Actions Taken So Far
Cars queue to pay on exit at Point Lobos. This is a change from the traditional practice where drivers paid the parking fee upon entry. The intent is to reduce the number of cars waiting in line to come into Point Lobos. Those waiting vehicles cause big backups onto Highway 1, blocking traffic — often in both directions.
Earnest public officials at State Parks have worked diligently to do what they can to make a growing problem around Point Lobos less worse. So far, they have:
Changed how visitors enter Point Lobos. Rather than have every vehicle stop upon entry to pay the $10 parking fee, local Parks officials flipped the model so that visitors pay when they exit. This helps to reduce the long line of vehicles backed onto Highway 1 awaiting entry. But at peak times, visitors arrive faster than park personnel can safely admit them.
Collaborated with Caltrans to improve the parking signs on Highway 1 including posting the recently installed ”Park Parallel" signs. They have helped. But some drivers are still confused. (Did you know that parking parallel alongside a highway is required by state law whether posted or not?) We urgently need more effective signage to guide visitors unfamiliar with the area as to where and how they should park to visit Point Lobos. This is one of the immediate solutions multi-agency officials need to implement.
Increased efforts to enforce traffic laws near Point Lobos in coordination with California Highway Patrol. And while we need more law enforcement to deal with the increasingly dangerous mess on Highway 1, the challenge simply is not solvable by more police officers. More and more people keep coming to the area. These increasing numbers overwhelm law enforcement. We cannot ticket our way out of the severe threat to public safety. We need systemic change.
Deployed more ways to inhibit visitors parking on the east-side of the highway by signs, cones, and more enforcement on peak days. This has helped a bit. But not nearly enough.
Stepped up coordination among public agencies to deal with increasing traffic and visitor safety challenges. California State Parks, California Highway Patrol, Caltrans, Monterey County, and other agencies are taking to each other.
Officials are doing what they can given the limits of their jurisdictions. These positive actions help. To a degree.
But they are wholly inadequate. As documented throughout this site, we need systemic change on a broad scale. That means numerous improvements, some quite substantial. And that means government agencies need to move from talking to each other to working together with urgency.
We need immediate cooperative action to do what needs doing now.