Downtown all torn up

Andrew Edwards

With little more than a week before the end of winter, the sounds of

springtime are beginning to be heard throughout the city. As the

weather warms up, sharp-eared Lagunans will be able to hear the

sounds of songbirds, fun and games at the beach -- and construction

crews tearing up the pavement Downtown.

Work has already begun on a project to fix damaged sidewalks,

repave streets and upgrade intersections in the Downtown area.

Planners want the project completed before the summer tourist season

is in full swing.

“We hope that all work will be done by mid-May,” Project Manager

Derek Wieske said.

Until the project is finished, construction work means heavy

equipment will be operating on the streets and sidewalks and parking

spaces will be closed as crews dig up concrete and repave streets.

For shops, lost parking spaces and sidewalks can interrupt business

as usual.

“Sometimes people complain [that] there’s a lack of parking,” said

Kelly Brown, the manager of Zazu on Ocean Avenue.

Brown said construction hasn’t caused major hassles, but Bret

Blackburn, manager of Sunglass Gallery on Forest Avenue, said he does

not look forward to having sidewalk construction in front of his

store.

“I don’t see what we’re going to gain from that other than a lost

day or two’s work,” Blackburn said.

At Salon DeNour, on Forest Avenue, employees cope with the project

by giving customers a heads-up on the traffic situation.

“We’re just calling our clients ahead to let them know about the

parking and the road’s closed,” skin-care consultant Kristina Standen

said.

The Public Works Department held a meeting on Monday to address

the concerns of local businesses, but only three people attended,

Wieske said.

“To us, that means things are going OK, and people can always call

us,” he said.

People with questions about the project can call (949) 497-0771.

The first phase will be to repair sidewalks, curbs and gutters,

Wieske said. The next will include resurfacing streets and improving

intersections.

Many sidewalks need to be fixed because tree roots have pushed up

on the pavement, raising the concrete and creating possible trip

hazards.

“Sometimes, a whole panel of sidewalk gets raised,” Wieske said.

Work at three intersections is planned to make it safer to walk

and drive through Downtown. The areas where work is scheduled are

Forest and Ocean avenues, Beach Street and Ocean Avenue, and Forest

Avenue and Glenneyre Street.

Construction at Forest and Ocean avenues is intended to change the

road so drivers take their turns a little easier.

“We’re going to make that a sharper turn to slow vehicles down,”

Public Works Director Steve May said.

“There haven’t been any accidents that I’m aware of, but there

have been some close calls,” May added.

Both May and Wieske said the project is progressing smoothly so

far, though crews have run into the occasional snag.

“We found an old water line that nobody knew who it belonged to,”

May said.

No water was running through the line, which was found in an alley

between Glenneyre and 2nd streets, but before it was removed, the

city had to stop and call utility companies to find out if anybody

claimed it, May said.

The construction firm hired to do the work, Sequel Contractors,

has 50 work days to finish the project, which started March 1. If

Sequel finishes ahead of schedule, the city will pay a $3,000 bonus

for every day the company beats the deadline, Wieske said.