City Council on a spending spree

In the above editorial, we lament -- echoing a number of Newport

Beach residents and even its City Council -- that a dredging project

in the Santa Ana River is causing a run of problems. Residents are

concerned about plans to spread the dredged sediment across the beach

of West Newport, but their first choice for a solution is a costly

one: as much as $2 million to cart all the gunk offshore.

With that in mind, we want to express our dismay that $250,000 is

going to study the prospects of building a bridge across the Santa

Ana River (yes, the same one) at Gisler Avenue in Costa Mesa. The

Orange County Transportation Authority OKd the spending last week

after the city of Costa Mesa gave it tentative, but lukewarm,

backing.

It all may sound vaguely reasonable so far, but city leaders have

consistently opposed plans for another bridge over the river,

suspecting that it would turn into a fleet thoroughfare for traffic

from Huntington Beach. Their opposition has all but scuttled the idea

of building a bridge at 19th Street, for instance.

So why the change? Well, apparently it’s not a drastic

redirection. Costa Mesa still has what amounts to veto power for any

work because all four cities bordering the river -- the others being

Fountain Valley, Huntington Beach and Newport Beach -- have to sign

off on the study before the transportation agency could move ahead

with any plans. Essentially city leaders gave their approval because

they still can kill it.

But with almost zero chance of this bridge being built, we don’t

see how this project is anything other than a waste of a quarter of a

million dollars. And right now, in the very same river, that $250,000

could be spent much more wisely.