CORONA DEL MAR TODAY

Cycle Safety Report Now in City Staff Hands

After months of studying cycling issues in Newport Beach, a task force submitted its report to the City Council on Tuesday. The report now will be turned over to staff for possible implementation.

The report included suggestions that police meet with cycling advocates, that the city add bicycle racks at key points throughout the community, and that traffic engineers find an appropriate spot to test sharrows, or marked lanes where cyclists and motorist share the road.

“I’d love to see sharrows implemented in Corona del Mar,” said Frank Peters, a task force member from Corona del Mar, who brought the idea to the task force in December. (Read our story here.)

Don Graham, a cyclist and Newport Beach resident, told the City Council that he recently cycled along Coast Highway from the Oregon border.

“There’s no place that’s more scary and dangerous than Newport Beach,” he said, adding that Mariner’s Mile and Corona del Mar were particularly difficult for cyclists.

City Manager Dave Kiff said he would begin meeting with staff to look at the report as soon as today.

City Councilwoman Leslie Daigle said bike racks should be a priority, and City Councilwoman Nancy Gardner said ongoing communications between cyclists and motorists was crucial.

“We all need to be more considerate with each other,” she said.

The task force was created in September when Gardner suggested it, following several accidents including a fatal crash involving a cyclist on Ridge Park Road. (Read our story here.)

Mayor Keith Curry complimented the members of the task force for their work. “It was an excellent reoprt, and it really sets the stage for the city to make Newport Beach safer for cyclists,” he said. Click here to see the report.

Read our earlier task force meeting stories here, here and here.