Laguna Beach mulls study on improving Coast Highway safety

The Laguna Beach City Council this week considered the good and bad of a regional study looking at ways to improve safety on the 37 miles of Coast Highway in Orange County, but took no official vote on it.

The Orange County Transportation Authority and the California Department of Transportation teamed up to assess the state-owned highway from Seal Beach to San Clemente, beginning in 2012 at the behest of local municipalities.

The suggestions include pedestrian scrambles and illuminated crossings with advanced warning systems. With a scramble, all cars stop at the intersection, allowing pedestrians from all corners to cross at the same time.

At Tuesday’s City Council meeting, council members and City Manager John Pietig appeared interested in scrambles, and Pietig didn’t dismiss the concept of flashing crosswalk lights but said they need to be good and effective.

“People walking in the crosswalk can’t see whether the lights are on or not,” he said about the city’s current lighting system.

Study authors suggested adding bike lanes along Coast Highway throughout the corridor, which could mean the loss of street parking, but the idea generated concerns among council members for motorist and cyclist safety.

“We’ve looked at this and that is probably the most dangerous stretch in California, from [Laguna Art] Museum to Legion [Street],” Mayor Pro Tem Toni Iseman said. “Then you go a little bit farther and you get the car doors [opening] and pedestrians. If we were to encourage bikes on Coast Highway, I can’t imagine how dangerous it would be.”

Coming as no surprise to anyone, the study’s authors concluded that heavy vehicular and pedestrian traffic add to delays along Coast Highway.

Iseman pointed out problems leading to congestion.

She said the left-hand turn pocket from Coast Highway onto Broadway Street does not allow room for all the cars going in that direction, leading to a line of vehicles extending into a through lane.

And, Iseman said, the left-hand turn signal from Coast Highway onto Legion Street is too brief, giving only one or two cars an opportunity to move before it turns red.

Ultimately, cities will decide what, if any, changes they wish to make. In Laguna’s case, that will probably mean working out details with Caltrans.

Joseph Alcock, OCTA’s planning manager, suggested agencies apply for grant funding.

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Bryce Alderton, [email protected]

Twitter: @AldertonBryce