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Santa Ana River Trail-Less safe now ?

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Santa Ana River Trail-Less safe now ?

Old 05-19-17, 09:46 PM
  #26  
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It's because y'all live too close to the ocean. It gets near freezing here in the winter and fiery hot all summer, so the northernmost portion of the SART, from Hidden Valley on up, is a ghost town. The homeless encampments stick to the river plain (near the water,) and only come up near the trail when the rains get bad (which isn't very often.) I've watched the drone videos of the camps near The Big A-- that's just nuts.
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Old 05-22-17, 08:00 AM
  #27  
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I would like a chase scene (movie) where the motorcyclist rides into the SART and mixes in with the homeless at that underpass, disappearing and undetected. Or could this happen in real life?
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Old 05-29-17, 08:00 PM
  #28  
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I did Corona>San Clemente a couple of weeks ago and did the first half on the SART. I agree the homeless camps by Honda Center have swelled and is nearing critical mass. (I'm pretty sure they weren't tailgating for the playoffs)

While I can't exactly say I felt unsafe per se, I can say that I was definitely creeped out. On top of that, it's also not the most sanitary place I've ever seen in my life. So while I wasn't really afraid of getting bike jacked or anything, I was definitely happy getting past there.

There's no easy answer for this. Not to be harsh, but the SART is ours -- not theirs. It's a riding path and was not constructed as transient housing. So should something be done? Sure. Yet, they're still human beings and many of them are dealing with severe mental illness, addiction, or both (which, regardless of your political leanings... is not an easy thing to get help with in our society). It sounds easy to say "get 'em out of there", but it's way more complicated than that. Wherever they go, that place won't want them either.

As cyclists, we have a right to feel safe on our riding path and shouldn't feel like we have to exit our path. If you feel legit unsafe on the SART, this is what "phone calls to your lawmakers" is for. I'll likely be doing this myself, and I suggest you do too.
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Old 05-30-17, 03:48 PM
  #29  
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Just an update on my perspective in this thread:


I now feel completely unsafe riding anything south of the Honda Center on SART. The situation there is just horrendous. One homeless person on a bike purposely swerved head-on into myself and my wife, as if he was going to run into us. We have been taunted and yelled at by the homeless. There are also many (seemingly) gang members hanging out in the same areas as the homeless encampments, I presume for the drug peddling.


I will not ride there anymore until things change. Which may be never.


And I have written and called many different avenues to address the issue. All I get is the response that "this is a complex issue".


My time and $ are better spent elsewhere.
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Old 05-30-17, 09:25 PM
  #30  
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Originally Posted by snidely
Just an update on my perspective in this thread:


I now feel completely unsafe riding anything south of the Honda Center on SART. The situation there is just horrendous. One homeless person on a bike purposely swerved head-on into myself and my wife, as if he was going to run into us. We have been taunted and yelled at by the homeless. There are also many (seemingly) gang members hanging out in the same areas as the homeless encampments, I presume for the drug peddling.


I will not ride there anymore until things change. Which may be never.


And I have written and called many different avenues to address the issue. All I get is the response that "this is a complex issue".


My time and $ are better spent elsewhere.
How far did you go south of the Honda Center/Angel Stadium area? All the way to the beach? I rode up from the beach to Orangewood on Sunday and it didn't get crowded with tents and stuff until I went under the freeway just after the golf (maybe apartments?). I left HB about 5:30AM (it was really clear!), got to the Orangewood area about 6:30AM. Below that there are some encampments, but mostly on the opposite side of the river from the bikepath. I don't feel threatened (not yet), but its quite disheartening to see all that. I'll keep riding up to the golf course area until I feel its not safe.
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Old 05-31-17, 10:16 AM
  #31  
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Originally Posted by skidder
How far did you go south of the Honda Center/Angel Stadium area? All the way to the beach? I rode up from the beach to Orangewood on Sunday and it didn't get crowded with tents and stuff until I went under the freeway just after the golf (maybe apartments?). I left HB about 5:30AM (it was really clear!), got to the Orangewood area about 6:30AM. Below that there are some encampments, but mostly on the opposite side of the river from the bikepath. I don't feel threatened (not yet), but its quite disheartening to see all that. I'll keep riding up to the golf course area until I feel its not safe.


