Catching up with ...

-- Story by Amy R. Spurgeon; photos by Sean Hiller.

In 1994, the Newport Beach Police Department considered a plan to put

gates on Back Bay Drive to seal off the route from cars during special

events, such as field trips. The gates were also meant to play a role in

alerting bicyclists that pedestrians were touring the wildlife preserve.

The plan came after a $2.85-million settlement in 1993 to a bicyclist who

was critically injured on the road.

It wasn’t long before opposition to the gates surfaced.

“How would one monitor when the thing should be closed and when it should

be opened?” longtime Upper Newport Bay environmental activist Frank

Robinson asked five years ago. “It would be an administrative nightmare.”

Robinson said it was the responsibility of the police to enforce the

15-mph speed limit posted on the road, which applies to both motorists

and bicyclists. Newport Beach police Lt. Tim Newman said he disagreed

that law enforcement alone was the answer.

“I feel very strongly that just putting a motorcycle officer out there to

write a ticket is not going to solve the problem,” Newman said. “You

can’t always enforce compliance.”

Now, in 1999, the road continues to be a main attraction for Newport-Mesa

residents. But gates to limit access were never installed.

The one-way street, which runs along the Upper Newport Bay Ecological

Reserve and winds around the hillside, still is used daily by school

children on field trips, bicyclists and motorists.

Signs posted at the road’s entrance state that it is a “multiuse road”

and that users are to “observe the posted speed limit and be careful.”

Those using Back Bay Drive are also warned to “Use at Your Own Risk.”For

years, community members have been trying to decide the best use for the

road. Some want it closed entirely to motorists and bicyclists in order

to protect the area. Others think the road should continue to stay open

to motorists, bicyclists and pedestrians.

Bill Patapoff, Newport Beach city engineer, said current plans are to

leave the road open to everyone. But, he said, motorists and bicyclists

need to obey the posted speed limit, especially around children.

Mandy Strohmyer, who is a lead naturalist for the Orange County

Department of Education’s hands-on science program, “Inside the

Outdoors,” said she takes students on daily field trips along Back Bay

Drive from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Children are led in a single-file line

along the road in the bicycle lane by an adult in the front and rear.

Strohmyer said she is concerned about the speed of some of the cars on

the road. “A lot of people cut through here to beat the traffic on

Jamboree,” she said.

Strohmyer said there are normally no problems related to sharing the road

with motorists and bicyclists. A close call with a motorist in September

has made her more alert, however.

“Any time you have a lot of pedestrians close to traffic, you have the

potential for conflict,” said Sgt. Mike McDermott of the Newport Beach

Police Department.

McDermott said there have been some serious accidents on the road, but

none within the last several years. He said most motorists obey the speed

limit and are mostly in the area to enjoy the view.