City to vote on trail

Will a proposed bike trail in Costa Mesa attract vandalism and trouble to a North Side neighborhood or will it do the opposite?

The planned trail has neighbors divided with one man leading a petition drive that collected 37 signatures opposed to the project. The trail would run from east of Fairview Road, just north of Adams Avenue to Santa Ana Avenue, and then to the Irvine Avenue/Upper Newport Bay walking/bicycle trail system.

Council members will consider the trail at tonight’s council meeting when they vote on whether to hire a company to design it.

“What I don’t want is to be perceived as someone who doesn’t appreciate bike trails,” said Len Bose, a homeowner who spearheaded the petition drive. But he’s concerned the trail will run too close to his property and that of his neighbors. “Homeowners are concerned for the safety of their families.”

Bose, recalling his days as a rambunctious teenager, said he fears the trail will attract troublemakers. He noted the neighborhood already has a chronic graffiti problem.

Bose said another part of the trail on the other side of the 73 Freeway is fine with him — he is just concerned about the safety and privacy of his family and 8-year-old son.

But the neighborhood’s Homeowner’s Assn. President Jesi Pearce said the increased public nature of the trail will help deter crime.

“I was a good kid, but that was an area where we used to hop the fence and go all the time,” she said, chuckling. “That’s not an area we would’ve gone if it was public ... Kids want to do things where they aren’t noticed.”

Pearce, a real estate agent, added she felt the beautification would increase property values in the neighborhood. Councilwoman Katrina Foley, also a resident of the neighborhood, agreed.

“I envision moms in strollers and people walking with their families; people biking, scootering, skateboarding,” she said.

But Foley wants to make sure the city addresses the concerns of neighbors opposing the trail.

“What I would like to do is move forward with the community outreach part of the project, where staff can go door-to-door and talk to each of the residents, find out what their concerns are, and let the process work so that we can assess the issues,” she said.

Bose said that while he trusted Foley’s sincerity, he still felt uncomfortable with the measure.

“I think she has the good of Costa Mesa at heart, but I doubt she’s seen this trail,” he said. “If I was on City Council, I’d ask myself (before a decision): Would I ask myself to do that if I owned one of those homes?”

CHRIS CAESAR may be reached at (714) 966-4626 or at chris.caesar@latimes.com.