Amid safety concerns, Costa Mesa will close portions of wall along Victoria Street

The Costa Mesa City Council agreed this week to close off three pedestrian access points from an arterial Westside street at the request of area homeowners who say the paths bring illicit activity into their neighborhoods.

The council unanimously voted Tuesday to close up three openings of a wall that runs along Victoria Street, a busy thoroughfare and major connector into Huntington Beach. The openings lead into portions of Puente, Raleigh and Sterling avenues, all residential streets.

City staff said they have received complaints from residents who reported seeing transients, drug use, drug dealing, public intoxication and graffiti along the Victoria wall.

The residents also complained that their streets are used for parking by people who then go to nearby apartment complexes that lack sufficient on-site parking.

City staff added that Raleigh alone received 198 calls for police service last year; Sterling had 131 and Puente had 42.

“I’d like to point out that we don’t know if these [calls] are all related to the [wall] openings,” said Public Services Director Ernesto Munoz.

City staff also monitored the area to see how many schoolchildren, accompanied by their parents, use the pathways to get to their campuses. They found that about 30 children, on average, use the three openings.

Michael Robby, who lives on Sterling, commended the change.

“I think this would go a long, long way to solving a lot of problems on our street,” he said.

Councilwoman Katrina Foley said the issues along Victoria will not be solved “just by blocking the wall.”

“At the end of the day, we need more cops in the neighborhood,” she said.

Mayor Steve Mensinger said during his frequent walks in the area, he sees syringes, beer bottles and people jaywalking across Victoria. He spoke with Westside neighbors, who told him they rarely use the openings.

In the end, Mensinger said, having the wall openings off a major arterial road is “not conducive to a great neighborhood.”

Closing the openings will cost an estimated $48,000. Funding for the project has not been identified but will be brought back to the council at a later date.