Project on the fence

Deirdre Newman

Mike Berry doesn’t live next to the Joann Street Bike Trail, nor has

he ever used it.

But his desire to see the fence bordering most of the trail

replaced with something more aesthetically appealing persuaded the

City Council Monday to hold off on accepting a replacement.

The council was set to automatically award a contract for the

first phase of changing the fence to chain link. Instead, it

unanimously decided to bring the item back for a full council

discussion, including design and other aspects of the fence.

“It’s a nice area,” Berry said. “It’s nice for bicycling. There

are some nice buildings. I hate to see potential squandered.”

The council approved the concept of replacing fencing along the

bicycle trail in March 2002. Its action was in response to neighbors’

concerns about illegal activity by trail users and errant golf balls

flying over the fence erected by the Costa Mesa Golf and Country

Club. The illegal activity included trespassing on private property

and throwing trash and other objects from the trail into residents’

rear yards.

The fence is a hodge-podge of wood, block walls and chain link. In

some places, the chain-link fencing is bent out of shape. In others,

strips have been inserted to block the view.

The council’s original goal was to remove the wood and chain-link

fencing and replace it with 10-foot-high chain link similar to the

fence on the golf course’s side of the trail.

Berry said he would like to see the fence done in wrought iron,

strap iron or even final vinyl, a plastic material. He suggested that

the gutter that separates the fence from residences be used for

planting flowers and shrubs.

Replacing the fence should be looked at in the larger context of

revitalizing the Westside, Berry said.

“The best way to do that is to start cleaning it around the

edges,” Berry said. “That’s already happening. We just have to keep

it going.”

He also doubts that replacing the fence will cut down on crime in

the area. Councilman Allan Mansoor agreed that the crime issue needs

to be more thoroughly addressed since the fence will not be

continuous.

“People have brought up the issue of the fence solving some of the

crime problems, and I want to make sure that in fact it will solve

those problems,” Mansoor said.

Mansoor also wants the cost of the replacement fence examined

more.

“I think cost is an issue in everything we’re looking at these

days,” Mansoor said. “I simply want to make sure that when we spend

money, it will have the intended results.”