Costa Mesa seeks public opinion regarding street repairs

Lolita Harper

COSTA MESA -- Westside residents looking for a smoother ride are

invited to attend a community meeting today regarding plans to spend more

than $800,000 on proposed street repairs.

The city’s staff has recommended that $803,060 of a Community

Development Block Grant be spent to fix Joann Street between Placentia

Avenue and Maple Street, said Ernesto Munoz of the Public Service

Department.

The city wants to meet with concerned residents to explain how the

engineers selected Joann Street and to get feedback on the proposed

repairs, Munoz said. Traffic, soil analysis, the age of the pavement and

cost effectiveness were all considered, Munoz said.

Although the proposed repairs are not set in stone, the department has

the final say on the streets that will be worked on. The City Council

directed staff to use the grant funds to pave ailing streets on the

Westside, Munoz said, but left it to the department’s discretion. If

public opinion varies greatly from the city’s recommendation, staff may

go back to the council for direction. But the staff isn’t required to,

Munoz added.

“Any other recommendation will be a deviation from the cost-effective

use of the allocated money, but we will wait to see what the feedback is

first,” Munoz said.

Members of the Westside Improvement Assn. said they too have done

their own research on street repairs and plan to present their findings

at the meeting tonight, said Diane LaDuca, a member of the association.

LaDuca compiled a list of recommended streets based on a survey sent

to other members, she said. Although Joann Street did not make the list

for streets to be fixed using the grant, it was a site that concerned the

association.

“We were going to ask that the city add Joann Street to their list of

10 worst residential streets for next year,” LaDuca said.

FYI

What: A meeting regarding the selection process for rehabilitation or

reconstruction of Westside street segments

Where: Neighborhood Community Center, 1845 Park Ave., Costa Mesa

When: 6:30 p.m. today