Safety on the Pacific Coast Highway

Safety on the Pacific Coast Highway

By: Gracee Arthur

Heathersliff__PCH Malibu is a community of approximately 13,000 people but the number often swells upwards to numbers like 400,000 and even more in the summer (as it did this past Memorial Day weekend). The main access through Malibu is the dangerous Pacific Coast Highway and the three canyon roads leading to it ; Topanga Canyon, Malibu Canyon and Kanan Road. There have been some horrendous accidents on the PCH through the years and this year there were 3 highway deaths in a period of 3 weeks between March and April ;culminating in the death of 13 year old Emily Shane over Easter weekend.

“We are mad as hell and we won’t take it anymore.” Thursday , May 27th, a grassroots group of Malibu residents had its first press conference at the Zuma Beach parking lot. The group named ASPCH (A Safe Pacific Coast Highway) was addressed by Maria Flora Smoller, one of the group’s founders. Among the speakers was Michael Shane whose daughter Emily was struck by a car on the highway. Teri Love, whose son Tyler and his best friend Keith Naylor were also struck and killed by a car (making a illegal u-turn) on the highway, also spoke at the event which was attended by 3 members of the City Council, more than a dozen uniformed officers and members of the Malibu Public Safety Commission.

The Community, enraged by the needless loss of life and frustrated by Caltrans slow response to making safety improvements, is calling on the City Council to return the CHP enforcement officers to the dangerous highway. Traffic Sergeant Phil Brooks of the Malibu/Lost Hills Sheriff’s Station discussed the increased patrols, DUI checkpoints, additional decoy cars and patrols which that are in place for the summer. The additional services are being funded by grant money received after the recent fatalities on the highway

More information on this meeting and those that preceded it may be found at www.malibutimes.com