Residents to help design street extras

June Casagrande

Anyone who’s wondered why Marine Avenue has been lined with

mismatched benches for the last few months is about to get an answer.

And anyone who has an opinion on which style should be selected may

get his or her chance to help pick the design.

Balboa Island will hold a town hall meeting on Sunday to select

styles of benches, trash receptacles and sidewalk tree grates for the

beautification project planned for Marine Avenue by the Balboa Island

Beautification Committee and other groups.

“It’s getting pretty intense,” Councilman Steve Bromberg said.

“People have some pretty strong feelings on the different benches.

Everyone wants to see Marine Avenue as beautiful as it can be.”

Bromberg, a Balboa Island resident and representative, will host

the town hall meeting, where he hopes the community can arrive at a

consensus on the fixtures.

“If there’s not a strong consensus I’ll probably catch the javelin

and break the tie,” Bromberg said.

The design elements represent the first phase of what’s expected

to be a three-phase project. The first phase will cost $165,000 and

will be paid for by the city; funds have already been budgeted. In

addition to the new benches, trash cans and tree grates, Phase I will

also include new street-light fixtures, similar to the ones on the

Balboa Island Bridge except with one light per fixture instead of

two.

The bench options include wood, metal and combinations of both.

Though city funds will pay for the benches, people are lining up

to adopt them, said Helen Wick, chairwoman of the beautification

committee.

“We’ve got quite a list of people who’d like to make a donation to

dedicate a bench in honor or in memoriam of local residents,” Wick

said.

The City Council must approve the details before work will begin.

The second and third phases will include new sidewalks and street

surfacing, as well as the addition of several lighted crosswalks.

Those phases have not yet been planned or budgeted.

“We just want our island to remain beautiful and to continue to be

a unique place,” Wick said.

* 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.