mailbag - July 19, 2001

We in the Huntington Beach area are totally against the building of a

bridge connecting 19th street to Banning Avenue in Huntington Beach.

I am a longtime resident of the community and find it appallingthat

Huntington Beach should have to bear another burden on its neighborhoods

for Orange County residents. We do our share for the region with the

power plant and sewage plant. We already have three river crossings and

seven east/west arterial streets that connect to streets that have river

crossings. This cannot be said for the cities around us.

We expect leadership to resolve the traffic problems and know that

there are alternate solutions to building the bridge. The environmental

report has demonstrated that this can happen. The majority of the cities

involved do not want the bridge and the cities that do want it will not

be impacted.

We will vote against Measure M renewal if the Orange

CountyTransportation Authority withholds Measure M funds to force cities

to use the bridge in traffic plans. This bridge can be avoided and the

traffic problems can be fixed without this bridge. Please help us in this

fight.

Caryn Kanter and Dutch SchultzHuntington Beach

Bridge idea should be embraced

I have been a resident of east Huntington Beach since 1990. Since 1994 I’ve received a flyer about once every three months inviting me to get

involved in trying to stop the plans OCTA and / or Caltrans have in

regards to building a bridge or two across the Santa Ana River to help

move traffic easier from Huntington Beach to Costa Mesa. For the last 10

years I have been trying to find fault with it, but up until today, I

haven’t.

I think the opposite of what I read in this paper. If any of these

agencies calling themselves “authorities” could build one or two bridges

in this area I am certain it will be a blessing for all of us who drive

to work or do any other activity toward the east of our beloved city of

Huntington Beach. I just wish that these “authorities” would build the

best, the most elegant bridges over the Santa Ana River that human eyes

have ever seen. We can manage the traffic flow with law enforcement,

education and will power.

Do not try to stop progress, but make it beneficial, futuristic,

powerful and functional. We do not need an eyesore like the Edison Power

Plant located next to Pacific Coast Highway.

Please also ask our elected officials to look for ways to stop

increasing our taxes and try to find the way for the county, state and

federal government to get involved in helping us and our city with our

infrastructure needs. Remember that we are in a situation of servient

tenement when it comes to streets, drainage and sewer lines. We do not

break them only because of using them, but also because every new

neighborhood built to the north of our city causes us to have to increase

or improve our services. And that is for other communities’ benefit not

for ours. That’s also why a lot of them pay lower taxes . . . think about

it.

Ruperto J. Ruiz

Huntington Beach