‘Go Safely PCH’ Campaign Launches Ahead Of Busy Summer Travel Season

MALIBU, CA — As the beach communities served by Pacific Coast Highway ready to welcome an influx of summer visitors, officials on Wednesday launched the “Go Safely PCH” campaign, signaling the concerted effort underway to improve safety on the deadly roadway.

California Transportation Secretary Toks Omishakin joined state and local leaders at the Ghost Tire Memorial in Malibu to launch the campaign. The memorial honors the 59 people who have been killed on the 21-mile stretch of PCH in Malibu since 2010.

The Go Safely PCH campaign — which includes messages on billboards, lawn and beach signs, flyers and social media posts — urges drivers to slow down and reminds them that speeding and reckless driving on the highway comes with consequences.

Additionally, the campaign includes a pledge where motorists can promise to do things like leaving for their destinations early to avoid rushing and drive slower than the speed limit in areas with high bicycle and pedestrian traffic.

“Go Safely PCH is more than a campaign – it’s a movement demonstrating our collective commitment to making this beautiful corridor safer for everyone who travels on it,” Omishakin said. “Through infrastructure improvements, increased enforcement and drivers doing their part by slowing down, we can and will save lives. I thank all our partners for coming together to say in a strong, unified voice: One more life lost is one too many.”

A renewed effort to improve safety on PCH began last fall after four Pepperdine University students were fatally struck by a driver who authorities say was going over 100 mph. The women were standing on the side of the road, which has a 45 mph speed limit, authorities said.

The safety push has come from all levels of government — city, county and state — and includes a long list of ongoing projects, as well as ones that are in various stages of planning. Here’s a look at some of them:

Malibu in November signed a contract to bring on three full-time California Highway Patrol officers to beef up traffic enforcement on PCH. It marks the first time since 1991 that CHP has patrolled the highway, which also continues to be patrolled by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.

Through April, officers have issued 1,200 citatiuions on PCH, over 1,000 of which were for speeding, according to officials.

The state Office of Traffic Safety has provided $555,000 in additional funding to the LASD, Los Angeles Police Department and Santa Monica Police Department for increased enforcement on PCH.

Caltrans is spending $4.3 million for upgrades including lane separators that will prevent vehicles from drifting into oncoming traffic or making illegal turns, crosswalk striping at all locations, more visible road striping, speed limit markings on teh road and more speed limit and curve-warning signs.

The department has also installed optical speed bars — stripes spaced at decreasing distances that make drivers aware of their speed and prompt them to slow down — as well as 13 speed feedback signs.

Other proposed Caltrans projects include pavement upgrades, new bike lanes and pedestrian access improvements from the McClure Tunnel in Santa Monica to the Ventura County Line.

The city of Malibu has committed $39 million to traffic safety improvement projects, and another $8 million for future PCH projects, according to the city of Santa Monica.