Last week the MalibuGreenMachine ran an ad in The Malibu Times. It was an invitation from Keely and Pierce Brosnan to attend our 3rd Annual St Patrick’s Day Party, and it also showed a rendering of our highway enhancement project on PCH.
A reader contacted me, concerned that our project might make PCH less safe in an emergency. The traffic safety aspect of this project has always been important to us, and Caltrans requires that the median remains useable as an evacuation lane for emergency vehicles. There are some additional traffic safety aspects. There are no trees, only low-growing plants and pavers, which can be driven over in an emergency.
From traffic safety studies we know that medians are effective in improving traffic because a median better defines and separates opposing directions of traffic flow. A landscape median further emphasizes the visual separation of the roadway. Landscaped medians reduce the likelihood and severity of a head-on collision. They may deflect vehicles that inadvertently mount the median curb.
Medians also increase pedestrian safety: pedestrian-friendly, they provide a safe place for people as they make their way across the street.
Jo Giese, President
MalibuGreenMachine