Not Waiting in Line to Repair the Trail

Dear Street Smart:

I live in La Palma and like in-line skating. Frequently, I go west on my skates from Valley View Street down La Palma Avenue to the Coyote Creek flood control channel, then west along the riverbed to the crossing at the San Gabriel River Freeway, San Diego Freeway or some times all the way to the beach.

I have two questions for you. First, what is the total distance for each of these trips from the corner of Valley View and La Palma? Second, when will they put down new asphalt along the riverbed? The trip is very dangerous and difficult, at least until the San Diego Freeway. So when can I look forward to seeing new asphalt?

Jay Grosflam

La Palma

Not the usual question we get here at Street Smart, but it does involve transportation. So, we’ll try to answer it, and try is the operative word in this case.

First, we called the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which built the flood control channel. We learned that responsibility for maintaining the trails along its edges belongs to local jurisdictions, such as Orange County.

Then we called Dale Dillon, a spokesman for the Orange County Flood Control District. He argued that the job resides with his neighbor across the river, Los Angeles County.

What else could we do? We tried Dennis Moorfield of the Los Angeles County Department of Public Works. He said the duty had been delegated to the cities along the way, some of which, ironically, are in Orange County.

OK, stay with us now.

The reason for the good condition of the trail south of the San Diego Freeway is because Long Beach, which is part of Los Angeles County, recently repaved it.

Similar story in the Orange County city of Seal Beach, which, according to spokesman Steve Badum, has repaired its portion of the trail just in the last two months.

Los Alamitos city engineer Victor Rollinger claimed to “continually monitor” the condition of his city’s section of trail, which he pronounced as “excellent.”

And Mark Christoffels, director of public works for Cypress, said that he was not aware of any trail maintenance agreement until we asked.

“We’ve been cleaning it with a sweeper,” he said last week, “but what I can’t figure out is whether we are responsible for the general condition of the asphalt.”

As far as Christoffels could tell, his city’s sole connection to the trail--only a small portion of which is within its boundaries--was as the lead agency in a 1984 project to improve it. By week’s end, however, the public works director had decided that the asphalt is indeed his city’s responsibility and that after 13 years of regular sweepings, the trail was worthy of inspection.

“I drove it,” he said, “and its condition is fine for its intended use, which is cycling. It was never intended for skaters. It’s no rougher than the streets in our city.”

Nonetheless, Christoffels said, the city will honor your request by applying for a state grant to pay for repaving. But don’t hold your breath--or your skates. “It could take years,” he said.

Oh yes, regarding the distance: If you stop where the San Gabriel River Freeway crosses the channel, you have traveled 4 1/2 miles. Skating to the San Diego Freeway crossing will take you another 1 1/2 miles, and going all the way to the beach will take you nine miles from home.

Dear Street Smart:

I live near the San Joaquin Hills toll road at El Toro Road. The Transportation Corridor Agencies have abandoned the landscaping of that intersection and it looks like a desert. I recall that when the road was being built the TCA promised to restore the environmental damage done by construction. Irrigation pipes can be seen along the hills, but the area remains dry. The median along El Toro Road and the area around the toll road is developing unsightly weeds. What are their plans to landscape that area? Also, who is responsible for patrolling that intersection? I’ve seen a lot of accidents there.

Nancy Hauer

Laguna Beach

Not to worry, says Michele Sperl-Miller, a spokeswoman for the TCA. The agency has planted shrubs and oaks in the area and is seeding it with native grasses. The irrigation pipes are temporary, left over from erosion repair work done in February. They will remain in place until November, Sperl-Miller said, to help the new grass grow through the summer.

Regarding the median along El Toro Road, she said the TCA is working closely with Laguna Beach to develop a landscaping plan under which oak and sycamore trees, as well as shrubs, will be planted in the fall.

The question of legal jurisdiction is a bit more complicated. The CHP patrols the toll road itself, including the onramps. This portion of El Toro Road, on the other hand, is the responsibility of the Laguna Beach Police Department.

*

A number of readers (37 and counting) have written to challenge CHP spokesman Steve Kohler’s assertion in last week’s Street Smart that state law requires drivers making left turns to end up in the lane corresponding to the one from which they turn. Indeed, a closer reading of the California Vehicle Code (Sec. 22100b) indicates that, when turning left, a driver need only enter “a lane lawfully available to traffic moving in that direction upon the roadway being entered,” i.e. any lane going in the correct direction.

Kohler apologizes for what he terms the “misunderstanding,” but still thinks it’s a good idea for people turning left to enter the corresponding lane.

All of which raises an intriguing question. Does this mean that the next time you are pulled over and given a ticket you can return it due to a “misunderstanding”? Kudos and a mention in this column to the first person who tries it.