Residents committee commissions traffic study amid ongoing congestion complaints
PACIFIC PALISADES – The Palisades Residents Beach Access Committee announced this week that it has commissioned an independent traffic study to evaluate whether a proposed valet only parking system for the neighborhood’s steepest beach access stairway would reduce congestion during peak summer weekends.
The parking problem
Committee chair Harold Beaumont said the stairway in question, which descends roughly one hundred and forty steps to a narrow but popular stretch of beach, has become a persistent source of neighborhood friction as visitors increasingly circle nearby residential streets searching for the handful of available public parking spots near the stairway entrance.
Under the proposed system, visitors would drop off vehicles with a valet stationed at the stairway entrance during peak hours, with cars then shuttled to a satellite lot roughly a half mile away, a model Beaumont said is loosely based on valet arrangements used at several private beach clubs elsewhere in the county.
Cost and funding questions
The traffic study alone is expected to cost the committee approximately fourteen thousand dollars, funded through a combination of neighborhood association dues and a small grant from a local business improvement district, with committee members acknowledging that funding the valet program itself, if approved, would require a separate and considerably larger fundraising effort.
Some residents who spoke at a recent committee meeting questioned whether a valet system was the right solution at all, suggesting the city instead consider simply adding parking meters to formalize and better manage the existing informal parking pattern.
City involvement
Because the stairway sits on land jointly managed by the city and the California Coastal Commission, any formal parking change would require sign off from both agencies, a process Beaumont acknowledged could take considerably longer than the traffic study itself.
A Coastal Commission spokesperson confirmed the agency has not yet received a formal application related to the proposal but said staff would review any submission for consistency with coastal access requirements once filed.
What happens next
The traffic study is expected to take approximately four months to complete, with results to be presented at a public committee meeting before any recommendation moves forward to the city council.
Background on California coastal access requirements is available through the California Coastal Commission and the City of Los Angeles.
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Neighborhood meeting history
The parking committee has held four public meetings on the stairway congestion issue over the past year, with attendance growing steadily as the problem has become more visible during recent summer weekends, according to sign in sheets reviewed by committee staff.
Beaumont said the growing turnout reflects genuine, widespread frustration among residents rather than the concerns of a small vocal minority, though he acknowledged that opinions remain divided on whether a valet system or a simpler metering approach represents the better long term solution.
Precedent from private clubs
The valet model under consideration draws direct inspiration from arrangements at several private beach clubs along the Malibu and Palisades coastline, though Beaumont noted that translating a private club amenity into a publicly accessible system serving a public stairway presents genuinely different logistical and funding challenges.
He said the committee has reached out informally to two of those private clubs for advice on staffing and vehicle shuttle logistics as it continues refining the proposal ahead of the traffic study’s completion.
Alternative proposals considered
Beyond the valet and metering options, the committee briefly discussed a third possibility involving a shuttle bus from a remote parking lot, though members concluded this option would likely take longer to implement and cost more than either of the two leading proposals currently under active study.
Timeline for a final decision
Beaumont said the committee hopes to present a final recommendation to the full city council within six months of the traffic study’s completion, though he cautioned that the coastal commission review process, once a formal application is filed, could add significant additional time before any physical changes to the stairway or its parking arrangement actually take effect.
Beaumont said the committee will continue holding monthly public meetings throughout the study period, giving residents ongoing opportunities to weigh in before any final proposal is submitted to the city council.
A resident’s perspective
One longtime resident who has lived near the stairway for over two decades said she has watched the parking situation steadily worsen each summer and hopes whichever solution the committee ultimately recommends actually gets implemented rather than stalling indefinitely in the review process.
Officials say the study’s preliminary findings will be shared publicly once available later this year.
The committee thanked residents for their continued patience as the study moves through its remaining phases.
A follow up committee meeting is scheduled once initial traffic count data becomes available.
Residents can direct further questions to the committee’s office during the study period.
Final note
The committee says it remains committed to a transparent process regardless of which option ultimately receives the strongest public support.
Further updates to follow as the study nears completion this year.
Officials say they are optimistic a workable solution will emerge from the process.
SOURCE: https://bohiney.com/