On Monday evening, the Malibu City Council moved forward on items addressing safety on Pacific Coast Highway (PCH).

A New Underpass on Pacific Coast Highway

First, it approved a motion that authorizes the Mayor to execute a Funding Agreement for an underpass located beneath Malibu Seafood on PCH.

The budget for the project is estimated at $2,250,000 and would come from Measure M, approved by Los Angeles County voters in 2016. The measure is a sales tax set to generate $120 billion over 40 years to expand rail, rapid bus, and bike networks.

The underpass would be located east of the Malibu Seafood restaurant and consists of constructing a new pedestrian undercrossing that would connect Corral Beach to the Sara Wan trailhead located at 25653 Pacific Coast Highway.

Specific Steps to Deter Excessive Speeding on Pacific Coast Highway

The City declared a local emergency on November 13 in response to increasingly dangerous conditions on PCH that recently led to the tragic deaths of four pedestrian Pepperdine students struck by a speeding motorist.

In early December as part of the “Traffic Signal Synchronization Project,” crews installed communication lines between existing traffic signals along PCH between John Tyler Drive and Topanga Canyon Boulevard. Officials said this would allow signals to be controlled remotely by Caltrans to lower speeds and reduce congestion. Vehicles driving over the speed limit would encounter red lights, while those going the speed limit would encounter green lights.

Improvements included new closed circuit TV (CCTV) cameras at each intersection, replacing existing signal poles with new signal poles, street improvements and ADA upgrades, ATCS sensors, and changeable message signs. Mid-block sensors enable Caltrans to monitor traffic flow and speed, then remotely adjust signal timing in the moment.

The $34.6 million project was approved by the Malibu City Council in 2017 to deal with traffic flow and safety concerns, long before the crash in October that claimed the lives of the Pepperdine students.

At the January 21 city council meeting, city leaders discussed PR campaigns and traffic calming measures to slow drivers down and reduce reckless driving and approved the study of additional safety measures three months after the deadly October crash. The safety measures include raised medians, narrowed turning lanes, and traffic signal synchronization.

Then on January 22, the council approved a two-year contract, with a financial commitment of up to two million dollars, to fund a three-officer California Highway Patrol task force to patrol the most hazardous stretch of PCH.

Mayor Pro Tem Doug Stewart and Councilmember Paul Grisanti requested that the City Council consider advocating for proposed changes to the California State Vehicle Code to deter excessive speeding on PCH. They want staff to come back at a future date with a resolution advocating for changes or a letter to California state officials.

Specifically, they recommended that the City of Malibu petition Governor Gavin Newsom, State Senator Ben Allen, Assemblymember Jacqui Irwin, County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath, Sheriff Robert Luna, State Secretary of Transportation Toks Omishakin, and Director of Caltrans Tony Tavares to update the Code.

The proposed changes they are asking for include:

• Anybody who exceeds 100 miles per hour shall lose their license to drive for three months
• Anybody who exceeds 100 miles per hour more than once in a 12-month period shall lose their license to drive for six months
• Anybody who exceeds twice the posted speed limit shall lose their license to drive for one month
• Anybody who exceeds twice the posted speed limit more than once in a 12-month period shall lose their license to drive for two months.
• The loss of license in these instances shall be mandatory, not discretionary.

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