OCC pushing forward with designated bike paths

The Orange Coast College campus is expecting to have its first designated bike path in place soon along with several other projects under the Coast Community College District’s Vision 2020 Educational Master Plan.

Initiated by the district’s board of trustees, the plan consists of multiple renovations for its three campuses that will be enacted over the next five years.

For OCC, the plan includes expansion of its campus recycling center for more parking and safer entry and exiting, a new Student Center with classrooms for the school’s culinary arts and hospitality programs, and new adaptive physical education facilities.

“Some things will be implemented on the campuses sooner than others,” the district’s director of public affairs Letitia Clark said. “The goal for OCC is to make their campus welcoming to others, and this is one way we can make sure we’re doing that.”

Although the OCC campus does not have designated bike paths, the students still ride their bikes on the grounds.

The creation of a bike path at OCC is intended to make wheeled transportation safer and reduce vehicle traffic, one of Vision 2020’s goals. According to Clark, implementation of the path is expected to begin in fall 2016.

In order to help fund the construction of the path, OCC’s Vice President of Administrative Services Richard Pagel has applied to the city of Costa Mesa for a grant. Results of the grant application are not known yet, Clark said.

The district has arranged for KTU+A, a San Diego-based landscape and architectural firm, to develop the planning and construction of the path. The company has already completed multiple bike-friendly structures in San Diego and Orange County.

“The plans generated will hopefully work in conjunction with existing and planned bike paths for the city of Costa Mesa,” Clark said.

The total cost for the path’s construction has not been determined, but according to Clark the cost of having KTU+A draft the plans will be $69,000.