On June 20, the City of Santa Monica will present its initial plans to replace the vital but 100-year-old California Incline. The public is encouraged to hear the presentation at the city’s library and help shape final plans, which many Pacific Palisades residents fear could snarl traffic for months. Santa Monica, along with the state Department of Transportation and Federal Highway Administration, released an 800-page draft Environmental Impact Report (EIR) late last month. And it provides preliminary details for the large-scale project. February 2008 is the latest reported start date for the project, which could last 10 months, but the date has been postponed several times. Engineers say that the Incline, which ascends from Pacific Coast Highway to Ocean Avenue along a high, unstable bluff, is deteriorating and needs large structural repairs. The new Incline would be approximately 750 feet long and 51 feet wide–nearly six feet wider than the current three-lane road. The extra space would be used to accommodate pedestrians and bicyclists, not an additional car lane. The Incline has been largely unchanged since 1940, and engineers believe that the Incline is ‘entirely supported on soil along the eastern side,’ according to the draft EIR. City engineering studies describe significant damage from the Sylmar and Northridge earthquakes, citing chipping concrete and exposed concrete rebar. If the final Incline plans are approved, new ‘pile bents’ would be built below the surface of the bluff, which would give the Incline greater structural support. Also, a new railing would be built. No new lighting is currently proposed and engineers say the Incline would ‘not look very different.’ Because the Incline is considered structurally deficient by federal standards, it is eligible for federal funding, which could defray the estimated $8.6-million reconstruction costs. But federal and state funding could also mean a loss of local decision-making. Eugenia Chasid, the city engineer managing the program, told the Palisadian-Post that only 30 percent of the project has been designed and that developing it further could jeopardize federal funding. Concerns over the potential effects on local roads, Pacific Coast Highway and roads in the SM Pier area are widespread among Palisades residents. Many fear that the City of Santa Monica, which is politically unaccountable to residents of the Palisades, could design plans that disregard local residents and neighborhoods. One such neighborhood that stands to be most affected is Santa Monica Canyon, which is part of Los Angeles, not Santa Monica. Residents there anticipate that small local roads like West Channel and Entrada will become clogged with drivers trying to reach 7th Street in Santa Monica. George Wolfberg, president of the Santa Monica Canyon Civic Association, told the Post that no other issue is more important to residents there. ‘There are other issues that people care about, but this would hit people in the face every day for months,’ said Wolfberg, who has followed plans to reconstruct the Incline for years. Last June, the Palisades Community Council unanimously passed a resolution that urged the City of Santa Monica to adopt traffic plans that minimize the impact on the community. The resolution was also sent to L.A. City Councilman Bill Rosendahl in hopes that he would apply political pressure on Santa Monica. Among the key recommendations that the Council made are the following: ‘ Require around-the-clock construction by the contractor ‘ Provide large bonus for early completion and substantial penalties for preventable delays ‘ Direct traffic away from Santa Monica Canyon, using ‘enhanced signage’ ‘ Develop a contingency plan if traffic on Entrada Drive is backed onto San Vicente Boulevard The upcoming public forum will be organized in an open-house format, and the public will have a chance to submit written and verbal comments on the draft EIR. The EIR can be downloaded from the Internet at www.smgov.net/engineering/index.asp and can be read in print at the Santa Monica Main Library, 601 Santa Monica Blvd. To attend the city’s public forum, visitors should go to the library’s multipurpose room. The forum begins at 6:30 p.m. and is expected to last until 8:30 p.m. ——- To contact Staff Writer Max Taves, e-mail reporter@palipost.com or call (310) 454-1321 ext. 28.
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