Pacific Palisades
facing a road block

The residents would have to
pay for a second access road

By Harold Morse
Star-Bulletin

Some residents want Pacific Palisades households surveyed on whether they want a second access road for those times when emergencies close Komo Mai Drive.

The catch is homeowners would be assessed to pay for the second road because it would serve only Pacific Palisades and the city already provides and maintains Komo Mai Drive.

If a second road costs $10 million, it would mean about $5,000 assessed against each of the 2,000 Pacific Palisades homeowners.

Some 45 residents present at a meeting last night called by Councilman Mufi Hannemann at Pacific Palisades Elementary indicated they want the city to survey residents about a second road and its cost.

Last October, police blocked off Komo Mai for 22 hours during the hostage crisis when Wayman Kaua, 30, barricaded himself in a Waimano Home Road residence, taking his wife and another woman hostage.

One man said he's lived there 33 years and had seen Komo Mai closed three times. That raised the question whether three emergencies in 33 years is worth the cost of a second road.

Police and fire representatives said they would respond to emergencies even if Komo Mai is closed. How the agencies would respond would depend on the circumstances, they said.

"We will go in under police escort (if necessary)," said acting Battalion Chief Don Kunieda of Waiau Fire Station.

There was some sentiment against a second road. "Our crime rate up here is not that high," said Terrilynn Cabradilla. "It's one way in and one way out."

Traffic calming measures on Auhuhu Street near Palisades Elementary also were discussed. Some residents said drivers still speed up and down the street in spite of devices to encourage slowing down.