Councilmember Traci Park asked City Council for money to fix Temescal Canyon Road.
Photo: Rich Schmitt/CTN
Councilmember Traci Park wrote in a motion “Temescal Canyon Road is a critical thoroughfare in the Pacific Palisades Community, linking Sunset Boulevard to Pacific Coast Highway. It appears that the southbound lane of Temescal Canyon Road between Pacific Coast Highway and Bowdoin Street is experiencing structural instability due to water seepage from the heavy winter rains earlier this year.”
On Friday, Park asked the L.A. City Council budget and finance committee to approve $800,000, which is the amount of money that the Bureau of Engineering says will be needed to repair the road. The City Council will also need to approve it.
CTN asked about a timeline and Park’s spokesperson Jamie Paige said it could take about a month.
Initially, when BOE said they had a possible fix, Street Services said that there was no money budgeted for an emergency repair.
One resident asked why didn’t Park use discretionary funding?
Unfortunately, when former councilmember Mike Bonin left office, he emptied the coffers.
In an April 20 Westside Current story (Bonin’s Gift of City Funds to Nonprofit Develop Raises Questions. Here’s Why . . .) wrote “Between August 5, 2022, and December 28, 2022, former CD11 Councilman Mike Bonin emptied the CD11 discretionary fund and made $127,474.14 in expenditures to a variety of recipients, mostly to nonprofits.”
The story concluded “According to city documents, $5,000 of Bonin’s end-of-term discretionary funds were sent to Dignity and Power Now, an organization founded by Patrice Cullors, co-founder of Black Lives Matter, which calls for defunding the police. Bonin sent the same amount to Palms Unhoused Mutual Aid (by way of a directed donation to a registered nonprofit), who describe themselves as an ‘abolitionist network of care directly working with unhoused communities.’ Thousands of dollars in 17 different donations were given to a private company, United Site Services, which provides portable rest rooms.”
Bonin paid for numerous porta-potties for different encampments.
Temescal Canyon Road, which is normally a four-lane road is one of three ways in and out of Pacific Palisades, a community of about 28,000 residents. Additionally, Palisades High School is located on that road and daily about 3,000 students travel to or from school. With the closure of one lane, it shuts down access to Pacific Coast Highway.
After the recent Lahaina devastation, Pacific Palisades Community Council President Maryam Zar wrote to CTN, “This makes me think of our Palisades and our very few routes out. Temescal Canyon is key. I am going to agenize formal support for our Councilmember’s motion at the August 24 PPCC meeting.”
In her weekly message to constituents, in a video specific for Palisades residents, Park said, “Your safety and accessibility remain my top priorities, so please be patient as we continue this required work.”
CTN asked Park’s office, “Has the BOE identified where the leak is coming from?”
Although rains were heavy this year, according to the stats from 1942, that were initially kept, and given to CTN by the late Ted Mackie, the most rain ever recorded here was 42.60 inches in 1997-1998. This past year, the Palisades received 32 inches.
Prop O construction was completed in 2017 on Temescal Canyon Road. The section of road where the leak is now has a hydrodynamic separator and a diversion structure. Is there an issue with either of those two items?
Parks spokesperson said they would check with BOE to determine the cause of the leak and would let the community know as soon as they have more information.
I’m not a geologist, but I seriously doubt there’s a ‘leak’. I’ve lived here for 36 years and that part of Temescal has always had a seasonal ‘moisture factor,’ likely from a naturally-occurring spring that’s always been there. Last winter’s historic rains likely made the problem many times worse.