Move the people around Costa Mesa
Frank Forbath
Costa Mesa should have a people mover (details follow) to transport
workers, shoppers and others around this already congested area --
all the way from the westernmost shops of Metro Pointe to the eastern
end of the planned offices and potential hotels on Sakioka
properties, at Main Street -- a 2 1/4-mile distance. It should not
merely be something to carry folks from the edge of South Coast Plaza
to Anton Boulevard and Avenue of the Arts, as a representative of the
Segerstrom’s suggested recently as a possibility.
The people mover could be moving sidewalks, as in many airports, a
monorail, or other possible methods being planned around the country.
A combination of people mover systems might be possible, such as
moving sidewalks over the two bridges over Bear Street and over
Bristol Street to the east, and along Metro Pointe shopping sites; a
monorail around the perimeter of South Coast Plaza; and a system to
augment CenterLine east of Bristol to the music and theater centers,
offices and hotels.
Business travelers arriving at John Wayne Airport would not need
to rent a car. With CenterLine and the people mover, anyone coming in
could go to within a few feet of any one of the Costa Mesa hotels,
eat dinner at the wide assortment of deluxe restaurants, attend an
evening show and spend the next day at the desired Costa Mesa office
and then, perhaps, go back to the airport for the flight out. The
same could be true for travelers on MetroLink or Amtrak arriving in
Santa Ana, from San Diego area or from Los Angeles and points north.
And consider the potential for this area being a true destination
point for shopping, eating out and an evening at the theater, movies
or entertainment at one of the several area hotel nightclubs. The
sales tax and potential hotel bed tax increases to Costa Mesa could
be substantial. This could be a win-win situation for local
businesses, the thousands of workers in the area high-rise offices,
and to the city.
I urge the City Council to direct staff to examine the potential
of this wide-area people-mover idea. All the local developers might
have a positive stake in such an integrated transportation system.
And such a local transportation system should be in place before the
arrival of CenterLine, in part to beat other cities from likely
planning such full-destination points, thus reducing the maximum
potential gain for Costa Mesa. (I am not privy to any possible
similar suggestions, but perhaps if there are, this discussion may
help move such a proposal along.) In the meantime, a local tram could
move people, as Laguna Beach does during much of the summer.
And finally, for naysayers to CenterLine, claiming that the light
rail would not help our local traffic, they might consider the
potential of ride-pools from Fullerton or Orange (or elsewhere)
parking at the Santa Ana rail terminal, taking CenterLine and a
people mover to and then from work -- substantially reducing not only
local traffic, but also our air pollution.
* EDITOR’S NOTE: Frank Forbath is a Costa Mesa resident.
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