City Council urged to expedite the matter.
By Kim Devore / Staff Writer
When Public Safety Commissioner Carol Randall’s son-in-law Mark Osborne was killed by a speeding motorist in front of her family home on Pacific Coast Highway, she went before the Malibu City Council and demanded that something be done about motorists traveling at excessive speeds on what basically amounts to a residential street but is treated like a freeway. Her campaign led to the approval of six traffic reduction or Vehicle Calming signs, but four and a half years later, the signs are nowhere to be seen.
“I’ve been pounding on it,” Randall said. “But it’s moving at a snail’s pace.”
With the help of Congressman Brad Sherman, the federal government earmarked $150,000 for the signs. The funds are in place, but processing them is another matter.
“I don’t know how to put it in simple terms,” Deputy City Engineer Claudio Sanchez said. “You have to go through a process to program the funding, then a second step through Caltrans to obligate the money or to put that in the bank, if you will.”
That doesn’t mean the city can’t expedite the process by fronting the money from elsewhere in the budget, and safety officials will request just that at their upcoming meeting before the council on March 26.
Mayor Ken Kearsley said such requests are not uncommon.
“We’ve done it before,” the mayor said. “It’s certainly doable.”
The first sign was installed as a test last summer, but almost immediately removed by Caltrans because all signs posted on the highway must conform to the state organization’s specifications.
“It’s their highway,” Randall said. “They tell us that all the time.”
The sign specifications and approval took years, but Caltrans is now just one step away from signing off on the project.
The traffic reduction signs show motorists their speed and urge them to slow down.
“There is evidence to suggest that they really do work,” Public Works Superintendent Richard Calvin said.
Or, as Randall put it, “If they stop just one person from getting hit, they’re worth it.”
On the larger issue, Randall would also like to see increased enforcement in conjunction with the signs.
“We are blessed in this community to have so many zeros on our sheriff’s reports for things like burglary and assault, the heavy duty stuff,” Randall said. “Now, if we could just get some zeros on the highway.”
If safety officials convince the city to act, the signs could be up as soon as April or May.
For Randall, the signs would be a small but meaningful personal victory. The safety commissioner, who was named the 2007 Woman of the Year by state Sen. Sheila Kuehl, said she’d be thrilled to see the signs go up while its still 2007 and while she’s still Woman of the Year.
“It would be great to have that as an accomplishment and know that we’ve made the highway safer for everyone,” Randall said, adding, “Every time I have to take my granddaughter out by the highway I just cringe.”
The city’s staff report on the issue is expected on Friday. If it gets the city seal of approval, Randall and other safety advocates will see their speed reduction efforts pay off at last.
“I can’t really let this go,” the commissioner said. “I made a promise to Mark.”
Traffic safety sign locations
Once given final approval by Caltrans, six speed reducing or Vehicle Calming signs would be installed in the following locations:
Southbound, south side of PCH (a.k.a. eastbound):
_ Location No. 1: Adjacent to 30300 PCH
__Location No. 2: Adjacent to 27140 Malibu Cove Colony Dr.
__Location No. 3: Adjacent to 20748 PCH
Northbound, north side of PCH (a.ka. westbound):
__Location No. 4: Adjacent to a property that is in between 29243 and 29339 PCH.
__Location No. : 10 feet east from mile post No. 49.5 on PCH
__Location No. 6: Across from 19106 PCH