MAILBAG:If you don’t landscape, they won’t come

With all of the attention being paid to the creation of a passive park for the 12.8-acre city of Newport Beach-owned site at the corner of San Miguel Drive and MacArthur Boulevard adjacent to the library, I decided it was time I visited Newport’s most recent passive park, Back Bay View Park, which opened in 2005.

This park is on an 11-acre site given to the city of Newport Beach by the Irvine Co. I have driven by Back Bay View Park, on the corner of Pacific Coast Highway and Jamboree Drive, many times, noticing that from the street it appears to be a somewhat unsightly vacant lot.

But although I am a long-time resident of Newport Beach, I realized I had no idea of how to access the new park. I turned off Jamboree Road onto Back Bay Drive and found a sign pointing to the park. But where to park? Back Bay Drive is posted “no parking at any time” on both sides. I entered a driveway to Newport Dunes, only to find that gated.

Perhaps there is access through the adjacent Bayview Landing Senior Apartment Homes, developed at the same time as the park. But no access. However, I noticed visitor parking for the apartments, so hoping I wouldn’t be towed away if I left my car for a few minutes, I parked there and walked down the sidewalk to a bicycle path.

Walking up the bicycle path, I found the paved path to the park. The path is long and uphill, but thankfully there is a bench on which to rest about halfway up. I doubt the nearby seniors would ever make it up the hill.

Finally I reached the summit. The park consists of acres of bare ground punctuated by low bushes — described on a sign as “coastal sage scrub.” In addition, there are boulders scattered around. Signs caution the visitor not to leave the path so as not to disturb nature.

Was there another access? Yes, the path divides: one leg goes to the sidewalk along Pacific Coast Highway, hardly any place for a car to drop off a visitor, and the other leg goes to the corner of Jamboree and Pacific Coast Highway, definitely no place to drop off a visitor.

There are a few benches on which one can rest, but aside from a crow and a rabbit, I was alone. I stopped on the path downward to note on a pad that no one else was visiting the park on this lovely day, when suddenly I was nearly run down by a high-speed bicyclist. So, the park was not going to waste after all.

I doubt I will ever return to this park, nor will I ever take my wife, children, grandchildren or visitors to see it.

Then it hit me. If the proposed Newport Center Park is going to be similar to this Back Bay View Park, why not put the proposed city hall on this site — except that access is impossible. But another idea. I drove to Castaways Park overlooking Pacific Coast Highway and Dover Drive, another passive park on land donated to the city by the Irvine Company. There is parking there. This would be a great site for the city hall, overlooking Newport Bay. But then I found this park was in use. I saw another person walking along the trail.

The word “park” is a magic word. But if you landscape it with trees and lakes, it might attract people from inland Orange County, and no one wants to live near that.

So, keep the land vacant and passive, and no one will come.

MARTIN A. BROWER

Crevier saves the day, Ricky the Cat’s life

I wanted to thank Josh Sorenson at Crevier BMW once again for his kindness recently when Ricky the Cat was stuck in the engine of my car.

I’m sure the people at Crevier are very busy. They, however, kindly made time to help an animal, and at no charge! I’m taking my future business to Crevier!

WENDY JAWOR