After four months of meetings, after massive amounts of research and discussion and debate, the Newport Beach Task Force on Cycling Safety soon could see results from its efforts — in Costa Mesa.
Costa Mesa resident Jim Fitzpatrick quietly began attending the twice-monthly task force meetings, taking notes on the discussions of everything from sharrows (marked lanes to show where bikes and cars must share) to bicycle racks. Eventually, Fitzpatrick contacted task force member Frank Peters and asked for copies of some of Peters’ research.
“I’m so envious of Newport Beach because of the wonderful task force members,” said Fitzpatrick, who is a Costa Mesa planning commissioner and also one of a handful of members of an informal, private Costa Mesa cycling task force. “You’re getting free wisdom. And it’s kind of providing a roadmap for the rest of us.”
Fitzpatrick said he was particularly intrigued by the bike rack research that Peters provided in January when he reported on the dearth of bike racks in Newport Beach, including at City Hall and at Big Corona State Beach. (Read our story here.) Fitzpatrick called Peters to obtain copies of the materials, then he began talking to business owners along Seventeenth Street in Costa Mesa.
He and some other cycling and environmental enthusiasts now are trying to raise money and collect donations to create bike racks that can be placed near businesses in Eastside Costa Mesa. He thinks the racks will be built and in place before summer.
Costa Mesa city officials are aware of his work, Fitzpatrick said, and are “absolutely supportive.”
“What Newport Beach gave us was credibility,” he said. “We can have the same standards for things like bike racks, how to establish key destinations, how to build them safely…”
Peters said he was delighted that Costa Mesa was benefitting from his work. But he worries that the task force might see a map of paths as its only concrete result.
“Some legacy, if we don’t do anything about racks, but they do,” he said. “Shame.”
Fitzpatrick said the two cities and their bike enthusiasts should continue to work together, even as the Newport Beach task force wraps up its work this month.
The task force was created as a short-term group that will disband after making its report this month, although the group may suggest that the City Council create a permanent cycling safety committee.
The task force now is working on drafting a report to submit to City Council. The next meeting will be 4:30 p.m. Monday in City Council Chambers at 3300 Newport Boulevard, and the public is welcome.
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