Dear Editor,
We all now know about the tragic death of four Pepperdine students who were pedestrians on the side of the road. For this stretch of road and this problem, there are two things the government can do to reduce accidents and fatalities there:
- The installation of speed cameras to inhibit speeding as people approach Dead Man’s Curve. California has just re-enacted a law that would allow for speed cameras. While I generally oppose speed cameras, if they are used truly to prevent excessive speeding at dangerous places, it’s the only thing I can think of to limit some of the bad speeding at dangerous places on PCH. They do work to control speeding, and there will never be enough law enforcement officers to patrol PCH at all houses of the day and night.
- The re-installation of a fence along Deadman’s Curve — a fence that had been there for 50-60 years until recently — to prevent pedestrians from crossing PCH there to get to the beach. I only learned about this recently. But, it is an issue that the La Costa residents have been pleading with the city, the Coastal Commission, and the MRCA for several years now. Apparently, the fence should be there, and had Coastal Commission approval. The fence needed repair, and a few years ago, well-meaning residents repaired it without getting permits, so the MRCA took it down right away — but has never put a fence back in. There is no reason for that fence not to have been re-installed at one of the most dangerous points on PCH.
I’m not asking or suggesting that TMT take a position on anything — just report.
Jane Albrecht, Malibu