Newport agrees to take to the road

June Casagrande

The Corona del Mar Vision Plan improvements won an important victory

Tuesday night as council members approved a controversial plan to

take ownership of a portion of Coast Highway.

Supporters of the beautification and safety plan for Coast Highway

have long argued that Caltrans’ ownership of the highway makes it

nearly impossible to get permissions to get the work done.

“Caltrans just doesn’t care about us as we care about ourselves,”

said John Blom, chairman of the Corona del Mar Business Improvement

District, creator of the vision plan. “That highway divides our city

right in half and it prevents us from being a village.”

At the beginning of Tuesday night’s talks, council members were

similarly divided over the plan. Some, including Gary Adams and Mayor

Tod Ridgeway, said that the $3.5 million that Caltrans had offered to

hand over wasn’t nearly enough to cover repairs and maintenance of

the road. But dozens of supporters waving placards in the audience

and a long line of Corona del Mar boosters who addressed the council

convinced all but one of the council members to support the transfer.

“Mine was a reluctant vote,” said Adams, who is also a traffic

engineer. “I went into the meeting expecting to oppose it. And I am

still convinced we could accomplish a lot of what the Vision 2004

folks want to accomplish under Caltrans ownership. I think probably

what persuaded me was the larger local control issue. I think there

is a value there.”

Despite all the support from Corona del Mar, the lone holdout was

Dick Nichols, the councilman who represents the area.

Nichols and other council members worried that the ongoing cost of

maintaining the stretch of Coast Highway from Newport Coast Drive to

Jamboree Road well outweighed the $3.5 million to be paid to the city

by Caltrans. That figure represents the amount of work that Caltrans

believes the roadway needs right now.

Some also worried that the legal liability to the city would be

too great. But that worry was assuaged somewhat by city staff who

explained that the city’s insurance would cover many instances up to

$26 million after a $500,000 deductible.

Public Works Director Steve Badum estimated that it would cost the

city an average of about $700,000 a year to maintain the road.

Council members agreed to put the $3.5 million in an account for

future repairs, carefully watching how it’s spent.

The vote means that the median landscaping, new crosswalks, street

furniture and other aesthetic and safety improvements that comprise

the Corona del Mar Vision plan will face a lot less red tape.

“This is a plan that was supported wholeheartedly by Corona del

Mar businesses and residents association,” community member and city

Parks Commissioner Debra Allen said. “It’s a magnificent vision and

Caltrans relinquishment is central to that vision.”

* 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.