The next real change to biking on the Eastside is a group of families. It isn't a new stretch of pavement. A recurring Eastside bike bus makes its first ride on Thursday, October 15, heading to Woodland and Kaiser elementary schools. That news came from the Costa Mesa Alliance for Better Streets' September 18, 2026 newsletter. The protected lanes and separated bikeways planned for the streets around the Eastside are on a much slower clock. The nearest one has a listed completion date of mid-2028. The citywide planning effort that could shape future Eastside routes won't formally start until winter or spring 2027.
For now, Eastside riding runs on organized group rides, and the paint and curbs will follow later.
What Starts on October 15
A bike bus is a group of kids and families who ride to school together along a set route, picking up more riders as they go. CMABS describes it as a way to make the trip to school "safer, more visible, and a lot more fun."
As of late September, the newsletter calls the Eastside bike bus a regular ride. It doesn't list pickup points, a departure time, a weekly schedule or organizers. Route information and updates are posted on the group's Instagram account, @eastsidebikebus. Families on the Woodland or Kaiser route who want to join should check there before the 15th.
The Model Already Running Across Town
CMABS called the Eastside ride "another" bike bus because Costa Mesa already has one, and it has a full school year behind it.
Parents at College Park Elementary started the College Park Bike Bus, and its first ride was on a Tuesday morning in late October 2025. CMABS reported at the time that it would "roll through the neighborhood every Tuesday morning throughout the school year." The College Park Elementary PTA calendar lists the first ride as Tuesday, October 28, 2025. Riders gather at 7:10 a.m. at Carnegie and Bucknell. The same calendar has Tuesday rides into October 2026, including October 6 and October 13. A city annual-report filing credits parents and youth with creating it in fall 2025.
By spring, the city was taking part. During Bike to School Day in May 2026, Costa Mesa police officers escorted the College Park bike bus, and City Hall's newsletter said the school would keep the weekly ride going. The city's Walk and Roll events on May 6 and 13 drew about 900 students and adults across 11 elementary schools. That figure counts everyone at those events and doesn't measure any single bike bus. It does show that a family bike-to-school effort in Costa Mesa already reaches beyond one campus.
College Park went from a parent-organized first ride to a police escort in about seven months. Nothing on any street had to change for that to happen. The Eastside ride starts with the same advantage.
Where the Pavement Actually Stands
The physical upgrades in Costa Mesa this year are real, but they're on the other side of the city. On the Eastside, the work is still in planning.
| Project | Where | Status as of late September 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Fairview Road pedestrian, bike and transit-stop improvements | Newport Boulevard to Fair Drive | Built in spring 2026, with cycle tracks, a pedestrian hybrid beacon and the city's first bicycle signal |
| Adams Avenue Bicycle Facility Project | Harbor Boulevard to Fairview Road | Reported complete by CMABS on September 18, 2026 |
| Costa Mesa Island Active Transportation Improvements | Mesa Drive, Santa Ana Avenue, University Drive and Irvine Avenue, in the unincorporated county island | County project list shows estimated completion of June 30, 2028 |
| Citywide Active Transportation Plan update | Citywide, including east–west bikeway opportunities | RFP in fall 2026, consultant selection in winter 2027, kickoff in winter/spring 2027 |
The Adams Avenue project adds protected cycle tracks, green paint, yellow zebra crossings, rebuilt medians, landscaping and lighting along the north side of Orange Coast College. If you check the city's Transportation Projects page, it still describes Adams in the future tense, with completion expected by summer 2026. CMABS reported it finished in September.
The project that sits closest to the Eastside is a county project, not a city one. The Costa Mesa Island work along Mesa Drive, Santa Ana Avenue, University Drive and Irvine Avenue lists Class II buffered bike lanes, a Class III bike route, Class IV separated bikeways, sidewalks, curb ramps and traffic calming. Its start date is October 27, 2023, and its estimated completion is June 30, 2028. OC Public Works runs it as one of its own unincorporated focus areas. It isn't part of the City of Costa Mesa's Eastside work.
The city's own next step is the Active Transportation Plan update. A September 2, 2026 presentation lists citywide totals of 13.5 miles of Class I paths, 44 miles of Class II lanes, 18 miles of Class III routes and 9 miles of Class IV separated bikeways. It doesn't break those miles out by neighborhood. The update has tentative state grant funding of $297,500 plus a local match, awarded in May 2026. Its schedule puts the project kickoff in winter or spring 2027. Any new Eastside bikeway would come out of a plan that hasn't hired its consultant yet.
The Ride That Doesn't Involve a School
The bike bus serves the morning school run. Lillördag, Costa Mesa's weekly social ride, serves Wednesday evenings. CMABS's October 2025 newsletter gives a 6:15 p.m. meetup by the 18th Street restrooms at Lions Park, with the ride starting at 6:30 p.m. It describes a casual, party-pace loop of 10 to 15 miles, plus monthly Saturday morning rides, and tells riders to bring lights.
That schedule is about a year old. Check @lillordagbikeride for the current meeting time before you head over. As evenings get darker through October and November, the reminder about lights matters more each week.
Getting From the Eastside to the Back Bay
Most Eastside rides that go any distance end up at Upper Newport Bay. The main landmark is the Peter and Mary Muth Interpretive Center at 2301 University Drive in Newport Beach. Newport Bay Conservancy places its parking lot at University Drive and Irvine Avenue. That intersection is also part of the county's Costa Mesa Island project, so this approach is one of the stretches set to change by 2028.
Once you're there, Newport Beach's trail listings describe two different routes:
- Back Bay Trail. 2.89 miles one way on a paved road used mostly by pedestrians and cyclists. Occasional cars use it, and the speed limit is 15 mph.
- Upper Bay Trail. 2.34 miles one way on a paved shared path.
Riding down Mesa Drive from the Back Bay came up in a CMABS brainstorm on a low-stress bike network. It was offered as an idea for a future route. It isn't a designated or vetted bikeway. Weather closures are also worth knowing about as the rainy season approaches. Newport Beach posts park and trail closures on its Mudline at 949-718-1860. As of September 29, OC Parks' alerts page showed no closure notice for the preserve. That doesn't guarantee every segment is open on the day you go.
What Changes Between Now and 2028
The calendar for Eastside riders looks like this:
- Wednesdays, ongoing. Lillördag from Lions Park, if the 2025 schedule still holds.
- Thursday, October 15, 2026. First Eastside bike bus ride to Woodland and Kaiser.
- Fall 2026. The city releases its RFP for the Active Transportation Plan update.
- Winter/spring 2027. The plan update kicks off.
- June 30, 2028. Estimated completion of the county's Costa Mesa Island bikeways on Mesa Drive, Santa Ana Avenue, University Drive and Irvine Avenue.
Through the 2026–27 school year, and probably the one after it, Eastside riding will depend on a few volunteer-run rides and the streets as they are today. At College Park, the weekly bike bus came first, and the city started taking part about seven months later.
If you're thinking about how an Eastside street feels on a school-day morning, or how far a home sits from the University Drive trailhead, those are practical questions we're happy to work through with you. At Cadence Real Estate, we follow the projects that shape daily routines here, and we can walk you through them block by block. Let's Get Started.
