I’ve worked in Malibu for more than 10 years and I’ve noticed that although there are multiple signs specifying that from 6-9 a.m. there is no left turn onto Civic Center Way from southbound Malibu Canyon Road, these signs are so ineffective that almost on a daily basis there is at least one sheriff officer waiting just out of sight so people turning left can be ticketed.
Clearly the signs are ineffective at keeping people from turning left between 6-9 a.m., but they are very effective at trapping otherwise law-abiding citizens into getting very expensive moving violation tickets. Now if the City of Malibu sincerely wants to prevent people from turning left at the intersection for safety reasons, they could easily implement very simple improvements to the intersection like a red left turn arrow, red warning lights on one of the “no left turn” signs that would be timed to go on between 6-9 a.m., lane markers that light up along the entrance to the left turn lane, that would be effective at preventing people from accidentally making the illegal left turn whether or not a sheriff officer is present.
After years of ignoring this issue, I hope Malibu will consider simple safety improvements to the intersection of Malibu Canyon Road and Civic Center Way to prevent visitors to Malibu from mistakenly breaking the law and at the same time improving safety for the children who attend school along Civic Center Way.
Kevin Holabird