Behind the Scenes

Here’s some feedback on things that are happening.

U-Turn at Lake Forest Drive and Rockfield

At the request of several people from Forest Gardens I’ve been exploring the possibilities. I collected some first hand data last week and met with staff this week. Although the idea has some merit, the risks of collusion with people making a right hand turn from Rockfield to enter the 5 Freeway is too high a risk to warrant the convenience of the U-Turn.

Traffic light at Overlake and Lake Forest Drive

At the request of several people in Lake 1 I explored the possibilities of a light following a series of accidents in recent years. The City went ahead and cleared up the landscape in the area to make sight better, and a motorcycle officer will be stationed more often in the area to reduce speeding. At this point, the number of accidents didn’t trigger an alarm but the staff will continue to monitor. Meanwhile we will get some data on the overall city-wide accident rate, something the staff do not yet have.

Trees at Creekside

Good news. Thanks to the attention of some folks at Creekside, the City will be able to save all the trees while fixing the roadway.

Update to Crime Information at City’s Website

Click Here. There is a new layout to this page with some new links. Also the page can now be assessed from the home page. FWIW – Part 1 crimes are down 4% on a year over year basis, from 2015 which was 30% higher than the previous year. Most troubling is a 600% increase in rape (up from 1 to 7).

U-Haul Property on Jeronimo

People are constantly asking about this vacant property. Economic Development reports that there has been some movement on re-starting the self-storage and truck rental facility in place of the old nursery land on Jeronimo. Staff are working with the applicant.

Sports Chalet

There is not yet a new tenant for the closed Sports Chalet store in Towne Center. Staff are working on it.

Graffiti Update

Graffiti was up in Jan and Feb but fell slightly in March on a year-over-year basis. We are having between 50 and 100 incidents per month which is up from 2014 and 2015 but far fewer than what we experienced in 2012 and 2013.

Portola Pkwy Widening near 241

Bids will close on May 24.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Dr. Jim Gardner is on the City Council for Lake Forest. You can check him out on LinkedIn and/or Facebook and you can share your thoughts about the City at Lake Forest Town Square on Facebook. His comments are not meant to reflect official City Policy.

Dr. Gardner has office hours every Tuesday from 4 pm to 6 pm at the City Hall. In addition, he holds a Town Hall meeting every quarter. The next meeting will be on August 13 at 2 pm at the Foothill Ranch Public Library.