I was driving along PCH by Zuma Beach yesterday when one of those classic U-turns, usually reserved for summer, occurred right in front of me. You know, the one where the idiot in front of you thinks, “Oh, quick, there’s a great spot to park” and in a blink of an eye does a terrifying and usually death defying 180. It happened again today, a driver made a dangerous illegal turn, only this time it wasn’t death defying and resulted in one person dead. It happened last year, another fatality, not to mention the scores of people injured along this well traveled strength of highway, the gateway to one of the most popular beaches in the state, not to mention Malibu Park, Malibu West, Juan Cabrillo Elementary and Malibu High School.
Years ago concrete dividers prevented cars from making those sometimes fatal U-turns. Remember when Caltrans removed them? Something about drainage issues? I was involved with the rallying plea to get them back, but those cries fell on deaf ears (and my heart breaks as I think of the cries being shed today for that young girl who lost her life). A while back, Caltrans put those orange cones up just west of Heathercliff and that’s certainly been a deterrent to wayward drivers. The weather’s scorching and the hordes are coming back to the beach and they often get a little ‘confused’ navigating PCH. At the very least, Caltrans please install those orange safety traffic cones and reconsider bringing back those concrete dividers along that entire stretch of PCH from Busch Drive to Trancas. They would have saved a life today.
Lori Gray