Chaos on Pacific Coast Highway leads to crash deaths, Malibu seeks solutions

MALIBU — After four traffic fatalities in five months, and more than a dozen crashes serious enough to close Malibu’s only main road, the Malibu city council tonight will consider a $20 million package of proposed road improvements.

Three years in the making, the study proposes more than 150 small or large projects, from one end of the 22 mile-long, mountainous beachfront city to the other. It recommends that the improvements be funded by the countywide Measure R sales tax, or federal or state grants.

The study follows three PCH fatalities in June, and the publicized February death of a woman whose car was rear-ended by a driver then known as Bruce Jenner. Dozens of smaller crashes close PCH every month, and this month two fire trucks and a sheriff’s squad cars were in simultaneous, unrelated crashes on a busy Saturday afternoon.

The study pinpointed as a problem the “first come, first served” policy for the busy road’s shoulders, where bicyclists, pedestrians, parked cars and MTA buses all compete for the same space. Inconsistent “no parking” signs and red curbs, some installed by beachfront residents, add to chaos on the roadside, the study said.

The study criticized the use of pay parking at beaches and valet parking at businesses, with free parking on the street, which leads to an unusual amount of on-street parallel parking maneuvering in 45-, 50- or 55-mph sections of PCH.

The current configuration of the highway dates from 1947, and historic records indicate PCH was laid out as a rural intercity highway with a design speed of up to 65 miles per hour in western Malibu, and 55 mph in eastern Malibu. The study noted that excessive speed is a major factor in crashes, and that speeding may be exacerbated by the current road design.