Countywide : County to Be Urged to Kill Bridge Plan

As an overflow audience of about 350 residents cheered, the Huntington Beach City Council voted unanimously this week to urge county officials to kill plans for building two bridges over the Santa Ana River.

In siding with residents, council members Monday night rejected a compromise offer by county Supervisor Harriett M. Wieder, who said she would take no action on the bridges if Huntington Beach would work with Costa Mesa, Newport Beach and Fountain Valley to work out alternate plans to handle increases in regional traffic.

But Wieder said she would remove the bridges from the county’s master plan for arterial highways only after cities reached a cooperative agreement on highway construction and financing.

Councilwoman Linda Moulton-Patterson said, however, that the message from residents was “loud and clear” they wanted the bridges deleted from the master plan. It is unfair, Moulton-Patterson said, to throw the issue to the cities.

The two bridges have been on the county’s master plan since 1956. One span would connect Banning Avenue in Huntington Beach with 19th Street in Costa Mesa. The second would link Garfield Avenue, on the Huntington Beach-Fountain Valley border, with Gisler Avenue in Costa Mesa.

Huntington Beach’s fire and police officials recommended endorsing the bridges, claiming that new Santa Ana River crossings will be important to public safety and in the event of natural disasters. Future regionalization in police and fire services will further increase the importance of the river crossings, Huntington Beach Fire Chief Michael Dolder said.

Most residents opposed the Banning Avenue-19th Street bridge Monday, claiming that traffic would increase on the residential street and worsen the danger to their children walking to John H. Eader Elementary School and a branch library, both on Banning Avenue.

Duane Dishno, superintendent of the Huntington Beach City School District, warned that the major thoroughfares “would forever impact the safe walking paths of our children.”

Jon Ely, a homeowner opposed to the bridges, said the council’s action supported desires of residents for “unconditional” deletion of the bridges from the plan.

“We don’t want any part of it (Wieder’s compromise plan) and neither does the city,” Ely said. “We don’t want any more studies or cooperative agreements.”

County officials estimate it would cost $29.4 million to build the bridges. Costs to ease traffic congestion, without the bridges, would be about $48.3 million.

Without the bridges, traffic is expected to increase on Pacific Coast Highway, Victoria Street and Adams, Ellis and Talbert avenues. Traffic from Newport Beach also would grow.

The Costa Mesa City Council last week asked the county to drop the bridges from the master plan. They said they would work with other cities to solve traffic problems without building the bridges.