As an 18-year Malibu West resident, a former firefighter and EMT and a member of the City’s CERT and Arson Watch, I am very concerned about the evacuation plan and the traffic study for LaSalle Investment Management’s proposed Trancas Country Mart.
During Malibu’s most recent wildfire, I worked traffic control at the intersection of Trancas Canyon Road and Pacific Coast Highway with the Sheriff’s Dept. and CHP. At the height of traffic, I estimate it took one vehicle 20 to 30 minutes to travel down Trancas Canyon Road from Principio Drive to PCH. Mutual aid equipment from Ventura County was significantly delayed by eastbound traffic backed up on PCH and the clogged intersection.
LaSalle Investment Management’s evacuation plans call for the 80 vehicles parked in the proposed “off-site” parking to evacuate via Trancas Canyon and hundreds more exiting the shopping center onto westbound PCH where they will create an instant logjam at the intersection with Trancas Canyon Road. Remember, approximately 534 residential vehicles plus 45 vehicles from Trancas Park will also be fleeing for their lives. Once vehicles on Trancas Canyon Road back up to Principio Drive-roughly 25 car lengths-the ONLY vehicular exit for 261 families, five residential treatment centers and the park will be blocked. In addition, incoming emergency equipment could be critically delayed: One need only look as far as the Corral Canyon fire-involving far fewer dwellings-for a lesson in the inherent dangers of singular exits.
The size and scope of the tourist-attracting shopping center will likely attract shoppers unfamiliar with Malibu wildfires and evacuation procedures, adding panic and the kind of reckless maneuvers common on PCH during the summer months. In my experience, the most problematic individuals during wildfires have been those unfamiliar with local emergency protocol.
The most obvious solution is to require an Environmental Impact Report to determine an appropriate size and scope for the project in keeping with the local ecology, resources and established neighborhood. I have no quarrel with the American Way or with LaSalle Investment’s improving the property it purchased. Just not at the expense of 266 of my neighbors.
Katherine Row Spangle