The worst stretch (if I recall accurately) seems to be from approximately 1 mile north of Honda Center, south to about Edna Park. Then they're scattered under the bridges and random areas.


This is smack in the middle of a decent-length ride (for me), and I'm just not willing to take the risk (or deal with the hassle) anymore.


I've had my own experiences, heard first-hand accounts from other cyclists, and read of other encounters. It's just not worth the risk. I have worked too hard, and have too much to lose.


Please be alert and cautious when riding these areas.
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Old 06-02-17, 05:20 AM
  #32  
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Next year at this time, there will be more.
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Old 06-03-17, 09:07 AM
  #33  
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I rode up there yesterday morning starting about 6AM from the beach. The scattered encampments from the 405 freeway up to the golf course just south of the 22/5/57 interchange area seemed to have grown since I last road all the way up to the Stadium area (about a month ago). They're on the opposite side of the River from the SART. But then you pass under the 22 freeway and HOLY CRAP!!! its a packed-in urban "tent city" up to Katella! I just rolled through that section slowly due to people popping out from between tents on to the trail, turned around and headed back down to the beach. I'll still ride the SART up to the bridge crossing over to the golf course (Riverview GC in Santa Ana?) for now, but I'm hesitant to ride any farther.
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Old 06-04-17, 05:34 PM
  #34  
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Originally Posted by skidder
I rode up there yesterday morning starting about 6AM from the beach. The scattered encampments from the 405 freeway up to the golf course just south of the 22/5/57 interchange area seemed to have grown since I last road all the way up to the Stadium area (about a month ago). They're on the opposite side of the River from the SART. But then you pass under the 22 freeway and HOLY CRAP!!! its a packed-in urban "tent city" up to Katella! I just rolled through that section slowly due to people popping out from between tents on to the trail, turned around and headed back down to the beach. I'll still ride the SART up to the bridge crossing over to the golf course (Riverview GC in Santa Ana?) for now, but I'm hesitant to ride any farther.
I usually head the other way, towards HB... and yes, it's insane. Like a Sudanese refugee camp sans the UN. I actually was talking to someone the other day and likened it to the trench run at the end of Star Wars, "Except instead of turbo lasers, it's transients."

The other issue here, and what I actually pointed out to the local City Councilman for that district in a sternly worded email this week... is that there's a health issue at play. Yes, there's all sorts of humanitarian concerns, and mental health/addiction factors. But in the end, that whole stretch of the path is strewn with rotting trash, dog and human feces, and who knows what else. It's almost impossible to breathe there. I cannot imagine there not being some sort of public heath concern that needs attention.
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Old 06-06-17, 10:10 AM
  #35  
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I don't usually ride further south than Ball Rd./Taft Ave., but did yesterday for the first time in probably six weeks and was amazed by how many more tents have sprung up in that time span.

I don't personally try to view the homeless as a blight, because everyone has to live somewhere and there but for the grace of God, etc...but with my one feeble attempt at being pleasant (saying hello to one of them walking beside the trail) being met with a resounding "F*ck you", and then the one guy beating on his poor Pit Bull for whatever it had done to displease him, has left me disinclined to visit that particular stretch again anytime soon. It's not so much that I have fear of the area, it's just that I'm not interested in those kinds of interactions when I'm out to simply enjoy a ride.
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Old 06-06-17, 04:52 PM
  #36  
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I thought I had seen it all but Sun. as the OW and I were heading back to the beach we heard loud arguing at an underpass and I averted my eyes but she told me later some POS was waving a gun in a womans face. I had seen a pair ***** slapping each other in the same place. That's true love.
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Old 06-06-17, 05:09 PM
  #37  
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Blew through westbound early Saturday morning, and it's a whole lot more tents than I ever remember seeing there. But at ~20mph, you can get through the densely populated section right quick.
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Old 06-06-17, 05:24 PM
  #38  
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As long as you don't collide with one of them.
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Old 06-06-17, 10:03 PM
  #39  
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I won't ride the SART any more. I live close enough to the San Gabriel River Trail so I use it instead. The ride through El Dorado Park is nice and the terminix is Alamitos Bay, which is much nicer than HB any way.
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Old 06-09-17, 06:02 PM
  #40  
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I read in the paper yesterday and heard on the news last night that the county is proposing to spend $750K if I remember correctly, on a program to bring in showers and toilets for the homeless camps and hopefully some relocation program(s) as well. I'm not holding my breath.
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Old 06-10-17, 07:45 AM
  #41  
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Originally Posted by Jon T
I read in the paper yesterday and heard on the news last night that the county is proposing to spend $750K if I remember correctly, on a program to bring in showers and toilets for the homeless camps and hopefully some relocation program(s) as well. I'm not holding my breath.
Jon
You're "in the ballpark" (yeah, poor pun since its near Angel Stadium). Here's the actual plan and $$$:

