Petition drafted for school footbridge

Danette Goulet

NEWPORT COAST -- Angry residents have now drafted a petition demanding a

footbridge be constructed near the new elementary school, claiming their

previous requests have fallen on deaf ears.

“The county is dragging their feet,” said Diana Snider-Henson, one of the

parent advocates for the proposed footbridge. “We’re not getting a lot of

response. I think everyone is trying to pass it off.”

Newport Coast Elementary School will sit on the corner of Newport Coast

Drive -- a six-lane highway with a speed limit of 60 mph -- and Park

Ridge Road, a street with a steep incline that does not yet have a speed

limit. Parents say they are terrified that a school-bound child crossing

the busy highway will be struck by a speeding car.

The group has implored Orange County officials to remedy the situation by

lowering the speed limit and building two pedestrian footbridges to

provide safe passage for children.

The problem came to light several months ago when parents formed a

Newport Coast Elementary School PTA and began looking the at the issues

surrounding the new school.

“People are extremely upset,” Snider-Henson said. “They are not going to

let their children walk to school and this is not a driving school -- it

is not set up for it.”

The school is scheduled to open this fall with 350 students, most of whom

live within a two-mile radius of the school, said Dana Schonwit, the

executive vice president of the PTA board.

Although parents have many traffic concerns -- such as a lack of parking

and the need for crossing guards, blinking lights and reduced speed-limit

signs -- the danger of Newport Coast Drive is by far the most worrisome.

As a result, the PTA formed a parent traffic control committee, which

asked for the footbridges and reduced speed limits.

But before any action could be taken, county officials said, a traffic

study must be conducted.

Jim Swatzel, the county traffic engineer who conducted a study of the

area, will present his recommendations to the Orange County Traffic

Committee on Thursday. His report will suggest keeping the speed limit of

Newport Coast at 60 mph and imposing a 40-mph limit on Park Ridge Road.

“It’s just mind-boggling to me, first, that [Swatzel] would make that

recommendation, and second, that parents are supposed to let their

children cross that road,” Snider-Henson said.

Frustrated residents say they will consider other options if a footbridge

is not built.

“We are not going to let our children walk,” said concerned parent Steven

Fink. “The alternatives are private school, which is certainly a viable

option, or to have our children remain at Lincoln [Elementary], which is

a fine school.”

In the meantime, Fink said, parents have drafted a petition asking for

the safety measures. Once completed, the petition will be sent to the

Orange County Board of Supervisors, the county Board of Education, the

city of Newport Beach, the Irvine Co. and the Newport-Mesa Unified School

District.

“The real bottom line is, some kid, at some time, is going to try to

cross Newport Coast Drive and not make it. And I don’t want to see that

happen,” Fink said. “It may not be my kid, but that won’t make it any

easier.”