Editor:
(This letter was also addressed to the City Council)
It’s always difficult to hear Laguna Beach plans after the fact. As a neighborhood, we should have prior involvement in proposed changes to our particular pathways, even “trials.” There has been no public notice to residents regarding the proposed changes and trials for Glenneyre from Thalia to Calliope (“Glenneyre May Shrink to Two Lanes,” Oct. 12).
Our concerns as Catalina Street neighbors and residents are many. Catalina is already burdened by commercial and auto traffic with many [automobiles] far exceeding the speed limit. The lane reductions on Glenneyre will cause traffic to simply use Catalina Street. Catalina is strictly a residential street used by pedestrians, baby strollers, dog walkers, cyclists and skateboarders.
On Catalina there is no room for more traffic or parking without serious safety and quality of life consequences. Glenneyre has always been used for heavy vehicle traffic and commercial parking. If Coast Highway is heavy, it’s frequently used as an alternative route through town.
We expect that this proposal will be totally unacceptable to the residents of Catalina [as well as] to those in the neighborhood who use it recreationally and to access the beach and shopping.
Your safety concerns can be accomplished at a fraction of tax dollars by simply encouraging cyclists to use Catalina Street instead of Glenneyre and add[ing] a stop sign at Anita Street to slow vehicle speeding.
We agree with higher visibility crosswalks on Glenneyre but the rest of this proposal is ludicrous and a glaring waste of taxpayers’ money!
Doug Bowler, Laguna Beach
