By Michel Shane
Columnist
The Pacific Coast Highway winds through Malibu, a stunning ribbon of asphalt with the ocean on one side and cliffs on the other. But PCH, as locals call it, is a road of sorrow as much as beauty. It’s taken too many young lives, leaving behind only haunting memories and the eternal question: why?
I know that pain. Fourteen years ago, I lost someone I loved to PCH’s dangers. Since then, I’ve dedicated myself to making the highway safer. But progress has been agonizingly slow, and the past year has brought home just how frustratingly fragmented our efforts remain. There is movement for the first time in a long time.
Last October, four Pepperdine University students died in a single crash. Niamh, Peyton, Asha, and Deslyn’s lives were cut short, sending shockwaves through our community. Yet even such a tragedy hasn’t fully galvanized us into action. Their faces should be etched in our minds, their names on our lips, as we demand real change.
We have no shortage of good intentions. From the state’s “Go Safely PCH” campaign, dreamed up in Sacramento with little input from Malibu residents, to the city’s “Cruise Malibu” initiative that launched with fanfare but fell silent, everyone wants a safer highway. But we’re working in silos, duplicating efforts, and spreading ourselves too thin.
The state thinks a catchy slogan will fix things without grasping our community’s unique challenges. The city launches initiatives that sputter and stall. Well-meaning locals start grassroots campaigns, but they’re like tiny sparks in a rainstorm, flickering out before igniting real change. It scatters seeds instead of cultivating a robust and focused garden.
We’re drowning in good intentions but starving for real coordination and action. We’re wasting time, money, and lives because we can’t get our act together. It’s not about malice. It’s about incompetence. It’s about a system that prioritizes box-checking over results.
But I still believe we can be better. If we can get out of our way and work together towards a common goal, we can make PCH the safe, thriving artery it should be. That demands hard decisions. It requires someone to take the reins, knock heads together, build a real plan, and see it through.
Because right now, we’re not failing for lack of trying. We’re failing because we’re trying alone.
Imagine if all that energy were channeled into a single, sustained effort. We need one coordinating body, preferably the city, to unite all the campaigns and initiatives. We need a clear, unified message and a long-term action plan. Anything less is just a Band-Aid on a bullet wound. We need data-driven solutions, not just slogans. We need engineering fixes, enforcement, and education, all working together.
I’ve worked with government agencies and educational institutions over the past year. They’re vital partners, bringing expertise and resources we desperately need. But their bureaucratic pace of change can infuriate those who’ve lost loved ones and understand how precious time is. We can’t let red tape strangle real reform.
Malibu has a unique opportunity to be a model for road safety. With future development plans and abundant resources, we could create a blueprint for keeping PCH safe. But that demands more than well-meaning campaigns; it requires a coordinated, locally led effort. It demands we learn from other cities that have successfully tamed dangerous roads.
I’m issuing a challenge: let’s come together, Malibu. Get involved if you care about safety and are fed up with the lack of progress. Reach out to the city, to grassroots groups, to your neighbors. It’s an election year. Use it to our advantage. Let’s pool our ideas and passion into something that will genuinely make a difference, not as individual silos but as a group. Attend City Council meetings. Join a safety coalition. Donate time or money if you can. Organize your own community event to keep the pressure on. Use social media not just to complain but to build a movement. The power is in our hands.
Because the truth is, we’re out of time. More tragedies are inevitable unless we act. Another death is unacceptable. We owe it to Emily, Niamh, Peyton, Asha, Deslyn, and all the others to get this right. We owe it to ourselves, our children, and everyone who uses that highway.
The Pacific Coast Highway can be a road of life, not just death. But that demands more than good intentions; it demands action, and it demands it now. Let’s make PCH a highway where our children and friends can travel safely. Let’s prove that we can create change even amidst grief and frustration.
This isn’t just about Malibu, though we have to lead the way. This is about every community torn apart by preventable tragedies. Let’s show them that we can make our roads safer with unity, determination, and a refusal to accept the status quo. Let’s make this the moment we look back on and say, “That’s when things started to change.”
Let’s honor those we’ve lost by saving the lives of those still with us. The time for action is now. The time for excuses is over. PCH, Malibu, and every community deserve better. Together, we can make that a reality. Together, we must make that a reality. The power is in our hands. Let’s seize it.
Write me at 21milesinmalibu@gmail.com