Malibu Objections Force Third Caltrans PCH Realignment At Beach
Written by 991KBU on August 31, 2018
Caltrans will restore legal parking … and shoulder walking areas … along Pacific Coast Highway at the construction zone in central Malibu.
This … after news reports about a dangerous parking situation on KBUU … plus the station’s reports of the closure of a popular beach.
Then … demands from the Malibu city manager …
The contract between the state Transportation Department … and a private contractor … is being rewritten one more time.
The road will be restriped … for the third time within two weeks … to restore parking on both sides of the highway between Latigo Beach and Puerco Canyon…
This restores parking in front of the Malibu Seafood restaurant …and along a popular free beach.
Caltrans officials acknowledged this week … that they had made major design mistakes …
They miscalculated that parking would be safe during daytime hours at the beach.
This is where the road shoulder has been eliminated … while construction of a new median is underway for five months.
The first plan was to ban parking at night only … but that left a dangerous situation … with cars wedged in to the side of the road and beachgoers walking in the traffic lanes.
So then .. plan two … no parking 24 seven …
Before those signs could be ordered … the city objected strenuously to banning parking at a major beach.
Late last night … Caltrans was making plans to once again move the temporary median barriers and stripes.
The state will restore legal parking on the inland side of the highway.
It will provide about 8.5 feet wide shoulder near Malibu Seafood … on th einland side of the highway … legal parking.
On the beach side, there will be dirt area (about 10-13 feet) enough for cars to park, but illegally.
The state says it will not encourage parking in these areas … but they know that’s what will happen.
In addition … openings will be created in the median barrier to let pedestrians cross.
The state is planning to start work late tonight and complete it by early tomorrow morning … just in time for Labor Day weekend beach crowds.
Caltrans has said it is rushing construction projects out in advance of the November vote on the increased transportation taxes.
And here … the state admits it designed errors into this project.
