Costa Mesa : Council Seeks to Cut Shalimar Drive Crime

In an effort to reduce street crime along Shalimar Drive, the City Council has voted to step up police patrols, create more no-parking zones and close off some roads to through traffic.

“We have talked for years, and I think it is finally time to do something,” Councilwoman Sandra L. Genis said. Some Shalimar residents, however, complained at Monday’s council meeting that the measures would cause more problems than they would alleviate.

Creating no-parking zones, which some other Orange County cities have done to discourage drug transactions, would make little difference, residents said, because such sales are typically completed within seconds.

Furthermore, resident Paty Madueno said, erecting street barriers would limit access for police.

But Costa Mesa Police Lt. Alan Kent assured the council and members of the audience that the measures have been proven to reduce crime in other neighborhoods.