Karl Ahlf shares his hopes for the future of Costa Mesa

What do I like about Costa Mesa?

What do I see in Costa Mesa’s future?

Costa Mesa is safe and a good city to live in. My family moved to

Costa Mesa from Santa Ana in September of 1984. I have been a Costa

Mesan for the past 19 years. I have worked and volunteered at the

Yantorn branch of the Boys and Girls club for the past six years.

Since I was 3 years old, I have gone to Newport-Mesa schools. They

are:

Victoria School -- PIP program; College Park Elementary; re-opened

Victoria School; Ensign Intermediate School; Corona del Mar High

School; Estancia High School -- graduation class of 2002

The City of Costa Mesa has great schools, fine Police and Fire

departments and a great City Council.

The things I would like to see in our city’s future are:

* Install audio signals at crosswalks to help blind people safely

cross the street. We need to make our streets safer for everyone who

uses them.

* Have more recycling centers. Teach people how to recycle paper,

bottles, cans and plastics. Use less recycle more.

* Create more after-school programs. Kids who are in programs are

less likely to get into trouble or feel lonely and afraid when their

parents are at work.

* Put up more red-light cameras at traffic lights so the police

can track speeders who go through red lights. This will help

pedestrians and bicyclists by reducing the number of drivers who run

red lights and endanger others.

Someday, in the near future, I would like to run for the Costa

Mesa City Council -- again.

I would like to wish our city of Costa Mesa a happy 50th birthday.