On the morning of Oct. 29, well after rush-hour, I had to drive from Malibu Rd. to Santa Monica for a business appointment. I purposely allowed myself almost two hours.
I was late for my meeting.
PCH from a point just south of the Malibu Pier was jammed, moving a car-length at a time. Stop-and-go barely describes it — making it seem speedier than it was. The problem? Miles away, opposite the entrance to the Getty Villa, just past the intersection of PCH and Coastline, one of the lanes was blocked for what seemed to be no more than 100 feet, while work was being done on the right-hand shoulder. The reason traffic could not use the center lane was at that point, the center lane was used for a permanently installed line of those yellow vertical plastic road dividers.
Actually, and not incidentally, dividers or not, given past performance over the many years I’ve lived here, I doubt if Sheriff or Highway Patrol would have been there to help.
When I returned to Malibu several hours later (well before afternoon rush-hour), southbound traffic was still totally jammed all the way back beyond Big Rock.
I submit that such irresponsible practice is typical of the department and/or entities responsible for giving out the repair or construction contracts, totally without regard for the public, and causing the needless, wasteful burning of countless hundreds of gallons of fuel and the resultant toxic residue, not to mention the burning anger and frustration of thousands of drivers.
Whatever the purpose for which the work was being performed, part of the contract for that work should have included the cost of temporarily removing then replacing those yellow dividers, leaving that lane open as an alternate and they should have coordinated with Sheriffs or Highway Patrol, directing that detour.
This is but one instance of similar contempt for the public. It is long past time someone — the City of Malibu, Caltrans, the police or the sources of the contracts — made a coordinated, effective effort to head-off such appalling, wasteful, infuriating and unnecessary nonsense.
Tom Sawyer