MAILBAG:We have better options than park land for new city hall

I have great respect for former Newport Beach Mayor Lucille Kuehn, but I strongly disagree with her contention that the city hall should be on the park land behind the library (Mailbag, “City hall debate has gone on too long,” April 24). It is not responsible for the city or any other government agency to locate urban development on land that is dedicated as open space for a park. This land is not free. It was obtained in exchange for allowing increased development to the Irvine Co.

It is disturbing that government officials would want to use parks to satisfy their need for growth or to look at park space as “free” because the city owns the land that it obtained in exchange for increased development rights. If Kuehn’s strategy is carried out to its logical conclusion, all of our parks are fair game as locations to build a city hall or any other building. This strategy does not bode well for protecting our parks for our future generations.

The debate has gone on long enough and the City Council has voted three times to keep the park space above the library as park space. When is enough enough?

We should move on to finding another location in Newport Center, such as the Orange County Transportation Authority land or the police station site on Santa Barbara Drive, which is owned by the city. Or rebuild city hall in its current location. But let’s leave our parks alone. .

JAN D. VANDERSLOOT

Finally focusing on a fix for 55 Freeway

In recent stories in the Daily Pilot (“Fixes for 55 congestion crawl to a start with study” April 24) and in the Los Angeles Times (“Start of a new end to the 55,” April 22), Costa Mesa city leaders announced that the Orange County Transportation Authority has agreed to study options to extend the Costa Mesa Freeway (55) farther or otherwise distribute traffic beyond 19th Street by tunnels, flyovers or other creative engineering solutions. I appreciate that the Costa Mesa City Council is finally addressing important regional traffic issues.

However, the city’s focus is somewhat myopic. Distribution of traffic from the freeway should be the goal of this study, not simply moving the traffic from Costa Mesa to the borders of Newport Beach. An essential part of this traffic-distribution solution must be a study of moving westbound traffic along 19th Street and over the Santa Ana River by the slated 19th Street bridge to Huntington Beach.

This 19th Street route with its 19th Street bridge over the Santa Ana River is on the county’s master plan of arterial highways, and it should be completed. Costa Mesa officials have understandably resisted this for many reasons, but it is now time to consider full regional transportation solutions.

The only true and effective solution to the significant congestion at the intersection of 19th Street and the Costa Mesa Freeway is full distribution including along 19th Street and over the Santa Ana River. The study should include this important feature as a critical part of the plan.

ROBERT C. HAWKINS