CC Ended '88 Laguna Canyon Road Re-alignment

The City/Caltrans proposal of 1979-1988 to widen Laguna Canyon Road at Big Bend ended this way.

LCR Road-realignment Chronology '79-'88

The city of Laguna Beach has retained another consultant and formed another public task force to explore road re-alignments, roundabouts, and traffic lane options for road improvements to Laguna Canyon Road. Here is a chronology of events when re-alignment was explored in 1979-1988.

January 1988 Los Angeles Times

From 1979 to 1988 the City of Laguna Beach and state regulators attempted to find a balance between increasing car traffic flow, improving road safety and maintaining the ecology at Laguna Canyon Road's Big Bend.  In 1979 the city council voted for a road realignment from 2-lanes to 4-lanes at Big Bend.

Caltrans prepared plans for the project with review by both the California Coastal Commission and Laguna City Council with city staff acting liaison between the state regulators and Council. Each of the contributing regulators  approved or disapproved of project plans over this time period depending on plan content and project objectives.  The table shows the difficulty in the approval process over time. At four agents could not agree to the plan before them at the same time.

Difficulty in consensus process TRUE=approval FALSE=disapproval

The LAT Chronology reveals Caltrans plans were too ambitions for Coastal Commission approvals while city staff valiantly looked for an agreeable compromise. Between '79 and '86 City Council reversed their position on widening Big Bend. From '86 to '88 Council also could not find agreement despite two design plans submitted by Caltrans.  -LS

26 Years of Widening LCR

For the Thanksgiving Holidays: Here's a nostalgic journey from newspaper accounts about widening Laguna Canyon Road beginning with an interview with Larry Hunt at Big Bend, this article from  January 1988 in the Los Angeles Times. (click to enlarge).

At the time Caltrans official Ronald Kosinski argued LCR should be widened to accommodate traffic demands from growing nearby communities and elevated vehicle speed. Kosninski said drivers would be able to take the proposed widened big-bend curve at 60mph.  Cooler heads prevailed, Councilman Robert F. Gentry said "I can't see how size and speed will serve residents of Laguna Beach."

Coming-up: the chronology of the big-bend roadway decision.

Laguna's Roundabout Moves Cars Not People

Here is a comparison between two roundabouts, one accommodates pedestrians and cyclists the other does not.

The city of Laguna Beach is considering a plan to include traffic roundabouts on Laguna Canyon Road at these traffic intersections: El Toro Road, Phillips Road, Anneliese Schools. The video shows an experiment where roundabouts increased car traffic flow by 20% over 4-way stops and increases car traffic safety. Notice the cars in a queue behind stop-signs disappear when the roundabout is used. Also notice the absence of walkers, cyclists in these provisions, the roundabout does not consider other transportation modes it serves mostly cars. The city's plan does not consider other transport modes in their mobility plan, but don't we have enough cars already?

For contrast here's a balanced roundabout in Amsterdam designed for all four modes.

-LS

Van Gogh Cycle-Track Art

Here is a training tool for pedestrians crossing a cycle track at night. Poorly illuminated Laguna roadways would benefit from irridesent paving are Sunvalley Road, Monterey, Virginia, Catalina, Sawdust, Village Entrance, Forest Alley, Canyon Acres, Temple Terrace. Energized by the sun during daytime requires no additional artificial lighting.

Inspired by small ideas the perfect bike-rack is conceived in assorted sizes.

See more Inspiring ideas from Europe at This is Colossal.

Pop-Up Downtown Public Workshop

• Trial Pedestrian Zone      
• Downtown Improvements
• Community Feedback      
• Visualize building heights
• Parking Improvements      

The workshop will be very innovative and allow the City to obtain valuable community feedback while the community enjoys some food, music and conversation about the vision of the Downtown.

Get the Downtown Specific Plan Update here.
Get the complete Workshop flyer here.