Behind the beauty, PCH in Malibu takes a deadly toll. Why it’s getting more dangerous

Three years ago, Channing Frykman was going through the crosswalk at Pacific Coast Highway and Trancas Canyon Road in Malibu when a speeding car struck her, throwing her across the iconic highway. Pedestrian safety is once again at the top of Malibu’s agenda after four students from nearby Pepperdine University — Niamh Rolston, Peyton Stewart, Asha Weir and Deslyn Williams — were killed last week while walking on a sidewalk in the 21600 block of PCH. Flowers sit at the 21600 block of Pacific Coast Highway near the site where four Pepperdine students were killed by a passing car. Caltrans said safety improvements to PCH between Santa Monica and Oxnard have included “traffic signals, median delineators, raised center medians, crosswalks, high-visibility lane striping, improved guardrails and pedestrian-activated crosswalk beacons.” Such safety enhancements have long been the focus of the PCH Taskforce, a coalition of community representatives, pedestrian and bicycle advocates, law enforcement personnel, city and traffic engineers, Caltrans leaders, and local and state elected officials formed nearly a quarter of a century ago. Sen. Ben Allen, the group’s co-chair, said it’s time to dramatically increase the scope of the task force’s efforts “or find another vehicle for a convening of these different entities to talk about more substantive policy changes in terms of the highway.” “I think more broadly in the long term I really welcome a broader discussion involving the re-envisioning of a highway that was established at a time when far fewer people were living along the road,” Allen said.