Canyon task force wants to start with putting utility cables underground

Members of the task force charged with identifying ways to improve traffic and safety on Laguna Canyon Road seemed to agree that the undergrounding of utility poles would be a good first step.

The Laguna Canyon Road Task Force’s first meeting Wednesday night at City Hall was, as Mayor Pro Tem Bob Whalen said, like the first day of school when students receive a course syllabus that outlines what to expect.

“We’re trying to achieve an outcome that benefits the community as a whole,” said Whalen, who along with Councilwoman Toni Iseman chairs the committee, which includes broad representation from Laguna residents, business owners and community groups, as well as Caltrans, OC Parks and the Orange County Transportation Authority.

Early in the meeting, Whalen asked for a show of hands for replacing the overhead cables with underground equipment, and nearly all of the two dozen or so members of the committee raised their hands.

Laguna Beach Chamber of Commerce secretary Aaron Talarico, also a committee member, said the sooner the better.

“Let’s tackle safety first,” Talarico said of the utility poles, which can be hit by vehicles and toppled. “It would be nice if we can avoid getting caught up in three lanes or four lanes.”

In August the city’s contractor, RBF Consulting, presented five possible alternatives for the road, which included adding one or two lanes and potential roundabouts where Laguna Canyon Road intersects with El Toro Road and at the Act V parking lot.

Improvements along Laguna Canyon Road will be confined to an area from El Toro Road south to Canyon Acres Drive.

Laguna Canyon Road, a state-owned highway, is over capacity in terms of how many cars travel in a given day, said Bob Matsen, RBF’s vice president of transportation and planning.

The road sees between 38,000 and 42,000 cars daily, rather than the 30,000 a highway of its size should see, he explained.

The task force will probably assess the public’s desire for as well as the feasibility of creating bike lanes protected by a physical barrier.

A key step, Whalen said, will be gathering input from constituents.

The project could take nine to 11 years to complete and cost $26 million for three lanes or $30 million for four lanes, not including undergrounding of utilities, Matsen said.

Funding is not currently available for the project, though grant money is out there, OCTA transportation manager Charlie Larwood said.

Larwood added that it will be easier to identify specific grant money once the city reaches consensus on solutions.

Parking, Traffic and Circulation Committee member Michael Schnieder said funding should be considered from the get-go.

“As a transportation consultant in real life, I’ve seen people spend a lot of time and effort [on projects], but they didn’t address how to fund the options they were thinking about,” Schnieder said.

Forty-two year Laguna Beach resident Ken Dalena said discussing alternatives, such as whether to add a lane or roundabout, is premature.

“You’re jumping to solutions before defining the problems,” Dalena said. “I’ve been commuting up and down [Laguna Canyon Road] for 40 years, and I’ve never seen peak-hour traffic back up as far as it does now.”

Another problem is cars cutting through the Forest Avenue/Laguna Canyon Road lot to shave time and re-enter Laguna Canyon Road at the stoplight to the Festival of Arts, Dalena said.

“My suspicion, though I don’t know for sure, is that the road is a commuter route,” Dalena said. “Maybe we change the [traffic] lighting sequences.”

The task force’s next scheduled monthly meeting is at 5:30 p.m. Nov. 19.

For information about the task force and the scope of its duties, visit the city’s website at https://www.lagunabeachcity.net.