A long walk to the finish

June Casagrande

A wooden walkway winding along the water from the Arches Bridge to

the Balboa Bay Club could transform this stretch into a visitor

destination with waterfront dining, sunset strolls and even a

pedestrian bridge over Coast Highway leading from parking spaces to

the waterfront.

Is it feasible? Perhaps.

The city’s Harbor Commission tonight will hear an update on a

study on what’s being called the “Mariners Mile Waterfront Walkway”

-- a longtime pipe dream of some local leaders that is now one small

step closer to actually becoming a reality.

“The project is doable, but not easily doable,” city engineer

Lloyd Dalton said, “and it won’t be cheap.”

Until the feasibility study is complete early next year, officials

won’t even have a rough idea of how much it could cost.

One of the biggest expenses would be accommodating the 23 property

owners who would be affected by the walkway. Some businesses and even

a few homes along the Mariners Mile waterway would have access to

their properties blocked by the walkway and others might be asked to

cede a bit of their land. City officials would have to build

alternate entries for each of the properties affected by the walkway

and work with other landowners to assure that everyone gets a fair

deal.

“We don’t want them to suffer any loss of property rights due to

any construction that we do,” Dalton said. “We may have to construct

special features on their property so they have access to their

doors, etc.”

City Councilman Tod Ridgeway supports the concept, which officials

have been talking about for nearly 10 years. He said that the walkway

could do for Mariners Mile what the San Antonio River Walk did for

its namesake city in Texas.

“The San Antonio River Walk generated all the life that’s there,

and that’s what this boardwalk will do in Mariners Mile,” Ridgeway

said.

The project is still a long way from approval. The report to the

Harbor Commission tonight will be an update on the consultant’s work

so far. The information-gathering process should take until around

January.

After that, the Harbor Commission would have to approve a concept

and then send the matter to the City Council for initial approval.

Coastal Commission approval would also be required.

Councilman Don Webb, whose district includes Mariners Mile, said

it will be worth the work and the wait.

“I’m in favor of it,” Webb said. “When it’s completed, it will

give pedestrians an opportunity to see the bay in a really

interesting way along the frontage.”

* JUNE CASAGRANDE covers Newport Beach and John Wayne Airport. She

may be reached at (949) 574-4232 or by e-mail at

june.casagrande@latimes.com.