Boardwalk

June Casagrande A contract for as much as $400,000 approved by City Council members clears the way for a series of scientific studies and public workshops that are a first step toward building a boardwalk in a portion of the Back Bay. Council members on Tuesday unanimously approved a plan to hire Community Conservancy International to launch studies on whether a boardwalk and trail system in the Back Bay could protect...

The boardwalk along the ocean in Newport Beach is a wonderful attraction to both residents and visitors alike. We are blessed to be along the ocean and have this boardwalk to enjoy an evening stroll or an early morning bike ride. Why do they call it a boardwalk? I know along the Jersey shore the boardwalks are just that; walkways made of boards. At one time, many years ago, were the boardwalks here really made of boards? If they were, I hope someone out there will educate us on this titillating question.

June Casagrande A popular plan to build a boardwalk in the Back Bay could be up for a City Council vote by the end of the month. The boardwalk is designed to let nature lovers enjoy one of the city's and county's most stunning natural resources without damaging it. The walkway would go up and down the bluffs at different points, allowing people access to the water in certain areas. "If it's just on the top of the bluffs, it's not going to work," City Councilman Tod Ridgeway said Tuesday during a council study session, noting that nature lovers would venture off the boardwalk to get near the water at the base of the bluffs.

Whether a boardwalk would preserve the ecologically sensitive habitat along the walking trails of the Upper Newport Bay has become the heated debate of the day. It's a good question, and already many have given their answers, even though the public has had little chance to observe the entire plan. To date, there is just not enough information to make a clear decision on this $4-million plan being proposed by county and city officials. Proponents of a man-made pathway up and down the bluffs say it would allow visitors to the Back Bay to enjoy its beauty and natural surroundings without destroying it by using unapproved foot paths that damage vegetation and habitat.

Paul Clinton The city received an additional $780,000 from an oil-spill settlement Thursday to build a boardwalk along the Back Bay's western edge. The city wanted to replace a series of makeshift trails criss-crossing through the Upper Newport Bay Ecological Reserve. Those trails are considered illegal, since the land has been set aside as damaged habitat, Assistant City Manager Dave Kiff said. "We would like to replace some of those trails with a more structured boardwalk plan so people could get closer to the bay but not harm the habitat," Kiff said.

The oil spill from the American Trader tanker in 1990 left Newport and Huntington beaches and their habitats in ruins. The 400,000-gallon spill remains the worst environmental disaster in Orange County history. Earlier this month, Newport Beach officials received a residual, if you will, of $786,000 from the oil-spill agreement that will be used toward building a $3.4-million boardwalk along the Back Bay's western edge. We can't think of a better beneficiary for that money than an environmental project and the Back Bay boardwalk sounds like a great idea.

There are precious few places in Newport Beach left where one can walk along a dirt path. Over the years, we have suburbanized the hills and great walking trails where Fashion Island and Promontory Point now sit. Gone are the dirt walking paths along the Castaways, and now the City Council is considering doing away with the dirt walking paths along the Back Bay, the last such trails in the city. Such a move is out of step with the community and, contrary to what a small handful of proponents say, would not be a popular or necessary plan for preserving the Back Bay. In fact, it would be just the opposite.

A boardwalk safety committee was formed to study the oceanfront boardwalk and bike trail on the Balboa Peninsula. One of the decisions made was that the four-wheel vehicles, known as surreys, should not be allowed on the boardwalk. The reason that the surreys are being singled out is not clear. Some say they are too fast. Some say they are too slow. Some say they are too wide and yet they are 4 feet wide from pedal to pedal. Two adults walking side by side allowing for 6 inches between the two people could use the same amount of space.

A city crackdown on surreys, the fringed-topped, four-wheeled vehicles that are a common sight on Newport’s Oceanfront Walk, has brought business to a screeching halt for local bike shops who depend on revenue from renting the crafts. “I rent them to families, people from Europe, France, Spain, all sorts of people,” said Dale Head, who has owned Easyride Bicycle Rental and Sales since 2003. “This is going to drive two businesses into bankruptcy.” Newport Beach has had an ordinance on the books barring surreys from the Oceanfront Walk since 1997, but it was never enforced.

