Anyone who lives in Southern California knows about SigAlerts. They are announcements made by the California Highway Patrol and Caltrans warning of significant traffic problems.
Laguna Beach has its own version of the alerts, which anyone can sign up for at https://nixle.com/city/ca/laguna-beach/.
Over the years, the Laguna alerts have been steady and predictable: powerline down in the canyon; car accident near Emerald Bay; road closed in South Laguna because of a sewage leak. And so on.
All that started changing, however, at 5:08 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 29, 2016. For some inexplicable reason, residents were alerted to the following: “Outbound Laguna Canyon Rd is very congested,” the alert said. “Expect delays while driving through downtown. Consider using Coast Hwy to leave the city.”
There was no accident. No police activity. No downed powerline to blame.
It was just a normal Thursday. Sure, it was a holiday week, but Christmas was over.
More than an hour later came a follow-up alert saying the traffic “remains jammed.”
Why was there was so much traffic, you wonder?
It was simply a nice day.
It hit 79 degrees that day — bathing suit weather in December for everyone in Orange County who claims that Laguna Beach is their beach.
So that was the first known mention of this type of traffic alert. Now those alerts have become commonplace.
But then on Saturday, March 11, 2017 at 4:50 p.m., we had the following more ominous alert: “Traffic is congested outbound Laguna Cyn Rd and Northbound Coast Hwy from Diamond due to a high volume of vehicles.”
Put on your Google Maps hat for a second and think about that.
Two of the three exits out of Laguna Beach were gridlocked for no other reason than a “high volume of vehicles.”
And get this, the backup started at Diamond Street. That’s more than a mile south of downtown.
March 11 is not summer, it’s not Valentine’s Day, it’s not Fourth of July, it’s not Hospitality Night.
It was a normal spring Saturday and not particularly warm. It barely hit 70 degrees.
Everyone on social media was complaining about the traffic that day, mostly because it was mind-boggling. People kept asking why — or in more appropriate vernacular, WTF?
I’ll tell you why. In my view, these conditions were indicators of a new normal in Laguna Beach. The city finally reached a tipping point in year-round traffic mismanagement.
With no improvements in infrastructure, off-site parking, complete streets or meaningful alternative transportation, there was no way to correct years of inaction.
The reality is still with us – here and now and unequivocal. And it’s only going to get worse, much worse. For example, the new high-density residential buildouts in Irvine alone are already killing us.
And what happens if there is a disaster? If we have two out of our only three exits blocked on a spring night for no reason, what happens if there is a fire?
There are many reasons the city is in this predicament, and to their credit, the city council and administration continue to try various sized band-aids. But how much longer will we say no to real solutions?
At some point, we need to admit that we have a major failure of our transportation system — and leadership.
The hard truth is the existing approach is incremental at best. Increase parking rates here or there; tweak the trolley schedule; eke out a few more parking spots by partnering with businesses.
Those small changes will do nothing to help eliminate the traffic gridlock alerts, which will become weekly annoyances.
There is no doubt that Laguna traffic is still bad. Glossy tourist brochures and stacked surveys will tell you that nothing is wrong, but the reality is quite different.
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