With the upcoming Memorial Day weekend signaling the start of the busy summer season, Malibu can expect large numbers of visitors, and the city is working with partner agencies to help keep Pacific Coast Highway, (PCH), canyon roads, beaches and trails safe and clean for all to enjoy.
“We urge all visitors who come to enjoy Malibu’s natural beauty to help keep our roads and beaches safe and clean and honor our efforts to protect our community’s safety, peace and quality of life,” Mayor Bruce Silverstein said.
The city encourages residents and visitors to help keep PCH, canyon roads, beaches and trails safe and clean with these messages on social media, with the hashtag #SafeSummerMalibu:
- Don’t drink and drive — designate sober drivers and use rideshares or taxis.
- Keep your eyes on the road — don’t text and drive.
- Slow down and watch for pedestrians and cyclists on PCH and cars pulling in and out of beach parking.
- Pack it in, pack it out — dispose of your trash in trash containers, and if you see litter, please pick it up and throw it away in a trash container.
- Alcohol, dogs, and fires are prohibited on beaches in Malibu.
The city coordinates annually with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department (LASD), Los Angeles County Department of Beaches and Harbors, California State Parks, Mountains and Recreation & Conservation Authority (MRCA), and the California Highway Patrol (CHP) to prepare for summer crowds.
The city funds the LASD Beach Team annually from Memorial Day to Labor Day. The beach patrols are an important way to address alcohol consumption on the beaches, which is illegal and contributes to drunk driving on PCH and canyon roads. Extra traffic officers are also in place to address safety issues on the road.
The MRCA double patrols in its parks from Memorial Day to Labor Day. State Parks will have seven-day coverage and will put extra effort into addressing litter. Beaches and Harbors will increase staffing to assist with parking, maintenance, and trash on the beaches and beach parking lots.
Every summer, the city also requests additional patrols by LASD and the Sheriff’s Volunteers on Patrol (VOPs). The VOPs are crucial for parking enforcement to ensure beach access and keep the roadways safe, they monitor and report crime and emergencies, and they help direct traffic and ensure safety at accident sites.
Although the city does not control access to the state and county beaches in Malibu, the city wants to reassure the Malibu community that it is working with its partner agencies on messaging to visitors to Malibu about the importance of keeping PCH, canyon roads and beaches safe and clean for all.
Residents can request assistance from CHP with street racing by calling (323) 259-3200. Report suspected intoxicated drivers by calling 911. Residents may sign up for the city’s emergency and traffic alerts (go to malibucity.org and scroll down to “Alert Center”).
In an effort to streamline its emergency communications processes, and in light of the abundance of traffic news and information readily available to the public, the city will now be providing traffic alerts only during business hours for full road closures (not lane closures), in case of emergencies, or in case of planned or extended closures (such as road or utility projects).
The city will also discontinue the Nixle alerting service, which is redundant since Nixle was bought by Everbridge, the system that Malibu uses for disaster notifications. All Nixle subscribers have been merged into the Everbridge system, and will still receive alerts from the city. Eliminating the Nixle system will reduce the time and number of steps it takes to put out emergency messaging.
The city will continue to use the website alert system for lower-level emergencies, traffic incidents, utility advisories, and beach advisories by text and email to subscribers when necessary. To sign up for website alerts, or add or remove alert subscriptions, visit the webpage malibucity.org and scroll to “Alert Center.”
For more information about the city’s alerting systems, and to sign up, visit the webpage malibucity.org/emergency-notifcations.