Entrada Sidewalk Nears Completion as Council Tackles Other Canyon Issues

By MATTHEW MEYER | Reporter

The Santa Monica Canyon Civic Association talked traffic, crime and more as it hosted Council District 11 representative Lisa Cahill this month at its final meeting of the summer.

Cahill kicked off the session with a districtwide report from City Councilmember Mike Bonin’s office.

Of particular interest to the SMCCA members in attendance: increased crime in Brentwood, and the adaptive police and neighborhood watch programs being used in the area that could have crossover appeal for Santa Monica and Rustic canyons.

Members also emphasized their continued support for LAPD beach patrol units.

Residents of Pacific Palisades’ beachfront neighborhoods have long espoused the benefits of such patrols, but their availability has been inconsistent in the past.

Traffic safety issues starred as well: The longstanding effort to widen a sidewalk from Kingman Avenue to Amalfi Drive along Entrada Drive is finally nearing completion.

The project faced some opposition from those who said it made the road too narrow or that a sidewalk should be constructed on the south side of the road instead.

Intentional “re-profiling” corrections by city engineers involving the height of the sidewalk compared to the roadway also extended construction longer than some residents anticipated.

But now that the dust has nearly settled, project supporters are thrilled that a new sidewalk will make it safer to walk along Entrada’s south side, particularly for Canyon Charter Elementary School students who live nearby.

Plenty of canyon roadway concerns remain—namely, the area’s dearth of designated crosswalks and school crossing guards.

As always, city funding for such measures is in short supply.

There was optimism for one potential traffic safety project at the meeting: a proposed fix by Pacific Palisades Community Council member and traffic consultant Lou Kamer for gridlock emanating from the far-right turn lane at West Channel Road and PCH.

Confused, or simply “cheating,” motorists wait out the light cycle to dodge leftward into a legal PCH turn lane, blocking the drivers waiting to use the lane correctly for a turn up Chautauqua Boulevard.

Kamer pitched a line of traffic bollards to line the lane and block the maneuver.

SMCCA President Marilyn Wexler told the Palisadian-Post it was too early to endorse the project, but she did attend a meeting between Kamer and city traffic engineers to discuss the potential project further.

“SMCCA supports further attention to the intersection by all involved parties,” she added. “[It’s] a long overdue discussion.”