Bridge Plans

Costa Mesa resident Michele Edquist said she believes crime will increase and property values will decrease if the county decides to build a bridge that crosses the Santa Ana River at Gisler Avenue.

“What we’re destroying is a small, close-knit community,” said Edquist, who lives in the Mesa Verde neighborhood of Costa Mesa.

Edquist was among about 30 residents who attended a community forum Wednesday night in Fountain Valley to hear a presentation about the county’s proposal to build crossings linking Garfield and Gisler avenues, and Banning Avenue and 19th Street.

A proposal to build a third bridge linking Atlanta Avenue and Wilson Street will probably be scrapped from county plans because of the cost, consultants said.

The river bridges, which would affect the cities of Costa Mesa, Fountain Valley, Huntington Beach and Newport Beach, are part of the county’s master plan for future roadways. The study was done to determine whether the crossings should remain part of the county’s plan to accommodate traffic growth.

At Wednesday night’s meeting, the second in a series of three, turnout was light compared to the first, which was attended by more than 75 people, most of them opposing the bridges.

The final meeting won’t be held in Newport Beach as scheduled, but in Huntington Beach on Oct. 19 at 6 p.m. at Edison Community Center, 21400 Magnolia Ave.

The county study will be presented to the city councils in the four cities later this month, to the county Planning Commission in November and to the Board of Supervisors in December.

Bob Peterson, county manager of transportation planning, reviewed portions of the study, reassuring residents that no homes will be taken if the 19th Street bridge is built.

Peterson said that if the bridge is not built, traffic volumes will increase on neighboring streets, including Pacific Coast Highway, Victoria Street and Adams Avenue.

If the bridge linking Garfield and Gisler is built, two homes could be affected as well as the Mesa Verde Golf Course, but it would depend on the road alignment selected, Peterson said.

He said traffic on Ellis, Talbert and Adams avenues will increase if the bridge is not built.

Peterson said the benefit of the bridges is to provide a balanced traffic circulation system within the four communities.

The study showed that building the two bridges would cost an estimated $76.6 million. However, if the bridges are not built, as much $103.3 million could be required for improvements to local streets to handle increased traffic, according to the study.

Diann Osterlund, a Costa Mesa resident and member of a citizens’ group opposed to the bridges, questioned why the study failed to estimate the costs of offsetting the bridges’ impact on the environment.

“If you add the mitigation costs, the bridges could definitely be more,” she said. “It’s going to be a major factor and I think the residents have a right to know an approximate cost.”

Residents also raised concerns that the bridges would add traffic and noise to their neighborhoods.