We generally cringe when government noses its way into civil liberties. But the Newport Beach City Council should go ahead and ban smoking in public parks. This is a safety issue. Some of the properties considered parks are actually rolling open spaces that make them vulnerable to fires. Other parks were built for children, who shouldn't have their recreation spoiled by smoke. Then there's litter. We know plenty of smokers are courteous and properly dispose of their butts, but too many aren't, squashing filters on the ground or snuffing them into the sand.

NEWPORT BEACH — At its Tuesday meeting, the City Council considered banning smoking in public parks. Smoking is already prohibited on beaches, piers and the boardwalk. In April, the council voted 4-3 in a nonbinding straw poll to approve a smoking ban in parks. But during the meeting, Mayor Mike Henn suggested the city also ban smoking at the street ends leading up to the Balboa Peninsula boardwalk. Henn lives in a house on the boardwalk, two doors down from a street end. Councilman Keith Curry said this additional ban could be a "slippery slope.

The comments attributed to me in a recent article concerning beach safety were not exactly in the correct context ("Off-Season Lifeguards may be Reduced," April 18). I was asked about service levels during prolonged periods of times at the beach. There are three distinct sets of activities that take place on the boardwalk, on the beach and in the water. For prolonged periods of time, there are only significant activities that take place on the beach and boardwalk. The presence of lifeguards is not customary to two of three sets of these activities: the promenade and the beach.

The second phase of Newport Beach’s Boardwalk Safety program will launch Saturday afternoon, when police, volunteers and Police Explorers stand along the three-mile stretch of boardwalk from F to 36th streets. From noon to 4 p.m. Saturday the group will hand out pamphlets educating the public on safety along the busy walkway and have two radar trailers operating to monitor the 8 mph speed limit there. Officials said the Oceanfront Boardwalk grows increasingly busy as the summer progresses and they’re trying to discourage reckless or dangerous behavior.

There used to be four bike shops in Balboa that rented the surreys, and we fought to rid the town of them then. We were so happy when they left us with only one shop on the oceanfront boardwalk with surrey rentals. Families can rent bikes from the large supply of all family members’ sizes, including tandem bikes. There is no need for the surreys. The multi-use on the boardwalk has become out of control with bikes, Segways, surreys, skateboarders, runners, families with strollers and walkers.

A city crackdown on surreys, the fringed-topped, four-wheeled vehicles that are a common sight on Newport’s Oceanfront Walk, has brought business to a screeching halt for local bike shops who depend on revenue from renting the crafts. “I rent them to families, people from Europe, France, Spain, all sorts of people,” said Dale Head, who has owned Easyride Bicycle Rental and Sales since 2003. “This is going to drive two businesses into bankruptcy.” Newport Beach has had an ordinance on the books barring surreys from the Oceanfront Walk since 1997, but it was never enforced.

The Newport Beach Police Department will launch its new boardwalk safety program between noon and 4 p.m. today. The program is geared toward educating the public about safety while using the city’s Oceanfront Boardwalk, which runs from F Street to 36th Street. Police officers, and volunteers will hand out educational pamphlets and answer questions about board walk safety along the Oceanfront Boardwalk. Two portable radar trailers will clock the speed of rollerbladers and cyclists on the boardwalk as part of the event.

The Balboa Peninsula boardwalk is anchored on one end by the newly remodeled Newport Beachwalk Hotel on the left, and the newly remodeled Doryman’s Inn, with the upscale 21 Oceanfront restaurant, on the right. In between are the landmarks of what was and still is the heart-and-soul of the “good old days of Newport Beach,” the places jokingly referred to — even by the guys who’ve worked there for years — as the “dive bars.” Blackie’s By the Sea, The Beach Ball, Mutt Lynch’s and around the corner, the Blue Beet.

Venice Beach, best known for its artists, street performers and “funky atmosphere,” is in west Los Angeles, just south of Santa Monica. It’s more than just the sand and surf — it’s the beach, the promenade that runs parallel to it (Ocean Front Walk) or “the boardwalk,” Muscle Beach, the tennis courts, the skate dancing plaza, the beach volleyball courts, the bike trail and the sidewalk vendors. Stores offering toe rings, jewelry, clothing, body piercings, tattoos and food can be found on the promenade.