City Council Postpones Pinch Lane, OKs Library Repairs

The Newport Beach City Council met Tuesday night. Here are some of the highlights from the council session.

• Councilwoman Leslie Daigle reminded the public about Sunday's memorial bike ride in honor of cyclists Sarah Leaf and Catherine "Kit" Campion-Ritz. Bicyclists will meet at the Whole Foods at Newport Center for the 1.2 mile ride. A 55 mile roundtrip to Long Beach will take place immediately after the memorial ride. More than 500 people have signed up for the ride. Volunteers have raised more than $46,000.

• The council postponed a discussion on the pinch lane on East Coast Highway in Corona del Mar where three lanes merge to two. The proposed plan also includes removing eight on-street parking spaces and constructing a widened sidewalk and new landscaping along the South side of Wast Coast Highway between Acacia and Dahlia avenues. Concerns from residents led the council to direct staff to install temporary street striping and markings in the proposed lane configuration to determine if there would be any traffic issues. Temporary 36-inch-tall delineators were installed with edge-line striping in June and will be removed this month. Based on a traffic analysis, staff is recommending the removal of the trial lane drop and a return of the roadway to its original configuration.

• Mayor Nancy Gardner presented a proclamation to the Port of Long Beach thanking for its assistance with the city's Lower Bay dredging sediment disposal project. "We are forever grateful to the the Port of Long Beach Beach working with us," said Chris Miller, the city's harbor resources manager.

• Council members approved a contract for no more than $720, 913 in order to fix a water-damaged clerestory wall at the Central Library. The discovery was made during construction of the Newport Beach Civic Center, according to staff reports.

• City Council members approved an agreement with the Irvine Terrace Community Association to install a community emergency preparedness supply storage container in Irvine Terrace Park adjacent to the intersection of Evita and Chubasa drives. The 10-foot-wide by 20-foot long by 10-feet tall container will hold emergency equipment and serve as an operations command post for the Irvine Terrace community. 

• In a unanimous vote, city council members approved a five-year agreement with Park West Landscape Management for landscape maintenance of citywide medians and roadsides. Park West will begin service on Nov. 28 and will save the city more than $100,000 per year.

• The council appointed Gloria Oaks, Ralph Rodheim, Laura Keane, Tom Pollack, Jim Stratton and Mayor ProTem Curry to the Balboa Village Advisory Committee.