Several key stretches of Southern California’s famous Pacific Coast Highway are getting much-needed safety upgrades by following San Francisco’s footsteps after years of close calls, crashes and fatalities.
In 2023, the wealthy coastal city of Malibu declared a local emergency over its 21-mile stretch of PCH weeks after a speeding driver killed four Pepperdine University students. Local officials said the breathtaking, largely pedestrian-unfriendly stretch, which often requires beachgoers to park and walk along the high-speed multi-lane road, had become a hotbed of “dangerous, illegal, reckless” driving in recent years. City data shows dozens of deaths along PCH since 2010, including seven fatalities and nearly 100 injuries in 2023 alone.
Over the years, the city has worked with county and state officials to devise a plan to slow down drivers and help save lives, and this fall, one of its biggest pieces will finally come into focus. Starting in September, speed cameras situated from Zuma Beach to the Malibu Pier and down to Carbon Beach are set to begin capturing data on drivers who exceed the posted speed limit. Those who exceed the speed limit by 11 mph or more between late September and late November will receive a warning; after that, speeders will be issued citations.
The cameras, which Malibu officials call the Pacific Coast Highway Speed Safety System, will rely on lidar and other technology to assess speeds and capture images of the rear license plates of passing vehicles that are deemed to be traveling 11 mph or more over the posted speed limit. “We have seen unimaginable tragedy on Pacific Coast Highway caused by excessive speeding, and we must do everything we can to prevent future loss of life,” Malibu Mayor Bruce Silverstein said in a news release announcing the coming cameras…