Kohl’s store will fall by the...

Kohl’s store will

fall by the wayside

We really need a recreation area in Costa Mesa we can be proud of

(“Environmental study launched for Kohl’s store,” Aug. 20). A clean

stadium movie theater and an upgraded bowling alley -- these are

already at that location and could be improved for the Mesa Verde and

Costa Mesa neighbors to use and be proud of. As for the Kohl’s

department store, we already have a Target and will have an Ikea on

the way, a T.J. Maxx and a Kmart all on Harbor Boulevard between the

San Diego Freeway and Wilson Street.

At Adams Avenue and Brookhurst Street, just more than a mile from

Adams and Harbor Boulevard, we have another Target, and across the

street a Mervyns’s. Kohl’s department stores are generally not as

desirable as these aforementioned stores. Why take away a much-needed

recreation area for a low-quality department store? Let’s clean up

the movie area and bowling alley. I feel it would eventually draw

more revenue for the city and be a very enjoyable area to shop and

enjoy. We just don’t need this department store. It’ll just be empty

inside of a year and a half, just sitting there like a big moth.

DOROTHY BELLER

Costa Mesa

Walking to school doesn’t work for some

I couldn’t disagree with columnist Steve Smith more (Family Time,

“A snow job on why kids don’t walk to school,” Sunday). We would love

to walk to school, but we live one and a half blocks from school,

Mariners Elementary. We live in Eastside Costa Mesa and Mariners is

in Newport on Irvine Avenue, so my kids have to cross Irvine Avenue.

All of the streets that are right across from the school don’t

have signals, so we would have to go to 19th Street, which isn’t very

far, but once they cross at 19th, which does have a crossing guard

but is still very dangerous because people turn right on the red

light even if there’s a crossing guard in the crosswalk because

people are always in such a hurry, they would still have to walk

along Irvine Avenue to the front of the school where people are

going, and I’m not exaggerating, like 60 mph. It’s so incredibly

dangerous.

So although my children would love to walk to school or ride their

bikes, and I would also like that too, we don’t feel safe at all

doing it. So it is absolutely ridiculous that I, along with the five

other families whose children attend Mariners on my block alone, have

to get in our cars and drive and become part of the very heavy

traffic problem at Mariners Elementary.

So although your column was well-written and probably true in a

lot of areas, it certainly isn’t true in Eastside Costa Mesa because

if you are ever at Mariners school between 8 and 8:10 a.m., you’ll

see what I mean. And now they’re putting in that library over there,

so we’re going to have even more traffic and congestion and people

who don’t obey the traffic laws and the families that run across

Irvine, with no signal, with their little kindergartners and their

strollers in front of them with cars speeding by at 60 mpht is bad.

So anyway, it was an interesting column. It’s just not true for

our area. Just thought I’d let you know. But keep up of the good

writing work, I read your column whenever it appears.

ELIZABETH BARNES

Costa Mesa