COMMENTS & CURIOSITIES

Peter Buffa

Let’s see. I would say you, you, you, you and, yes, even you. All of

you should be congratulated. Why, you say? Because the land of

Newport-Mesa is looking better and better all the time. That’s why.

Sez who? Sez me, that’s who. I drive around a lot. I’m on the move

most of the day. It’s because of the work I do, though no one is sure

quite what that is. From Newport’s ocean, white with foam, to Costa

Mesa’s amber waves of grain -- OK, forget that -- everybody seems to be

sprucing up, dusting off and starting fresh.

The first hip-hip-whatever goes to the cities themselves. Both have

spent a lot of money and effort over the last few years and it shows --

upgrading and redesigning highways and byways (what are byways?), parks

and playgrounds, downtowns and uptowns. We don’t really have uptowns, but

I needed something to go with downtowns.

Harbor Boulevard, MacArthur Boulevard, Baker Street, Fairview Road,

Newport Boulevard, the Arches, stretches of Coast Highway -- you look

mah-velous. Not only do those areas look a whole lot better, they work a

whole lot better.

Don’t take my word for it. Call your friendly city hall and ask to

speak to a traffic engineer. Traffic engineers are deep thinkers who get

paid to think deep thoughts about traffic. They love to talk about stuff

like “levels of service,” “trip ends” and “geometrics.” If a traffic

engineer wins an all-expenses-paid vacation for two in Paris, he’ll come

back with one picture of the Arc d’Triomphe and 23 pictures of right turn

pockets.

But, boy, do they know their stuff. They can tell you much more than

you ever wanted to know about major intersections around town and how

they’re doing today compared to a few years ago. There are still problem

spots of course, but all in all, it is a much-improved report card.

What about cosmetics? Well, you should always use a foundation that

has some UV protection. No, wait. Close your eyes. Clear your mind. Go

back in time. The hands on the clock are running backward. You’re getting

younger and younger. Your mother is calling you.

Too far. Come back. Stop. It’s just one year ago. You’re on the 55

Freeway at 5:30 p.m. You get off at Baker Street, turn right, and slog

your way to Fairview Road, then Harbor Boulevard. If you’ve got some

letters to write, this is the perfect time. You can get at least a page

done at every light.

To your horror, the bus in front of you pulls over to the curb,

shutting down your lane completely. Three people get off. Two get on. It

takes eight minutes. You’re about 150 yards from Fairview Road, which

will take about three cycles of the light. Better turn your engine off.

You only have a quarter tank left.

Now, open your eyes. Welcome back and check it out. New bus turnouts,

new lanes and turn pockets have turned a 15-minute ordeal into a five- or

six-minute trip, even at the height of the afternoon rush.

So, Newport Beach and Costa Mesa, please stand, wave and bow. You

deserve it. Very good, sit down.

It isn’t just the cities that have been getting fluffed and folded.

Businesses and residents have been very busy. Whether it’s a new

building, a new color, a new sign, a new room or a new garage door,

things are looking better than ever around here, I think.

We’ll see how the recent shock to the economy affects the process, but

it has definitely been a good run for both homes and businesses. I still

see the occasional nightmare neighbors here and there, but far fewer than

in years past.

Even the nicest neighborhoods have one or two nightmare neighbors and

I’m sure it’s no fun living next door to one. The lawn is always a dead

giveaway -- either pure dust or a small patch of Amazon jungle. Add to

that the ramshackle house and the mounds of junk, and it’s picture

perfect. It really is sad to see one of these things smack in the middle

of a block where everyone else is doing whatever they can to make it all

work.

There is a house a few blocks from ours that I pass at least twice a

day as I wend my way to and from the great beyond. I think it’s a house

anyway. It sits in the middle of a block of beautifully landscaped homes

and is not, oddly enough, immediately obvious. It is so overgrown with

vines and bushes that you can barely make out any structure behind it.

When you do, you wish you hadn’t. I assume when the neighbors have people

over, it’s always at night.

Well, we haven’t achieved nirvana, but all in all, I think we’re

looking sharp and looking sharper every day. Keep up the good work. I

will get framed certificates to you as soon as possible. I gotta go.

* PETER BUFFA is a former Costa Mesa mayor. His column runs Sundays.

He may be reached via e-mail at PtrB4@aol.com.