KIDS THESE DAYS:

It is more than ironic that a mayor who worked hard during his last campaign to convince voters that he was pro-kid and pro-beautification, has consistently turned his back on initiatives that would have supported his position.

Actually, it’s tragic.

When it came time to choose between keeping a wide open space in which kids could play in Paularino Park or putting boulders to prevent it, the mayor supported the rocks.

When the city had an opportunity to provide housing subsidies in a few of 400-plus new units under construction at South Coast Metro to help us attract and retain the best educators for our kids, the mayor declined. (By the way, skeptics, this idea is not new or illegal.)

And now, when the city has a chance to turn an ugly wash into a beautiful bike path that can be used by kids not only as a way to exercise but as a safer way to and from school, the mayor once again turns his back on the city’s children.

To be fair, it should be noted that two of his colleagues, Council members Eric Bever and Wendy Leece, have supported most of his positions.

The bike path isn’t just good for our kids, it’s good for everyone in the city.

But once again, a loud, vocal minority has gotten the attention of the Mansoor Majority and scared them into thumping a project that is just plain common sense.

And once again, it’s hard to deny that the main reason the city may never realize the conversion of the ugly wash into a beautiful bike path is that the project’s chief proponent is one of the two minority council voices, Councilwoman Katrina Foley.

The Foley factor is hard to deny because a look at the facts could not leave any objective person to come to any conclusion but that this is a win-win.

A few residents are arguing that the wash-to-path conversion will bring crime and reduced property values.

“The kinds of concerns being expressed by the residents who live directly behind the [proposed] path are not uncommon,” Foley told me last week. “They are almost identical to concerns that have been expressed throughout the whole country when cities want to take areas that have traditionally been similar to this and turn them into something. They have a fear of the unknown.”

That unknown includes concern over crime and property values, often directly related to each other.

In an effort to ease the concerns of residents, Foley sent each of the council members the results of a study that shows that in similar situations, crime dropped and property values rose.

“I e-mailed this [report] to all of the council members before [the last] meeting so they were aware of this,” Foley said. “All of the things — this ‘parade of horribles’ — that a few residents are concerned about really did not come to pass in these other situations, and I actually don’t think they’ll come to pass here.

“How can you say that by improving this area that you are going to increase crime? It’s not logical.”

No, it’s not logical. What clear-thinking individual could ever believe that by turning a sickly gutter into a pleasant bike path that crime will rise and property values will go down?

In an age when our kid are getting fatter by the hour, we need to avail ourselves of every opportunity to get them outdoors and moving. The bike path is a statement of support for the children of this city and it’s a shame that a few small-minded, power-mad people have blocked it for this long.

STEVE SMITH is a Costa Mesa resident and a freelance writer. Send story ideas to dailypilot@latimes.com.