I am a resident of the Point Dume community and I am writing to express my concerns about how the city is addressing an issue that will affect this community. In 2003, the city wrote for and received Safe Routes to Schools plan grant money from the Dept. of Transportation to develop pathways on several streets in the Point Dume community. There is no written study to suggest that a walk way was needed for children to walk safely to school. Some residents were concerned about the speed of traffic on the Point and were trying to request speed bumps. When the speed bump initiative did not receive the support needed, the city applied for a grant for the pathways hoping that this would solve the problem. The community was not involved in the process and many people were unaware that a grant was being requested.
Now the city is beginning to implement these pathways. The city has held only one public meeting regarding these pathways, and although many issues were bought up, none were resolved. The second one will be held when the design is up for approval at the joint Public Works and Safety Commission meeting. The city’s own contract with the consultants hired to design the pathways states that there must be a minimum of four public meetings prior to finalization of the design project. Interesting to note that the city civil engineer was sent out to the homes affected but he was there only to map out the project and was unable to answer important questions. I am opposed to these Safe Routes to School project as currently proposed. There has been a lack of consideration by our Malibu officials to include the Point Dume community in any decision making for this project. They have neglected to schedule additional public hearings thereby depriving our community of the opportunity to share opinions on a project that will directly affect their safety and home values. I hope that my neighbors speak out about their desire to be heard because I believe that a project as important as this deserves a great deal more community input before it can move forward.
Susan Flanigan