Running a successful city nowadays is equal parts science and marketing. So when the City of Laguna Beach recently launched a campaign regarding the expansion of Laguna Canyon Road, they called it “Protect and Connect.”
It’s a clever slogan, evoking warm feelings of security and efficiency.
“Build it and they will come” must have been taken.
Make no mistake, the project is overdue. Thankfully, Caltrans finally followed through with its promise to improve the stretch from El Toro to SR-73. The $14 million project should be finished by May 2025.
If everything goes according to plan, there will be two outbound lanes instead of one. Caltrans will also underground the utilities so no more fires or wayward cars hitting poles. There will also be new bike lanes and storm control features.
Now, the city is joining the party to manage the more problematic section from El Toro to Canyon Acres Drive.
True to form, the city recently sent out a public survey to ask residents about the project. It’s a checkbox task but mildly interesting, nonetheless. Most of the 14 questions revolve around how often you drive through the canyon. (This number is known through numerous traffic studies but whatever.)
The funniest question was #10: “What are your key challenges when traveling along the corridor?”
The first option was “congestion.”
You can just stop right there.
For the last couple years, the canyon has become gridlocked at all hours in both directions.
Again, these numbers are known. Of the roughly 36,000 cars that drive through Laguna Canyon Road on any given day, 60% is pass-through traffic and does not stop in Laguna Beach, according to Caltrans.
Drivers use Laguna as a shortcut to Newport, Dana Point, San Juan, and beyond. Such is the curse of Laguna.
At a minimum, if Laguna just imitates what Caltrans is doing north of town, it will be a great improvement: undergrounding of the power lines, more efficient driving, real bike lanes, ADA-compliant pedestrian paths, and a possible reversible center lane to manage peak direction capacity (think Fourth of July egress).
And no more bottlenecks to confuse merge-challenged drivers.
If you’d like to give input, the short survey is here. For more information about the entire project, visit the city site here.
