03/06/2025

Dear Governor Newsom,

We are writing to express the significant hardship that the continued closure of Topanga Canyon Blvd. (State Route 27), Tuna Canyon Road, and other essential access routes to the Pacific Coast Highway (PCH) are causing the residents of Topanga Canyon.

We rely on these roads for daily transportation to work as well as to our children’s schools in Santa Monica and across the west side. The ongoing closures have dramatically increased commute times while we, along with the thousands of other LA County commuters blocked from the coast roads, spend 3-5 hours daily on the 101, 405 and 10 freeways, M-F. This has placed an undue burden on our families, our livelihoods, and our overall well-being. The distress this has caused our community has been featured on KCAL CBS News​, KTLA​, LA Times​, MSN, and the NYTimes. We are waiting for your voice now. 

This commute has been especially hard on our children, many of whom are now in temporary classrooms after losing their schools to the Palisades Fire. In response, many of us have opted to keep our children out of school on days where the commute will severely compromise our ability to work. As a result, our children are losing precious, in-person learning hours. Additionally, we fear for the sustainability of our local businesses who are shouldering another year of unprecedented economic loss due to indefinite road closures.

For eight weeks now, Topanga residents have endured extended commutes, excessive detours, and severe congestion along alternative routes. As a mountain community we are very familiar with the risk and inconvenience that come with living in the wildland-urban interface, and understand the extreme nature of this particular disaster, however, we also expect our local and state agencies to be working around the clock to remediate impacted areas and deliver clear timelines for the reopening of our vital lifelines in and out of our canyon.

Over one month post- full containment of the Palisades Fire, we are still in the dark. 

California boasts the world’s fifth largest economy, and the second largest economy in the world on a per capita basis. Los Angeles County’s economy ranks 19th among nations. Surely this immense and resource-rich state and county can harness the funding, equipment and competence to clear mud, and deliver road repairs to Topanga Canyon Blvd. in a timely manner. 

We request:

1. A clear timeline for reopening Topanga Canyon Blvd. and regular updates on the progress of repairs.
2. Temporary traffic solutions, such as the immediate restoration and reopening of Tuna Canyon Road with a temporary traffic light and reverse flow for an afternoon and evening return for Topanga families with schoolchildren and resident commuters. 
3. Additional resources- boots on the ground on TCB to repair and remediate Palisades Fire damage in a timely manner.
4. Clear, consistent and unhampered access to PCH for Topanga Canyon residents.

Approximately 200 Topanga residents have already appealed to Caltrans, the L.A. County Department of Public Works, and Los Angeles County Third District Supervisor Lindsay Horvath in a similar letter delivered to the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors 2/25/25 public meeting with no response yet, as of the date of this petition. We urge you, Governor Newsom, to step in and ensure the reopening of Topanga Canyon Blvd. and Tuna Canyon Rd. with urgency, in addition to guaranteeing Topanga Canyon residents unhampered, consistent access to PCH.  

Topanga residents have always been resilient, but we need action now. We appreciate your attention to this pressing matter and look forward to your prompt response.

-Topanga Canyon Residents