High School Traffic and Public Safety Issues Fuel Lively Debate

• District Proposals to Ease Morning View Gridlock Have Some Malibu Park Residents Fuming

BY SUZANNE GULDIMANN

School traffic and safety issues continued to be hotly debated at a second Measure BB Malibu High School improvement project meeting dedicated to the subject. Gary Carlin, the project’s traffic consultant, presented an updated list of potential solutions to the daily school-related gridlock on Morning View Drive to a full house. Residents, parents, and school district and city officials packed the high school library to listen and offer input.
Carlin, as promised at the last meeting, had student demographic data showing that approximately 70 percent of the school’s students come from east of the school, and that only a small percentage of the remaining 30 percent in western Malibu live within walking distance of the school.
The eight options presented at the previous meeting were presented again. The proposal of a ring road on school property that was requested by residents at that meeting was added to the list, but the consultant stressed that negatives like vehicular and pedestrian conflict and building in environmentally sensitive habitat areas could make that proposal less viable. The focus of the presentation was on what the consultant called as the four most viable options.
These options consist of allocating a proposed new, 110-space parking lot for student use; eliminating parking on one or both sides of Morning View Drive; building a roundabout at Via Cabrillo; and creating a right turn lane extending from Merritt Drive to the school, which would allow parents and students to enter both the driveway to the new parking lot and a proposed drop-off area in front of the school, where the faculty lot is currently situated.
“We’re looking to expand the proposed [new] parking as a result of input at the last meeting,” Carlin said.
Carlin also advocated pursuing a traffic light at Guernsey Avenue and Pacific Coast Highway, an idea that was soundly criticized at the previous meeting. The consultant agreed the project would be expensive and require Caltrans approval, as well as potentially require extensive work to realign steep and narrow Guernsey with the highway, but he still felt the idea was worth further study.
“Some of these may drop out,” Carlin said, “but we are going to move forward with engineering, cost and environmental impact studies.” He told the audience that all of the plans and schematics will be available at the district Web site for public downloading.
Many residents who had attended the previous meeting returned with questions.
“On the northbound right turn lane [plan], how do they get out?” asked Malibu Park resident Marshall Thompson. “It looks like they still need to make a left turn” [to return to PCH].
“We don’t have a silver bullet,” replied Carlin, stating that the right turn lane would work best in combination with a light at Guernsey or the proposed roundabout.
“I’m extremely dubious about dropping off and driving all the way down [to the turnaround or the traffic light],”said Hans Laetz, who raised concerns about the proposed light at the earlier meeting. “They’ll be strung along in front of the schools. They aren’t going to use the roundabout. They’ll go through the elementary school. Traffic is like water, it seeks the least resistance.
“Nobody is looking out for the residents,” Laetz continued. “I want to be there when you meet with Caltrans.”
Laetz’s request was echoed by many, including Bow Bowman, the city’s special projects manager.
“The city is very interested,” Bowman said. “We see a lot of alternatives that are being downgraded. All those should be kept open. We would like you to invite us with you to meet will Caltrans. At some point this whole scheme should be presented to the city council.”
Bowman called the Guernsey light a viable option. “It took us two or three years to get the Corral light. You have to start somewhere,” he said.
The roundabout suggestion received a vote of no confidence from Via Cabrillo resident Sandy Banducci. “I was very surprised to open the papers and read about this,” Banducci said. “Via Cabrillo is a private driveway, it’s not a city street. We’ve worked very hard to restore the ESHA.”
“People park on Via Cabrillo,” Banducci added, describing how illegally parked cars create a safety hazard on the narrow, one lane driveway that is the only access route to several houses.
The suggestion of parking restrictions on Morning View was generally greeted with approval. Cathy Cadieux, who lives on Morning View, was in favor of limiting parking to the school side of the street. “But I’m terrified of making Morning View one way. Please don’t do it,” she said.
Judi Hutchinson reminded the audience that Point Dume Elementary school has successfully controlled parking on Grayfox Street. “I don’t understand why we can’t do that here.” she said.
“I agree no parking on Morning View is easily enforced,” said parent Colleen Baum. “We do it at Point Dume beautifully with parent volunteers.”
“My understanding is that the issue is enforcement,” Carlin replied.
“We have tried to take corrective action,” MHS school principal Mark Kelly said. “I’ve written to all the parents, and we’ve stepped up enforcement.”
“If everybody agrees to it, it can be done,” Carlin said.
“I disagree about no parking at all on Morning View,” Laura Rosenthal said. “Have no parking on the beach side, not the school side. It would be untenable to have it on both sides.”
Rosenthal suggested that having the official drop-off at the entrance of the proposed new main building and placing a legal left turn at the exit to the drop-off area, suggesting that this would help eliminate traffic and reduce the number of illegal left turns that many see as the biggest safety hazard on Morning View Drive.
Simon James, who recently moved to Morning View Drive described a near miss his wife experienced, when a middle school student suddenly darted out into the street on a skateboard in front of her car. “I’m concerned about not solving the problem, but moving it,” he said, adding that he is worried that the construction project itself will create additional safety issues. “It’s crazy not to have resident participation.”
“Stuff is continuing to evolve,” Kelly said. This is a work in progress.”
A meeting addressing the controversial issue of permanent field lighting is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on Jan. 14 at the school. Carlin told the audience that the diagrams shown during this and future presentations will soon be available at the Santa Monica Malibu Unified School District site at www.smmusd.org.
In last week’s article on this issue, Mary Hughes O’Leary was misidentified as one of the attendees.