Some residents say if encroachment permits are enforced, there would be no need for walkways in the Point Dume area. Others are concerned about the loss of parking that would occur with construction of paths.
By Vive DeCou / Special to The Malibu Times
Loss of parking and encroachment issues were brought up at a community meeting last week to discuss the upcoming Point Dume Safe Routes to School Walkway Project.
About 50 people, mostly Point Dume residents, attended the city Public Works Department meeting at the Point Dume Marine Science Elementary School Auditorium.
The Safe Routes to School project, or SR2S, was greenlighted after the city was awarded $380,160 in federal money through a program that seeks to improve safety for children traveling to school in the area, whether by bike or on foot. The total project costs will exceed that amount at $422,400, with taxpayers picking up the difference.
The Point Dume walkways are proposed for the following streets: the east side of Dume Drive from Heathercliff Road to Grayfox Street; the south side of Grayfox Street from Dume Drive to Fernhill; the west side of Fernhill Drive from Grayfox Street to Wildlife Road; and the west side of Wildlife Road from Fernhill Drive to Selfridge Drive.
Walter Okitsu, a traffic engineer hired by the city as a design consultant for the project, described the routes and said the paths would most likely be made of decomposed granite bordered by railroad ties and would be five feet wide. He pointed to the path on Malibu’s Morningview Drive as a good example of how it will look.
Okitsu said that funds only provided for a path to be installed on one side of each of the four streets, and careful consideration was given to which side. Issues considered included those of pedestrian safety, loss of parking, street width, bus stops and obstructions due to encroachment in the right of way.
Loss of parking was a hot-button issue for residents, who worried the pathways would cause problems on already crowded streets.
“To me parking is the biggest problem,” said resident John Mazza. “If you go on some of these streets you only have one lane [due to cars parked in the street].”
Claudio Sanchez, the deputy city engineer from the Public Works Department, tried to reassure residents that the issue was being worked on.
“Our goal is to have zero net loss of parking,” Sanchez said. “We don’t know if it is possible, but that is what we are shooting for.”
Another issue that concerned residents was encroachments in the right of way. On most of the streets in question, there is no clear delineation of where private property ends and city property begins.
Many residents have encroached substantially onto city land and their mailboxes and landscaping hinder construction of the pathway.
Resident Ryan Embree said encroachment is the biggest issue for walking the streets.
“The 8 o’clock walk is a thrill ride,” Embree said. “Encroachment causes us to walk on the street 50 percent of the time.”
Some residents argued that the pathways are unnecessary if landowners would remove encroachments.
“The city should enforce the encroachment permits,” Dixie Moore said. “We could have a walking neighborhood like we used to.”
Some residents were worried that the pathways wouldn’t make it safer for their children at all, and argued that other issues need to be addressed first.
“I am totally against this plan,” resident Martha Fling said. “This little Band-Aid approach is not going to make our kids safer.”
Sanchez expressed concern for the issues that residents faced and advised them to go to a City Council meeting to get their voices heard, a sentiment that was echoed by city Councilmember Pamela Conley Ulich.
“I’m going into this with an open mind,” she said. “I am interested in hearing your suggestions.”
While many residents were concerned about or opposed to the walkways, others responded favorably to the city’s plans.
“I need a separate walkway and my kids need a safe walkway to school,” Ritva Putterman said, a resident who walks with her children often in the area. “As it is, some areas are completely inadequate to the task.”
Resident Elizabeth Anthony expressed dismay at the amount of opposition to the pathways.
“We can come up with a million reasons why it’s not perfect,” she said. “It’s [constructing the pathways] a very valuable thing to do and it will be a great addition to the neighborhood. Everybody will be able to enjoy it.”
The planning phase for the project continues and engineers will be surveying the land to determine right of way lines in the near future. Another community meeting will take place to discuss any changes and new developments this winter. If things go according to schedule, construction will begin next summer and be completed by fall.