CYPRESS : Shut Down Bike Path, City Asked

Tom Mesa remembers being jolted out of his sleep at 3 a.m. by a pounding on his front door. Police were hunting for a suspected car thief who, after fleeing up the bike trail behind Mesa’s home, jumped the fence into his back yard.

Frightened by the incident that night and others, Mesa and his neighbors persuaded the City Council this week to consider closing the bike path, which they say has become a haven for criminals.

“I think it is a matter of public safety,” Mesa told the council. “It is clear that the trail is a nice, convenient place for criminal activity.”

The council listened to the residents’ tales of possible drug deals, vandalism and burglaries and agreed to hold a public hearing on the matter.

“We are so afraid simply because we have seen it all,” said Barbados Avenue resident Mary Rasmussen.

Mayor Walter Bowman and Councilwoman Cecilia L. Age said they are prepared to close the path immediately, but others aren’t.

“I feel strongely that there needs to be a bike path,” said Councilwoman Gail Kerry, who added that the area’s crime rate is average for the city.

According to police reports, 21 crimes including vandalism, burglary and theft were reported in the homes next to the Stanton Channel bike path during the past two years. Ninety-four residences abut the mile-long channel which runs from Valley View Street to Knott Avenue. The homes are separated from the path by a 6-foot-high fence.

Police Chief Daryl Wicker said the statistics were not abnormal for the number of homes. “It would not be considered excessive,” he said. However, Wicker said that the path, which is not connected to any outside routes, did provide a place for criminals who are trying to evade police. “It does provide an escape route,” he said.

It is not the first time the path has come into question. Several years ago, residents unsuccessfully lobbied the council to close it. This time, however, some residents have agreed to chip in to buy protective fencing or, if necessary, buy the land behind their homes.

Those alternatives will be studied by the city staff and presented to the City Council at the hearing, scheduled for April 22.