It was a dreary Friday afternoon down at Malibu’s Trancas Canyon Shopping Center, but that didn’t stop busy patrons from going about their daily business — despite the parking situation.
The marketplace is a humble array of buildings currently lacking in infrastructure. It has very little parking for its employees and customers, and no designated right-hand turn lane into the facility.
On Jan. 14 at the Malibu City Council meeting, Trancas Canyon resident Cindy Vandor brought the problem to attention, speaking out against the lack of concern that had gone into planning the lot. Apparently, it has been an issue for some time now. The committee has kicked back the former plan that was proposed to fix the lot, due to its insufficient nature. But Vandor refuses to give up, claiming that the security of Malibu citizens depends on fixing the infrastructure.
“We are begging you to make Trancas Shopping Center Safer. The City Council has bent the rules severely. It has approved this without asking vital questions,” Vandor said. “There are 36 MTA [bus] turn arounds every day, because delivery trucks are turning into the center from Trancas and not PCH. There is no deceleration lane on the highway, and the angled parking is dangerous.”
Among Vandor’s other complaints was that the shopping center is about 50 percent short on parking, does not have enough room for bicycles, the pedestrian crossing is not up to standards and there is a lack of sidewalks and disability access.
Possibly the most compelling of Vandor’s statements was the Malibu West Homeowners association has spent thousands of dollars and months negotiating with the owners of Trancas Shopping Center to get an easement to build an exit road at their own expense.
“So that the residents can evacuate in case of in an emergency. Because Trancas is a box canyon, there is only one road in and out for emergencies in case of a fire – that road is now a shopping center entrance,” Vandor said.
Vandor also presented potential legal repercussions. According to the City of Malibu (LCP) Local Implementation Plan (2002), the Parking Regulations for Shopping Centers must conform to the following: five spaces for each 1000 square feet of gross floor area within the center, or spaces as required for each individual use within the center. Business or commercial usage regulations (present within the shopping center) slightly differ by requiring one space for each 250 square feet of gross floor area, including cleaning or laundry agencies.
In addition, accommodations for the disabled were also brought into question. According to the Guide to Disability Rights Laws (2009) from the Department of Justice: The Architectural Barriers Act requires that buildings and facilities that are designed, constructed or altered with federal funds, or leased by a federal agency, comply with federal standards for physical accessibility.
With safety standards in question, and an alleged deficit in disability accommodations, the only thing which can be found at the Trancas Shopping Center is construction.
Sam Sung, an employee at Trancas Cleaners, claims that despite the public dispute, there is currently no problem with the parking situation.
“This parking lot is overkill. There is more than sufficient parking, and they are imputing more parking spaces during the construction. It all depends on the day so it may be different.”
Sung went on to explain that until the construction is complete, there may be an inconvenience. However, once the extra parking lots are built in the shopping center next door there will be enough parking spaces and entrances.
But some employees still think that parking is an issue, regardless of the construction happening directly next door to them.
“It bugs me that there is no right hand turn lane, and I wish there was a left one on to Kanan. I could see how it [will] be a problem when it’s busier than this. There’s not going to be a enough spaces,” Marriah Doram, an employee at Zuma Moon Boutique, said.
Doram agrees there is a lack of employee-dedicated parking and that it might be better served to take out the center divider.
“There are no good angles to park at. I can sometimes get a parking spot up front near the shop, but I feel like I’m pissing people off.”
Sam McGee of Joe’s Surf and Skate is along the same lines as Doram, claiming that the parking situation is definitely going to be a problem in the near future.
“When more stuff starts opening up it, especially the market, there are probably going to be some rear ends because most people miss the turn lane or don’t know that its there,” McGee said.
For now, residents of Malibu who visit Trancas Shopping Center are continuing to cope with the increasing parking issue, and any inconvenience the construction may be causing.
As for Vandor, the parking lot is still much more of a safety issue than anything else. She believes that responsibility lies with the city of Malibu to defend its citizens against these allegedly hazardous conditions.
“The city and the customers have complained that the parking lot is to small by a long shot, but it was built anyway,” Vandor accused the council. “How many deaths will it take to get you to do the right thing about traffic safety? Who has to die? Your kids? My kids? You? The fact is the Trancas shopping center is very dangerous. The city reps are elected to do one thing – keep the public safe.”
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Follow Charmaine Cleveland on Twitter: @ChaCharmander
