Following a lengthy discussion in May about a parking moratorium at one of the most famous photo spots in the state, the County is moving forward with next steps to keep traffic moving at Bixby Bridge.
New “no parking” signs on Highway 1 will be installed near Bixby Bridge sometime in the next week, according to an announcement by the County of Monterey on Monday, Aug. 3. A parking ordinance will become active and enforceable once the signs are in place.
The installation of the signage will coincide with Car Week activities, which are trickling in, but technically begin Aug. 7 and conclude Sunday, Aug. 16.
County Public Works officials have already procured the posts and created the signage, submitted a signage plan and are completing utility notifications with the Underground Service Alert, according to the press release.
The moratorium was spearheaded by Supervisor Kate Daniels in response to residents and public safety officials who had raised concerns about emergency access and difficulty with commuting.
At a Big Sur Multi-Agency Advisory Council meeting on July 20, state Sen. John Laird said he had been meeting with various stakeholders, including the California Coastal Commission, Caltrans, California State Parks, the Monterey County Sheriff's Office, the California Highway Patrol and local businesses, to find a path forward to support enforcement of the parking ordinance.
“We really need two [CHP] officers,” Laird said at the meeting about long-term enforcement. “We need somebody that sort of directs and points and is the face of enforcement. And we need somebody to write tickets if it turns out that one person can't do both.”
The anticipated cost of enforcement over the next year is “in the neighborhood of $300,000 and $400,000” he said, adding that the funding will allow officials to work on longer-term solutions.
No end date for lifting the Bixby Bridge parking restriction has been announced.