Portable Messaging Boards for Canyon Roads, PCH in the Works

L.A. County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky has allocated funding for four changeable messaging boards for canyon roadways and Pacific Coast Highway as part of "Operation Safe Canyons."

The portable messaging boards will be used along Pacific Coast Highway and on canyon roads between Malibu, Agoura and Calabasas, according to Susan Nissman of L.A. County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky's office.

Yaroslavsky allocated funding for the boards, but they have not yet been purchased, Nissman said. A request for bids went out earlier this month.

The portable boards, which will be stored in public works yards, will be used as part of Operation Safe Canyons. The California Highway Patrol and the Lost Hills/Malibu Sheriff's Station will work together with Yaroslavsky's office to determine where the boards will be placed, she said.

Malibu Councilman Laura Zahn Rosenthal said she has hoped for messaging boards for Pacific Coast Highway for years.

"We've been trying to get CMS signs, which stand for Changeable Message Signs," Rosenthal said, adding that the city will also be purchasing a few of the signs with funds from a $14 million Measure R grant.

CHP Officer Leland Tang said 25 patrol vehicles will be outfitted with trailer hitches so the portable messaging boards can be moved to locations where they will be most needed.

"When we have wildfires, we can move them all over the place," Tang said.