COSTA MESA The city will spend about $156,000 to look at the impacts of building and operating a multi-purpose bike trail through Talbert Regional Park.

The 1.3-mile pathway proposed along West 19th Street involves constructing bike lanes from Placentia Avenue to the Greenville-Banning Channel Trail near the Santa Ana River and adjacent to Banning Ranch.

Half of the trail would be in the county-owned park where Southern California Edison trucks already use the trail site to reach nearby utility poles.

The City Council voted 5-0 Tuesday to spend $155,977 in grant funds to assess the impacts of the bike trail and to secure permits from the California Coastal Commission.

Mayor Katrina Foley asked that the city talk with other agencies about the project and avoid using cement to pave the trail inside the park, an issue raised by several speakers concerned over potential impacts to the surrounding environment.

“There’s other materials possibly that would serve the same purpose and not be so impactful,” she said. “I think we have to find a balance.”

Councilman Jim Righeimer chastised speakers who spoke in opposition to the project, saying they were stifling construction of a “simple trail” that 90 percent of residents would be in favor of.

“Environmentalists who do this look like kooks,” he said. “It’s a trail. This is to pay for the studies to make sure this is OK. This is goofiness.”

Councilman Allan Mansoor said the trail would grant assess to the park and nearby beaches.

“It’s an opportunity to provide connectivity to other cities, to the beach with bikes,” he said. “How are they going to appreciate Talbert Park if they don’t have access to it?”

Caltrans requested the additional work after reviewing a preliminary environmental study conducted by the Encinitas-based Dudek Environmental Consultants.

The agency identified additional studies needed to meet federal requirements, according to a city staff report.

The work is expected to be completed in November.

Contact the writer: 714-796-2478 or lcasiano@scng.com