Laguna Canyon Road: Protect & Connect Community Workshop | May 7, 2024

The City of Laguna Beach held a community workshop on May 7, 2024, to discuss the Laguna Canyon Road Protect & Connect project, focusing on improvements from Canyon Acres Drive to El Toro Road. The project aims to enhance safety, multimodal transportation options, and wildfire risk mitigation by considering undergrounding utilities, adding separated bike and pedestrian paths, and improving traffic flow without increasing road capacity. The city is negotiating with Caltrans for relinquishment of the road to city ownership, which would allow more local control but also entails significant costs estimated around $150 million, necessitating external funding sources. Community input was actively sought through surveys, stakeholder meetings, and table discussions, highlighting concerns about costs, maintenance, environmental impacts, and the need for safe pedestrian and bike infrastructure. The city plans to develop formal alternatives based on this feedback and continue public engagement in the coming phases.