“More than $9 million of federal dollars will be spent to add 28 crucial miles of bike lanes and trails in Orange County, an effort to better connect the region’s bikeway system,” according to the O.C. Register.
That is great news, and Santa Ana will draw some benefit from this expenditure, with new bikeways along 1st St., Chestnut Ave. and Newhope St., and new bike crossings along the Maple Bike Trail.
However there will be no money to complete the Santiago Creek bike trail, which abruptly ends after you pass the MainPlace Mall/5 Fwy. overpass. Read more about that here and here.
That trail is being blocked by NIMBY residents of the Floral and Fisher Park neighborhoods – including Rancho Santiago Community College District Trustee Mark McLoughlin. This issue will cost him plenty in November as he is seeking reelection – and Santa Ana Mayor Pro Tem Claudia Alvarez is running against him. The voters now have a chance to give him the boot!
