Next up: Get city’s help

Newport Harbor High School leaders will seek city’s help to make permanent crosswalk safety improvements.Newport Harbor High School may be another step closer to solving its pedestrian problem. Student Political Action Committee members met with city and police officials Tuesday to discuss methods of making the crosswalks near the school safer.

During a one-hour conference at the school, the club’s advisor Phil D’Agostino and several students gathered with city transportation engineer Tony Brine, Police Lt. Jim Kaminsky, school resource officer Steve Martinez and Assistant Principal Dave Martinez. After the meeting, committee members said they planned to approach the Newport Beach City Council and the traffic affairs committee about permanent improvements on the crosswalks.

The student club is already on the traffic affairs committee’s agenda for March 8. The City Council has three meetings scheduled for February, and D’Agostino said his group would try to appear at one of them.

In the meantime, the Tuesday meeting gave a boost to the club’s safety campaign, which members started in January after a student driver hit a classmate on one of the crosswalks the month before. The student, who was hospitalized with multiple injuries, has since returned to class.

“I was actually really grateful to the men who showed up because they gave us advice on routes we can take in making something more permanent,� said action committee president Laure Kohne after the meeting. “I think if these men are willing to support us, then there are many others who will do the same.�

On Jan. 23, action committee members began setting brightly colored flags on the sidewalks by two of the crosswalks outside Newport Harbor, at Irvine Avenue and 15th Street. While the flags remain outside during the school day, the action committee intended them as a stopgap measure as it sought a more permanent solution.

At the meeting, students discussed a number of possible projects with the city officials, including installing flashing pedestrian lights in the pavement. According to Brine, the city is planning to install similar lights at the intersection of East Coast Highway and Orchid Avenue -- a first for Newport Beach.

Another suggestion that came up at the meeting was to create a “bulb-out� -- a section of sidewalk protruding into the street on both ends to make the crosswalk shorter -- at one of the intersections by Newport Harbor. Brine said a bulb-out could soothe traffic problems in more ways than one.

“It shortens the distance the pedestrians have to cross the street, and it also reduces the speed� of traffic, he said.

D’Agostino said the action committee would, in addition to approaching the City Council and the traffic affairs committee, educate students about navigating the crosswalks.

“We’re going to use the ... [public address] system and other devices as necessary to make students aware of the danger of crossing the street and also of moving their car at break,� D’Agostino said.

Last week, club members took turns standing on the sidewalk and reminding students to carry the flags as they crossed. The club discontinued the shifts Monday, but Kohne said the message had sunk in with many students.

“We don’t have prompters out anymore, but people are still using them [the flags] on their own volition,� she said. “People don’t need to be told. They just do it on their own.�20060202its214ncDOUGLAS ZIMMERMAN / DAILY PILOT(LA)Newport Harbor High School students Chris Womble, right, Buck Evans and Brittany Klehm wave flags while crossing 15th Street.