Kanan-Dume Road has been the sight of many fatal accidents involving runaway trucks. City commissioner objects to spending so much on permitting software while economy is in the dumps.
By Knowles Adkisson / The Malibu Times
Urged on by traffic safety activists, the Malibu City Council voted Monday to allocate $40,000 to hire an engineering firm to explore safety improvements on Kanan-Dume Road after years of fatal accidents on the road. The council also allocated more than $250,000 to purchase software to put development permits online over objections that the city is overspending.
The $40,000 approved by the council, which will go to hiring the engineering firm Willdan Consultants primarily to prepare improvements to an arrestor bed, or runaway truck ramp, located on the road at the intersection of Pacific Coast Highway, was not included in the city’s 2011-12 budget and will be taken from the city’s reserve fund. City staff has estimated that implementing the engineering firm’s designs could cost $200,000, which the city council would have to approve at a later date. City staff has sought grant funding for the project from the state but so far has been unsuccessful.
Fatal traffic accidents have been commonplace for decades on the stretch of Kanan-Dume Road from Pacific Coast Highway to the 101 Freeway, which features several steep grades. Trucks that weigh more than 8,000 lbs., have more than two axles or are pulling a trailer are prohibited on the road, but large trucks are still frequently seen using the road.
An accident in October 2007 was one of the worst-a 16-wheeler truck lost control and slammed into a Mercedes-Benz on Pacific Coast Highway, which burst into flames, killing 58-year-old William H. Weissberg, a Malibu resident, and the truck driver, Hovik Oganes Papikyan. Dave Weiss suffered injuries when his SUV was hit and caught fire as well.
The issue arose again recently when a man driving a dump truck died May 30 after the truck lost control and overturned.
An arrestor bed, composed of granite and several yellow concrete filled barriers, installed by the county in 1991 has not prevented several subsequent accidents where truck drivers failed to use it. The proposed safety improvements include widening the ramp, installing visual cues such as reflectors, lighting, flashers or signage at the bed and restriping the road leading up to the arrestor bed to give drivers additional time to recognize its location. Other suggested improvements include reconfiguring lanes at the road’s intersection with Pacific Coast Highway, and providing consistent signage along the road.
City purchases permitting software for $237,350
The council also voted 4-0 to purchase new software to record and track development permits and applications from the software firm Computer Software, Inc. The council approved a one-time cost of $237,350 to buy the software, an annual software maintenance fee of $28,690 and a “onetime travel cost of $7,534,” according to the staff report. The annual maintenance fee is expected to be funded by applicants through permitting fees.
Craig George, the city’s Deputy Building Official, said buying the software will reduce paperwork by going online, and will expedite the permitting process by allowing applicants to check the status of their permits online.
But Planning Commissioner John Mazza, speaking as a private citizen, argued the software was an unnecessary expense for the city. Mazza noted the city just approved more than $750,000 in legal fees to fight a lawsuit from the environmental groups Santa Monica Baykeeper and National Resources Defense Council, and it also had to find a way to pay for a centralized wastewater treatment facility in the Civic Center area. Mazza also said the economic downturn had slowed permit applications, so that city staff would not be overworked.
“I suggest that this is one of the items that can be deferred so that you can take a look at your city budget as the sewer costs come through and the legal fees come through this year,” Mazza said.
But Mayor John Sibert said the money for the software had been budgeted for four years, but not purchased, and Councilmember Lou La Monte agreed.
“The funds have been set aside for this and the user fees will pay for it,” La Monte said. “I think it’s a win-win for both sides.”