Editorial: Traffic in the Canyon

Dear Canyon community,

I think we all recognize that checkpoint-related traffic in the Canyon has now moved from being merely inconvenient to dangerous, blocking ingress and egress at certain times not only to residents, businesses, Rustic Park, and Canyon School, but to emergency vehicles if they were needed.

We have been trying to determine who is in overall charge of the checkpoints and their traffic management. With the help of the Rebuild Palisades Coalition’s Maryam Zar and the office of State Senator Ben Allen, we have now made contact with a key official at Caltrans (California Dept. of Transportation). It appears that because PCH is a California state highway, Caltrans has assumed overall control of traffic management, with some degree of coordination with LADOT, LAPD, and the National Guard. Councilwoman Tracy Park’s office is fully aware of the situation.

We have been able to set up an initial meeting tomorrow with the multiple concerned officials. It will only be the beginning of the conversation. I believe all the agencies recognize that the current traffic situation, including on PCH, is bad for all concerned. Many suggestions for improvement have been put on the table. But none can even be considered without input from our Canyon community because of the impact the checkpoints are having.

Please be patient. We support every effort of our families, friends and neighbors in the Palisades to rebuild. And we respect their wish to keep the checkpoints in place for the coming months, to protect vulnerable property. But the checkpoint operation has to be improved so that the Canyon is not put in danger on a daily basis. I will report on any progress we make.

Doug
Director, The Canyon Alliance
Interim President, SM Canyon Civic Association

Checkpoint blocks traffic flow into the canyon