Dear Editor,
I would greatly appreciate it if you could publish this message. I am urging the city to support efforts to educate the public about safety. With the summer season fast approaching, we need to do more to prevent further fatalities. Failure to act could increase the death toll.
Urgent Call to Action: Making Pacific Coast Highway Safe for All
The heartbreak continues to unfold along the Pacific Coast Highway (PCH) where yet another life has been tragically lost. In the past 14 years, from April 2010 to March 2024, we have mourned the deaths of 60 souls – fathers, mothers, children, friends – each leaving behind families shattered by grief and a community grappling with a preventable tragedy.
Last month, we honored the memory of José Piedra, a 23-year-old whose life was cut short in a senseless accident. And now, we’re forced to add one more marker to this sorrowful tally.
While solutions are debated and bureaucratic wheels turn slowly, our loved ones are at risk every time they set foot on this beautiful but deadly stretch of road. This isn’t a problem to be shelved for another day or another term. As a grieving father and a filmmaker, I may not have all the answers, but I refuse to stay silent while preventable deaths continue to occur.
PCH isn’t just a highway; it’s a community artery that should be safe for everyone. We’re in an election year—it’s time for our elected officials to step up, listen, and act. We know the dangers: racing, speeding, reckless driving. The solution is multilayered and requires long-term commitment, similar to how society has addressed other public safety issues like drinking and driving or smoking.
But we cannot afford to wait for the perfect solution to emerge. We need immediate action to curtail the dangers and a sustained effort to educate and legislate for safety. This is a call to our community, to our representatives, and to every individual who values human life.
Join us in our campaign for change. Sign the petition, raise awareness, and engage with your local officials to demand a safer PCH. In the meantime, hold your loved ones close. Life is precious, and every moment counts.
You never want to walk in my shoes and now so many more do.
Petition: https://chng.it/H655sbMxHs
All the best,
Michel Shane