Published October 22, 2026
NEWPORT BEACH | CITY HALL WATCH | OCTOBER 22, 2026
For years, drivers have treated Mariners’ Mile as a stretch of Pacific Coast Highway to speed through. A connected bike route could help change the pace and give people more reason to stop, shop, and spend time there.
The idea is to connect Via Lido with Newport Boulevard, continue up Newport Boulevard to Coast Highway, then run through Mariners’ Mile toward Bayside Drive. It should be a route people can actually follow, with safe crossings and clear connections, not a few green stripes that disappear at the next intersection.
A safer bike and e-bike route could give riders a better option than sharing fast-moving traffic or weaving among pedestrians on sidewalks. Green markings could make the route more visible, while protected sections and safer intersections could be considered where the street layout calls for them.
The larger opportunity is to make Mariners’ Mile feel less like a corridor people hurry through and more like a place they can comfortably visit. Many drivers move quickly through the area without stopping. A safer street with visible bike access and better crossings could encourage people to notice local businesses and pull in. That is a possibility worth exploring with business owners and traffic data, rather than assuming a bike lane alone will bring more customers.
Corona del Mar offers a local comparison: its commercial area has a slower, more active street environment, with people walking between shops and restaurants. Mariners’ Mile has different conditions, but it could become a destination in its own right instead of a stretch of PCH drivers pass through.
The route would not need to slow traffic everywhere. The city should study traffic speeds, crossings, parking, business access, and congestion on busy days, then identify where traffic calming and bike protections make sense.
There is a basis for revisiting the idea. An Orange County Transportation Authority corridor study from 2016 considered bike lanes between Newport Boulevard and Dover Drive, bicycle improvements between Dover and Bayside, and pedestrian safety options in Mariners’ Mile. Those were study alternatives, not an approved continuous route. The City Council should ask staff to review what remains workable today and identify the gaps in a connection from Via Lido to Bayside.
A connected route could improve safety and help change the feel of Mariners’ Mile. The city should study the full connection, meet with residents and businesses, and bring back clear options with costs, tradeoffs, and next steps.
Background: [OCTA Pacific Coast Highway Corridor Study (2016)](https://www.octa.net/pdf/OCTA_PCH_Corridor_Study.pdf)
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