Caltrans Tells City “No Way” On Requests For Temp Stop Signs In Blackouts
Written by 991KBU on November 11, 2019
Malibu is a limited city … we do not own the main street. We cannot afford the enormous cost of maintaining a state highway through a geologic mess.
Same story on law enforcement … city officials say we cannot afford to set up our own police department.
Malibu requires the Los Angeles county sheriff and Caltrans to act when something happens on Pacific Coast Highway.
If last month’s intentional power outage in bad winds is any indication … Caltrans and the sheriff are absolutely unwilling to help.
The Southern California Edison power outage blacked out four sets of traffic lights and all the streetlights in the Paradise Cove and Point Dume area.
In the pitch black … cars were zipping thru the blacked out intersections at 55 miles per hour.
If the drivers could see the signals … doubtful at night … they were presuming that cross traffic would yield.
Our … they were common fools … self-entitled idiots.
The city called for help .. from the sheriff’s office to direct traffic … from Caltrans to a least put out portable stop signs.
Both outside agencies said no.
Last weekend … Caltrans explained to KBUU News why it would flatly turn down the city’s requests to place temporary stop signs on P C H.
Caltrans spokesman Marc Bischoff told KBUU News that because state law requires drivers to stop at blacked out intersections …. compliance with the vehicle code is supposed to be enforced by law enforcement agencies.
Quote … “Caltrans is not required to place stop signs at every dark intersection.”
And he says Caltrans objects to any city placing its own stop signs on the state highway.
Again quote … “None of the 98 cities we traverse have made this request.”
The Caltrans spokesman says the state agency would object to the city placing its own portable stop signs on Pacific Coast Highway in power outages.
Some people in Malibu have criticized the city manager for failing to ask Caltrans to place portable stop signs on the highway … where hundred of cars were observed ignoring the state law and zooming through the blacked out intersections.m
The state agency simply says … it won’t do it … and the city cannot do it either.
Last week .. we reported that the local sheriff’s captain said Malibu cannot his deputies to direct traffic during power outages.
Cap. Mark Vander Horck said … and we quote … “ff we were to assign deputy sheriffs to direct traffic at the intersections that were affected by the blackouts, it would prevent them from conducting their regular assigned duties – patrol.”
