IRVINE : Expansion of Bridges Stirs Heated Debate

Nearly 100 residents showed up at the City Council chambers Tuesday night to debate June ballot measures involving two pedestrian bridges on Yale Avenue.

Two groups of residents have been arguing for several years over the expansion of the two bridges, one over the San Diego Freeway and the other over the Santa Fe Railroad tracks, to allow allow vehicular traffic.

On Tuesday, the City Council tentatively voted to place one measure, the Neighborhood Preservation Initiative, on the ballot. A final vote will come at its next meeting.

The Yale Initiative, a measure to expand the bridges, has already has been placed on the ballot.

Leslie Pyle, a member of CAUTION, a residents’ group opposed to the expansions, told the council Tuesday: “I don’t want the citizens of Irvine to either say yes or no on a subject they know nothing about. What happens in June will affect our neighborhoods and our children, not theirs.”

Audrey Tkachenko said: “We were told the traffic would go around the community, not right through the community. What about the children?”

The meeting was punctuated by several outbursts from angry residents, and Councilman Cameron Cosgrove repeatedly asked the crowd to show composure.

One June ballot measure, called the Yale Initiative, would allow the bridges to be widened up to four lanes.

The Neighborhood Preservation Plan, which was tentatively placed on the ballot Tuesday night, would prevent current and future attempts at similar bridge expansions throughout the city.

Mayor Larry Agran, who supports the latter measure, cited potential dangers posed by bridges and their expansion. “Bridges are costly, but beyond dollar costs, they are an issue of great safety,” he said.

But Councilwoman Sally Anne Sheridan, Calling the Neighborhood Preservation Initiative “a can of worms,” lambasted the mayor for “confusing the voters.”

“Mayor Agran has put together this initiative just to confuse voters,” she said. “Voters could have simply voted to not build the bridges, without this new initiative. But what is new in Irvine politics?”