It’s been life in the slow lane for motorists along Pacific Coast Highway who’ve been hitting huge backups getting out of town.
Construction near the Bel-Air Bay Club has been causing massive delays of an hour or more, said Sgt. Ken Scheurn of the Lost Hills/ Malibu Sheriff’s Station. Commuters can expect the backup to continue weeklong.
Scheurn reports that construction has taken away one lane going southbound and is causing the majority of the problems. But several motorists have also reported malfunctioning traffic signals in the area, which may be contributing to the delays.
“I got stuck in it yesterday,” said Malibu Councilmember Andy Stern, “and so did [Mayor] Ken Kearsley.”
Last Saturday, a short light at Temescal Canyon caused delays in the northbound direction.
Alan House of the Bel-Air Bay Club said he has been inundated with phone calls, but said construction at the club has nothing to do with the malfunctioning lights. House says Caltrans has control over the traffic signal.
The area is in the jurisdiction of the Los Angeles Police Department and at the moment there are no plans to put a traffic control officer on the scene.
“It seems like that would make the most sense,” Stern said, “but nobody seems to want to do it.”
In the meantime, Stern and city officials are looking into the matter.
“We’ve contacted Caltrans and we’re on it, but I am not sure there’s all that much we can do.”