New proposal is one bridge too many

Lolita Harper

A Mesa Verde resident has come under fire for his seemingly

inconsistent views on two bridges designed to alleviate regional

traffic woes -- neither of which have any local political support.

One is proposed for the impoverished Westside, the other for his

own upscale neighborhood.

Robert Graham has consistently pushed for a bridge at 19th Street

but opposes one at Gisler Avenue. On Tuesday, the Fountain Valley

City Council voted to fund a study of the feasibility of a bridge on

the Mesa Verde street.

A bridge on the Westside of town could bring the much needed

revitalization people have been looking for, Graham said, but his

side of town needs no such help.

“I do live in Mesa Verde, and it’s not broken,” Graham said.

Bridges at Gisler Avenue and 19th Street, which would cross the

Santa Ana River, are included in county transportation plans, but

Costa Mesa and various other cities have been working for years to

get them removed.

Costa Mesa officials have largely led that fight, contending that

either bridge would simply create a “cut-through” for drivers looking

for a shortcut to the Costa Mesa Freeway.

Costa Mesa, Fountain Valley, Newport Beach and Huntington Beach

commissioned a study -- named the Santa Ana River Crossing Study --

to research the effects of removing the bridges from the county

master plan.

Graham, a member of the Community Redevelopment Action Committee

that is designed to forge a future for the Westside, convinced a

majority of his committee members to recommend an official study of a

19th Street bridge to the City Council.

The Mesa Verde resident argued that the council could not make an

informed decision on the bridge proposal if it had not studied all

the possible advantages and disadvantages it might bring.

City Hall insiders fear Graham’s relentless pursuit of a 19th

Street bridge, and the subsequent vote by a council-appointed

committee to study the project independently, sends the same message

of deception as actions by Fountain Valley officials to study a

bridge at Gisler.

While Collins said he had no knowledge of the committee’s official

vote to study the benefits of a 19th Street bridge, he said it does

raise a noteworthy point. The Fountain Valley mayor said that

Graham’s argument is a reasonable one and should be used in favor of

the Gisler Avenue bridge study, as well.

“It’s interesting that they’ve got their own committee saying the

option needs to be at least studied,” Collins said. “That’s our

feeling, as well. It doesn’t hurt anything.”

Costa Mesa City Council members said the committee vote does not

mean the city is moving in that direction and highly doubted any

bridge study would be funded when there was no political support for

it.

Councilman Gary Monahan said he does not support a bridge at

either location, but he can understand Graham’s decision to support

one and not the other. He said either the 19th Street or Gisler

Avenues bridges would destroy the surrounding residential areas, but

the argument for a bridge on the Westside of town has a business

angel.

“The 19th Street bridge is being pushed for economic reasons, to

run through a commercial area of the city that needs revitalization,”

Monahan said. “I don’t agree with Bob and I think it would be very

detrimental for the residential area there, but there is a definite

difference between the bridges.”