Noting Public Pressure, OC Supervisors Approve Homeless Services and Housing | Voice of OC
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Old 06-22-17, 12:14 PM
  #42  
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I was talking to an Orange County deputy the other day about the encampment by the Anaheim Stadium. She agreed it was a real problem. According to her, it's not just peopled by those made homeless by job loss, etc, but that a lot of them are people who have spent time in the OC jail and been released. Further, their attitude towards "normal" people (not the term she used) was that if a "normal" person gets robbed or injured in/by the encampment, it's their own fault for being there and presenting the residents with the opportunity.

And of course the sanitation situation, both human bodily waste and regular garbage, is horrendous.

Ride there at your own risk.
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Old 06-22-17, 12:36 PM
  #43  
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I drive to work on Talbert Avenue in Fountain Valley where the Costco is located. Just east of the Costco is the SART. The dirt road side of the SART was filled with tents. It was a long stretch of tents, not just bunched up at Talbert.

Now, somehow its all cleared out. I mean just this week.
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Old 06-22-17, 05:08 PM
  #44  
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I wish they'd clear out the side that cyclists actually use, although I don't recall much of a homeless presence that far south. Most of the "camps" seem to be between Orangewood and Taft, and growing.
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Old 06-23-17, 09:24 AM
  #45  
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Originally Posted by grampa.sjb
I was talking to an Orange County deputy the other day about the encampment by the Anaheim Stadium. She agreed it was a real problem. According to her, it's not just peopled by those made homeless by job loss, etc, but that a lot of them are people who have spent time in the OC jail and been released. Further, their attitude towards "normal" people (not the term she used) was that if a "normal" person gets robbed or injured in/by the encampment, it's their own fault for being there and presenting the residents with the opportunity.

And of course the sanitation situation, both human bodily waste and regular garbage, is horrendous.



Ride there at your own risk.
I stopped a cop to warn him about the guy with a gun that I reported on above at 5th ST. His comment was " the guns are everywhere on the trail as are knives and sticks and it's not safe to ride". We are still riding it 3 to 4 times a week.
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Old 06-23-17, 10:47 AM
  #46  
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Originally Posted by popeye
I stopped a cop to warn him about the guy with a gun that I reported on above at 5th ST. His comment was " the guns are everywhere on the trail as are knives and sticks and it's not safe to ride". We are still riding it 3 to 4 times a week.
Well, that's super useful. WTF are we supposed to do with that information exactly? Stay at home and hide? (this is directed at the cop, not you, in case that's not clear)
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Old 06-23-17, 12:47 PM
  #47  
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I've given up on the SART. The SGRT, PCH, Santiago Canyon area, Carbon Canyon, Turnbull Cyn, and Angeles Nat'l Forest rides just offer so much more.

Why wait to become a crime victim or be arrested for defending yourself? Who needs it?
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Old 06-25-17, 09:08 AM
  #48  
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This is pretty frustrating... I love to ride bike to Huntington Beach. Now I'm stuck with San Diego Creek Trail that is more difficult to reach beach (Newport Beach). It seems that county is not going to do any thing about the issue. They created bike trail on SART for people who wanted to exercise - not for people who can live on trail or making it unsafe for us.
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Old 06-28-17, 09:47 AM
  #49  
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I'm out, death threats are the last straw. I was doing 150-200 miles/week there and everyone knows me. I'm tired of getting bumped on PCH so it's Irvine for me now.
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Old 06-30-17, 09:57 PM
  #50  
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Mount your video cameras, document it, post it and then go to your local state and federal representatives and ask them what they are going to do about it. I'm guessing the answer is going to be something like "well, we are going to raise your taxes and give your money to the homeless"
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