Laguna Beach to offer 2 route options for South Coast Highway trolley
The city of Laguna Beach is not quite finished with tweaking the routes and stopping points for trolleys that take visitors and residents to various parts of the city.
Years ago, the shuttle buses operated only during the summer, when Laguna buzzes with tourists flocking to the beaches and art festivals. But in the past two years, the city extended the free trolley service to non-summer weekends and expanded its reach into some residential areas, hoping to limit some of the car traffic entering the city.
The latest adjustment, which the City Council approved Tuesday night on a 3-2 vote, will offer two hybrid options for the current South Coast Highway route that stretches from parts of North Laguna south to the Ritz-Carlton resort in Dana Point.
The “express” route will cover the current territory but with fewer stops.
The other route will make the existing stops, except it will end at Mission Hospital in South Laguna instead of continuing to the Ritz-Carlton.
The adjusted trolley routes will go into effect in 30 to 45 days, said city Public Works Director Shohreh Dupuis.
The city will use its current fleet of 21 trolley buses to cover the routes, Dupuis said.
Mayor Toni Iseman and Councilman Steve Dicterow cast the dissenting votes Tuesday.
Iseman said she didn’t want South Laguna residents waiting at a stop to be bypassed by trolleys traveling on the express route.
Councilman Bob Whalen had a different take.
“[South Laguna residents] don’t want people getting off the [northbound] trolley from the Ritz,” Whalen said.
In the summertime, trolleys run daily on South Coast Highway, North Coast Highway and Laguna Canyon Road. In 2015, the city began offering trolley service in the offseason. Those trolleys operate Fridays through Sundays on South Coast Highway.
The council’s decision Tuesday came after a discussion about parking headaches South Laguna residents said have intensified in the past two summers with beachgoers descending on the area.
Earlier this year, the council directed city staff to return with a plan to address overcrowding on trolleys.
City staff surveyed trolley passengers to test some residents’ claims that visitors were parking in neighborhoods and boarding the trolleys in South Laguna. Results indicated no significant increase in boardings and departures, according to a staff report.
Of the 163 boardings during four days last summer, the Ritz-Carlton had the largest share, with 34%, the report said.
Many believe the proliferation of social media has increased the number of visitors eyeing the beaches, with side effects such as smoking, drinking, littering, partying and public urinating, the report said.
Arrests increased 231%, from 42 in summer 2015 to 139 last summer, while police reports jumped 72%, from 252 in summer 2015 to 433 last summer, the report said.
The council considered setting time limits for parking in residential areas and along South Coast Highway but decided instead to direct the Police Department to enhance its presence in the area.
Police are working with OC Parks and county lifeguards on oversight in an area that includes Aliso Beach Park south.
Last week, a security company hired by OC Parks began monitoring South Laguna beaches from 7 p.m. to midnight Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, Laguna Beach Police Chief Laura Farinella told the council.
Laguna also deployed two full-time beach patrol officers to past hotbeds of nuisance activity.
Resident Jinger Wallace didn’t feel it’s necessary to adjust parking rules.
“Stop the illegal behavior that is attracting people to the beaches,” Wallace said. “[Tuesday] I was coming home and saw six people standing on the center island of Coast Highway trying to cross. If those people got a ticket, they would stop.”
Twitter: @AldertonBryce
