The City placed barriers to warn drivers of the unsafe conditions on Temescal Canyon Road. That took away one downhill lane on the busy street.
Councilmember Traci Park’s office announced on September 29, that repair of Temescal Canyon Road is set to begin tomorrow, Monday, October 2.
Park’s field deputy Michael Amster sent an email to the Pacific Palisades Community Council that “Repairing this road has been a top priority for Councilwoman Park, who recognizes it as the central traffic artery of the Palisades–and vital for emergency preparedness.”
Amster wrote in that email: “The Bureau of Engineering has advised us that the repairs are projected to be finished around the end of October. The streets will remain open to local traffic. The workers, trucks, supplies, and equipment should be out of the way of traffic.”
Temescal Canyon Road, which is one of only three ways in and out of Pacific Palisades and also the main thoroughfare to Palisades Charter High School, was repaved in November 2022 over two weekends.
After it was done, already in December, the newly paved roadway on the downhill side had developed a “lip” and the City was informed of the problem with the road.
The city redid the road in March, but then it developed a second “lip,” which was blamed on the heavy rains last year.
Marisol Rodriquez, director of external relations StreetsLA, sent a note to Pacific Palisades Community Council President Maryam Zar on July 3, “Per our crews, this location has been on our radar for a few months now. Our resurfacing crew did resurface the roadway, however the roadway started to fail once again soon after most likely due to additional water coming from the hillside and onto the street. Some of that water is getting under the roadway and causing the large road failure. This is a larger issue that needs to be addressed, possibly in conjunction with other departments, such as BOE.”
One lane of the downhill side was shut to traffic, and residents were told there wasn’t money to repair the road.
Councilwoman Park expedited a motion through the City Council in August to secure funding ($800,000) for road repairs.
How much tax dollars has it cost to pave, repave and finally repair the road, as we come up on the one-year anniversary of the initial paving? CTN has asked, no one seems to know. Maybe now the question is, “will this finally fix Temescal, so that a lane can be reopened?”
—