Hot days and summer sunsets on the beach are getting closer, and residents know this means an influx of visitors is right around the corner.
While Malibu gets more crowded and motorists take to the scenic roads, the City of Malibu planned a day to promote safety on Pacific Coast Highway (PCH).
“It’s a perfect time in Malibu for thinking about safety on PCH,” Senator Fran Pavley said. “All the people love to go to the beach, the commuter traffic and the bicycle traffic that all seems to come together.”
Senators Fran Pavley and Ben Allen, Assemblymember Richard Bloom, Mayor Pro Tem Laura Rosenthal, Councilmember Lou LaMonte, Malibu/Lost Hills Sheriff Dept. representatives, California Office of Traffic Safety (OTS), California Highway Patrol officers and Los Angeles Police Department officers gathered in a crowded room at the Malibu Library to support the debut of the “PCH Safety Video,” followed by a Bike Rodeo for children seven through 14.
A biking course set up by nonprofit Safe Moves lined the library parking lot and included a child-sized obstacle course with stop signs, cut-outs of vehicles and road markers for children to learn bicycle and traffic safety.
Children from the Boys & Girls Club of Malibu played on the bike-powered smoothie machine between photos with characters dressed as stop signs and traffic lights.
“We brought the kids out here today to really support the community,” Boys & Girls Club of Malibu Program Director Siugen Constanza said.
For a city in need of solutions to the busy, main artery connecting Malibu to the canyons and surrounding cities, a safety plan for the highway is of the utmost importance.
A PCH safety plan was spearheaded years ago by the newly elected Third District Los Angeles County Supervisor Sheila Keuhl, who began the “PCH Task Force” as a State Assemblymember.
In January 2015, a $124,250 PCH Task Force Safety Corridor grant was secured by the City from OTS through the National Highway Traffic Safety Admission to help improve safety on the notoriously unpredictable highway.
“We have collaboratively, among many communities, spent a lot of time thinking about PCH and how to improve things,” Bloom said. “This is a real step forward; obtaining this grant was not an easy thing.”
Beginning improvements start along the highway and will include three movable and changeable signs that can be programmed to alert motorists of potential traffic and safety hazards, accidents, road closures and more.
“Safety improvements can include a bunch of things and in this case, education enforcement and engineering are all things we’re thinking about,” Bloom said. “The public service announcement component is part of education, and education on a highway like PCH … it’s a resource we have to nurture and safety on PCH is paramount. The PSA is really intended to make us safer drivers, pedestrians and cyclists.”
Funds from the grant will also include educational outreach programs from nonprofits California Walks and Safe Moves. Pedestrian and bicycle safety assessments will be conducted, with the ultimate goal of voicing the importance of safety awareness to all users of one of California’s most iconic drives.
As Mayor Pro Tem Laura Rosenthal expressed her close relationship with the task force and gratitude toward the multiagency support and interest in safety, she thanked Lt. Jim Royal with the Malibu/Lost Hills Sheriff’s station for his active involvement in community and outreach.
“He really took it upon himself and started a communication subcommittee of the PCH Task Force that’s really done amazing things in the last year,” Rosenthal said. “We’ve done a much better job of getting the word out about accidents along PCH, no matter if they’re in Santa Monica, the city or here.”
After the press conference, the debut of the “PCH Safety Video” was shown to a room of safety enthusiasts, including actors from the film.
The video depicts a group therapy session among characters depicting a “pedestrian,” a “commuter,” a “resident,” a “cyclist” and “PCH.” “PCH” explains her value and level of importance to the group, reminding the group to slow down and pay attention, or the results could be tragic. A group-hug ends the flick, with all characters agreeing to be safer. The video is now being played on the City’s website, along with local government TV channels and social media platforms.
“It’s crucial that we really find innovative ways to make it safer for everyone — cars, cyclists, pedestrians, residents, everybody that lives and thrives and enjoys PCH,” Rosenthal said. “Pedestrian safety, training and the PSA that we’re launching here today — we hope that these will remind people to be safe on PCH, slow down, pay attention and share the road.”
