On behalf of the Board of Directors and members of the Malibu Association of Realtors, I would like to express our concerns about the construction by Caltrans on Pacific Coast Highway at Las Flores Canyon Road.
Our hope is that Speaker Pro Tem Kuehl and you would relay the thoughts of your constituents: business people, representatives of the real estate profession, the largest industry in Malibu, and the residents in general to the California Department of Transportation.
With great distress we have recently learned that Caltrans has made three new decisions concerning the aforementioned construction site:
They have canceled the original promised concept of opening a third lane;
They have shortened their work hours form 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.;
They have cut the work week from seven days to five.
As a widespread community organization, we find these decisions to be unreasonable. We would like to encourage you to insist that Caltrans continue with the original seven-day work week necessary for the economy of the City. It’s already been reported that the sales receipts are down in Malibu. We, as Realtors, are painfully aware of the inconvenience the two-lane highway has caused commuters, businesses, prospective buyers and sellers in need of marketing their properties.
We believe that the City, its residents and its economical status will be extremely affected if we are strapped with only two lanes of highway through the end of this year. Furthermore, if the rains do slow down the project this winter, the two lanes will be in place a great deal longer. It seems prudent to spend the time now to organize the third lane in order to keep the City and its residents thriving throughout this ordeal.
We wholeheartedly solicit your assistance in making our positions, and what we believe to be the position of the majority of the residents and businesses clear to the California Department of Transportation.
The above letter was sent to Laurie Newman, Transportation Contact Person for State Assembly member Sheila Kuehl. We encourage others in the community to voice their concerns about the Caltrans decisions on the PCH construction site. As our state legislator, Speaker Pro Tem Kuehl overseers the Department of Transportation. We need our voices heard at Caltrans. Please contact Kuehl at her district office, 818-501-8991.
Beverly Taki
President, Malibu Association of Realtors, Inc.