Officials in Malibu are making safety the priority for drivers on Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu, announcing planned improvements to the 21-mile stretch of the roadway.
The safety upgrades come after dozens of speed-related deaths, including four Pepperdine students tragically killed in October.
California Transportation Secretary Toks Omishakin, who was joined by other state and local leaders Monday, toured the dangerous stretch of PCH, known to many as “dead man’s curve,” where the four female students lost their lives.
“Ever since that crash, it hasn’t left my mind,” he said Monday.
According to Omishakin, safety improvements on PCH in Malibu is his top priority in the state.
Some 30 planned improvements were announced, along with a $4.2 million Caltrans contract that was approved late last week.
“Some of the speed limit signs are a little far away from the roadway and you can’t see them too visibly,” the transportation secretary said. “So, we’re going to actually put the speed limit…we’re going to put pavement markings in the roadway.”
There will also be speed feedback signs, where temporary ones have already been set up.
He added that drivers will see the 45 mile an hour speed limit, as well as some stretches with 50 mile per hour limit, in the roadway and not just posted on signs at the side of the road.
Officials also said that the fines and penalties for speed and traffic violations in the designated speed-safety corridor will be increased.
“When we designate a corridor like this, the fines and the fees for violators will go up,” Omishakin said.
In addition to those changes, three additional California Highway Patrol officers will be assigned to Malibu, along with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. CHP’s enforcement patrols will begin on Jan. 1, 2024.
Omishakin said the beefed-up law enforcement patrols in the area have issued more than three dozen citations since the Oct. 17 crash that killed the four students.
Authorities also said that if drivers would just abide by the posted speed limits, the area would be much safer.