CATCHING UP WITH ... Residents of East 19th Street

Amy R. Spurgeon

Like ants frantically milling around each other in search of food, daily

motorists in Eastside Costa Mesa use the maze of neighborhood streets in

search of a quicker route -- all for an extra 15 minutes.

“It’s too busy,” said 26-year-old East 19th Street resident Claudia

Marquez, pointing to the stream of traffic flowing on the street in front

of her house. “It’s like this all of the time.”

Marquez lives with her two young children in a corner house on 19th

Street and Orange Avenue. She discourages her children from playing in

front of the house out of fear of the traffic.

Five years ago, other 19th Street residents had similar complaints and

decided to take on city hall.

A group of residents asked the city to place speed bumps along the busy

street -- which the county’s master plan labels as an arterial highway --

that stretches from Border’s bookstore on Newport Boulevard to Mariners

Park on Irvine Avenue.

“Our neighborhood is being turned into a freeway,” said Al Eichler, a

42-year resident of East 19th Street. “It’s devaluating our property. The

people who have children are concerned about safety. They don’t want to

let their children play in the frontyard because they’re afraid they’ll

run into the street.”

At the time, a city survey tracking license plates of cars entering and

exiting the street at Newport Boulevard and Irvine Avenue suggested that

50% of the cars weren’t East 19th Street residents. It was estimated five

years ago that about 9,000 cars traveled the road daily.

City officials confirmed there was a problem, but said speed bumps were

not the answer.

“Speed bumps would reduce the volume of traffic by not more than 20%,”

Costa Mesa transportation manager Peter Naghavi said in 1995.

In the end, speed bumps were not installed, mainly because officials said

that would have pushed traffic onto other streets. Instead, a series of

other adjustments were made to East 19th Street, such as additional stop

signs, sidewalks and striping, said Bill Morris, director of Public

Services.

He said the real problem is East 17th Street, because crowded conditions

cause people to use residential streets -- such as 19th Street -- as

alternate routes.

The problems related to 17th Street date back to 1953, when Costa Mesa

first became a city. The county’s master plan called for a six-lane 17th

Street, but only four lanes were built.

Since that time, the city has tried to avoid expanding 17th Street

because it is such a monstrous task. Residents along Flower, Orange,

Santa Ana and East 18th streets have all been affected by the boom in

traffic.

The opening of Dover Drive has also played a role in connecting drivers

along West Coast Highway with the Costa Mesa Freeway.

“Now the time has come [to expand 17th Street],” said Morris.

He said the city is meeting with environmental consultants and 17th

Street business owners to talk about 17th Street expansion efforts.

“We are moving very rapidly on this,” Morris said. He said construction

to expand 17th Street could get underway within two years.

Betty McLean, 73, a 30-year resident of East 19th Street, said she would

be surprised if city officials actually make good on their word to expand

17th Street.

“I have heard the city talk,” McLean said. “They say one thing and then

do something else.”

McLean said problems on 19th Street would still exist because the

majority of motorists who use the road are traveling from Coast Highway

to Dover Drive toward the Costa Mesa Freeway. She said she doesn’t think

motorists will reroute at 17th Street.

“It’s still more convenient to use 19th Street,” she said.