CMABS News: July 2nd, 2024
Hey everyone! As always there is a lot happening to make our streets better in Costa Mesa. Let’s dive in ⤵️
Fish Fry. The 77th annual Costa Mesa Fish Fry was as fun as always! Once again, CMABS coordinated with the City of Costa Mesa to provide additional bicycle parking, and we also hosted a booth all weekend long. We had a lot of good conversations with residents that also want to see our streets made more comfortable for those walking, biking, and taking the bus. Thanks to the Costa Mesa Newport Harbor Lions Club for another great year!
Bike Lanes Gap! As you may know, one of the most popular bike routes in the city–Santa Ana Ave–has some significant gaps, where riders are forced to share a lane with 30mph+ traffic. One of these gaps is in the 1/4 mile stretch between 21st St and 22nd St, right in front of Kaiser Elementary School. The fact that this is a primary route for kids of all ages to bike to and from school makes it worse. Per the U.S. Dept. of Transportation’s Bikeway Selection Guide, the speed and traffic volume of this street are too high for even conventional paint-protected bike lanes, let alone shared lanes. Thankfully, the city is stepping up to do something about this safety issue, with plans to make the stretch consistent with the rest of the street–with two lanes for moving cars, one lane for parked cars, and two lanes for bikes. They held a community meeting at Kaiser Elementary School on Tuesday, June 25th (see pics below).
This improvement would result in the net removal of 23 street parking spaces. But it would also remove parking restrictions that currently cover the whole southbound stretch. With a finite amount of space, we must consider tradeoffs and make decisions based on community values. What do you think? Should the city put the bike lane in? Do you or a loved one ride on Santa Ana Ave? Then NOW is the time to write in and let our leadership know that you are in favor of this improvement. Here are the contacts that need to hear from you:
Director of Public Works, Raja Sethuraman: raja.sethuraman@costamesaca.gov
Seung Yang, City Engineer: seung.yang@costamesaca.gov
Brett Atencio Thomas, Active Transportation Coordinator: brettatencio.thomas@costamesaca.gov
Jeff Harlan, District 6 Council Member: jeffrey.harlan@costamesaca.gov
And if you aren’t sure what to say, keeping it short, sweet and personal is always a sure winner. We’d go with something like the following, with your own custom text in the brackets:
Dear [City Leader/Staff Member]:
I [am a Costa Mesa // Eastside resident and I] am excited to hear that the City is considering moving forward with completing the Santa Ana Avenue bike lane! I hope you proceed with the project because [I bike on Santa Ana Avenue often // I have young children who would like to feel safer bicycling around their own neighborhood // I walk/bike my children to school // high vehicle speeds on Santa Ana make me reluctant to ride my bicycle // etc.]. I really appreciate what the City has done so far to make it easier and more enjoyable to bicycle here, and I would love to see that progress continue.
Sincerely,
[Your Name]
The Orange County Transportation Authority is finalizing its 30-year Master Plan (OC Transit Vision). From the website:
The OC Transit Vision will analyze current transit corridors, modes, transit supportive design, and policy recommendations. In addition, the plan will address the latest in transit technologies, respond to evolving ridership trends, and outline potential funding sources.
What can you do to help steer the ship in the right direction?
Join the community webinar on Tuesday, July 9, 2024 from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m.
Take the survey!
A robust public transportation system is crucial in the fight to reduce car-dependency, so whether or not you take the bus, this is an important topic that we need people to be working on. Learn more here:
Join Costa Mesa’s weekly social bike ride.
Casual/party pace, 10-15 mile rides around the area.
We meet by the restrooms on 18th street at Lions Park in Costa Mesa every Wednesday Night:
6:15pm: meet up
6:30pm: ride begins
🚨Bring lights! 🚨
City Council for this week has been cancelled! So go enjoy your Fourth of July :)
We had lots of CMABS folks show up at the Santa Ana bike lane meeting discussed above, and we are so grateful! We are also happy to report that the so-called “e-bike ordinance”, which codifies many good State law improvements for bicycle riders (such as the “Bike Omnibus Bill” that passed last year) as city ordinances, passed first reading at the last City Council meeting. Many thanks to CMABS members, members of the Active Transportation Committee and Council Member Arlis Reynolds for showing up and making the sure the bicycling community was well represented in those discussions. While the ordinance isn’t perfect, it is much improved from its first draft.
The Board of CMABS also wrote a letter to City Council asking that City Hall provide greater transparency and notice when it comes to transit and active transportation projects. This solicited a public response from Public Works Director Raja Sethuraman, which we appreciated! While we think City Hall can do even more to provide the community with updates regarding our many street and transit improvements, we do appreciate the level of collaboration between City Staff and the public on these issues. Let’s make it even better!
Have a great week and safe Fourth of July!
