CORONA DEL MAR TODAY

Dan

August 30th, 2011

The project was called Restaurant Row from at least 1999 until a few months ago when the working title was changed to Corona del Mar Entrance because it was politically determined most residents are not supportive of adding more liquor, wine, beer, restaurant employees and traffic. Restaurant Row was sketched early in the Caltrans highway relinquishment plan. Due to the for-profit use of the added space by businesses and commercial property owners, one of the few advantages for the average CdM resident would be the nine lanes of traffic pedestrians must cross to get to Corona del Mar Plaza and the future Civic Center MAY BE reduced to eight lanes of traffic. I say maybe because the Corona del Mar Plaza-side of the highway traffic/turn lanes are planned for rework and I have not seen the final plans for that. I do know the plan does not entail eliminating traffic lanes on that side of the highway.

laura curran

August 30th, 2011

This plan needs to include better planning for bikes and Bike Friendly options in any changes. Cyclists and casual bike riders should feel comfortable, not fearful in riding through CdM. After all, we have a huge median on PCH which could accommodate bikes. there's has to be more room for bike riders who want to visit and do their shopping in town.

Jamie

August 31st, 2011

Will you bike fanatics please give it a rest. The medians were installed at great public expense specifically to slow traffic and to beautify the city. So now you want to remove them and go back to the Harbor Blvd. look? There are all kinds of side streets to ride on. PCH is a major traffic artery. It wasn't built so bike riders could get to Starbucks. When you consider it, the layout of CDM was flawed from the beginning. The original subdivision never considered that over 20 million people would be living in the southland and apparently all spending their weekends at Big Corona. Frankly the whole area below the highway should have gone high rise condos like Honolulu, and Marguerite should have been the commercial district on both sides of the highway, similar to San Clemente, Seal Beach, and most beach towns. Ocean Blvd should have been an ocean walk commercial district, instead of the private fiefdom of 50 or so millionaire, no make that billionaires, many of who's front yards encroach onto public land, which nobody seems to care about. Just think if Marguerite had been a street full of art galleries and shops like Forest Ave. in Laguna, and along Ocean Blvd is where your "Restaurant Row" should have been. Best ocean view on the Pacific Coast and nobody can sit down and enjoy it over a glass of wine and dinner unless they have 15 million dollars to buy a house. The rest of us "poor folk" get to sit on the dog pee covered grass and drink kool-aid because having a beer at sunset across the street from the multi-million dollar homes is illegal. The bottom line is a handful of special interest people are going to do whatever they want to do and public opinion or common sense isn't going to matter one whit. The PCH / MacArthur intersection is already nearly impassable on weekends. Add the civic center (which the city needed like a hole in the head) it is going to be gridlock, and who's going to benefit? Not the residents of CDM, but a handful of bar owners surrounding the intersection and further clogging our roads. What is really needed is a complete new vision and possibly redevelopment of CDM. Remember, I said it first! LOL

David Huntsman

August 31st, 2011

Jamie, yes: it will be a good thing to update the general plan.

Lease

September 1st, 2011

The committee is seriously considering all of these, as well as additional ideas.