How will the new Santa Ana City Council deal with the uncompleted Santiago Creek Bike Trail? The trail is complete right now – except for a “missing link” – a 1/4-mile gap located in the Santiago Creek, between the 5 Freeway underpass and Flower Street. The City of Santa Ana does not currently have a bike trail proposed in the missing link.
A grass-roots neighborhood organization, Neighbors for the Santiago Creek Bike Trail, was formed to further the goal of a bike path in the “missing link” along Santiago Creek. Once the bike trail is completed, our neighborhoods will have ready access to adjoining trails. The Neighbors for the Santiago Creek Bike Trail want open space and the ability to connect to these outlying bike trails, shopping centers and communities either by biking, jogging or hiking.
A path along the missing link will join us to the County’s regional bike trails and link together four neighborhoods (West Floral Park, Floral Park, Jack Fisher Park, Morrison Park), to the neighborhoods near Santiago Park (separated by the 5 Freeway) along the Creek.
There are signs that new Ward 3 Council Member Angelica Amezcua is open to the idea of completing the bike trail. And Mayor Pro Tem Claudia Alvarez, who opposed the trail’s completion while trying to get elected to the Rancho Santiago Community College District’s Board of Education, is leaving the City Council.
Will Alvarez’ replacement, Roman Reyna, do the right thing and support the completion of the Santiago Creek bike trail? Reyna has worked at Santa Ana’s Parks and Recreation Agency, and at the Santa Ana Boy’s and Girls Club and the Santa Ana YMCA. He is currently an SAUSD Trustee. You would think that he would support the bike trail as it will be a boon to our youth, to the overall fitness of our residents and to the families who will enjoy using this trail. Hopefully he will not side with NIMBY Mark McLoughlin, who publicly opposed the bike trail and then lost to Alvarez on Nov. 6.
What about the returning Council Members? Vince Sarmiento barely beat Amezcua’s sister, Estela. Hopefully he now realizes that he needs to side with the majority in our city – not with the NIMBYs. I don’t know where Mayor Miguel Pulido stands on this issue but he has always supported our youth and health in general. And Council Members Michele Martinez and Sal Tinajero have too. Thankfully the King of the NIMBYs, disgraced Council Member Carlos Bustamante, is leaving the Council.
What about Council Member David Benavides, who had his head handed to him by Pulido? Hopefully Benavides will do the right thing with regard to the Santiago Creek bike trail, even though he has been allied with the Usual Suspects and the NIMBYs for years. He needs to start healing the divisions he caused during his failed campaign against Pulido. Supporting the bike trail’s completion would be a good start.
If the Santa Ana City Council Members decide to oppose the completion of the Santiago Creek bike trail they are going to be in for a rude awakening. Benavides, Martinez, Tinajero and Pulido should remember that they will each be up for re-election in two short years.
Click here to find out more about the Santiago Creek bike trail.
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The city just needs to stay out of the way.
"The city needs to stay out of the way" umm, lack of info there Cook.
And maybe Pulido should express an opinion for you Admin. I think that you have done enough favors for him. He should have the courage to express a darn opinion about the bike trail.
It’s a county flood control channel. And the trail is on the new maps for the OCFA.
And even tho the mayor hasn’t said anything recently about the trail, he had said he had Cal-Tran complete the under freeway part during the reconstruction of the 5 interstate highway some years back.
NO Bible Thumpers allowed on the bike Trail!
That is my opinion. KIll them all!
and let GOD sort em out.
Happy Thanksgiving.
This is something that the city should not even be considering unless there is an entity that is willing to pay 100% of the cost to build, maintain and provide security for it.
My by estimation less than 10% of the people in Santa Ana regularly ride a bike. Of those that do the majority are not long distance riders, or live close enough to consider using the proposed trail.
Per the Save Santiago Creek Alliance (link below) the estimated cost to build the proposed trail is $3.28 million. They have two other proposals using existing surface streets that accomplish the same thing that cost less than $100,000.
$3.28 million dollars would be better spent by the city improving our parks, buying more land for parks, roads or other infrastructure that would benefit significantly more residents than the bike trail would.
Finally, the concerns of the people whose properties border the proposed bike trail are valid. As it is, there is already graffiti in the creek and other criminal activity. Proponents will say that the trail will make it easier for the police to patrol the area. That may be true, but that will mean less patrols somewhere else.
Construction of the bike trail is not something that the city should be even be considering, or wasting any more staff time on.
Link to Save Santiago Creek Alliance:
http://savesantiagocreekalliance.org/#/3-alternate-bike-paths/4559852550
$3.28 million to complete that little stretch of bike trail? Sounds like someone or some people are holding the project hostage.
I will donate $100,000.
City of Santa Ana donate $100,000.
County of Orange donate $500,000.
Total cost $700,000.
Must I do everything.
The county has the money in the bank for that little piece of missing trail.
ACE is going to tear out the creek from the SA highway to the SA River and rebuild it. (It will look nothing like what is there today)
There is a seven volume set of plans, maps, EIR, public comments, etc on file. Go spend a day or two reading the reports. Very eye opening.
All of the objections listed on the web site “Save Santiago Creek Alliance” has been dealt with in the reports and the public comments.
The people who have bought houses along the creek thinking that it was never going to be rebuilt as required and planned, just made the wrong bet.
But all is not lost; the home owners will be offered a “life estate” to the house. The back yards, no.
"But all is not lost; the home owners will be offered a “life estate” to the house. The back yards, no."
Mr. Cook, are you sure about this?
"life estate"
So that means that the property will be given to the city when the owner dies?
or, The property will be given back to the owner when the city dies?
oy vey.
The time I spent reading the volumes was mainly to see how much time I needed to set aside to read them.
The part about the life estate is one of the options stated in the report, along with another option of a complete tear down for a county regional park. (House – street – House – Creek – House - Street – House) quite extensive make over.
I just hope that the residences that live along the creek don’t get themselves backed into a corner and get the sh*t end of the stick for not getting in front of the creek flood control rebuild. (No one want a concrete culvert, a deep square box with a choice of 1 of 3 colors, plain – green, or red.
I think the trail will be given a life estate to the lives of the people living along the creek so when the trail dies the homeowners get their view back.
Art...Just who exactly opposes this trail?? I've never met anyone who is against it.
Maybe healthy bike corridors compete
with other transportation contract projects?
Where is Councilwoman Martinez' opinion?
I thought she was all about Health Corridor projects
for a healthy sustainable future?
Cook, The time I spent reading your comment was all about figuring how much time I needed to spend reading your comment. HUH?
Good work, Never the less.