Crazy is This:

NOON TODAY, SATURDAY, this is what I was worrying about. There was a small grass fire up OCR. Fortunately, there were 3 planes circling it and all responses were Code 3, so it looks like they were able to get it before it got big. Lord knows how fire engines could have gotten through.

41 thoughts on “Crazy is This:”

  5. Did anyone get a permit for this Special Event, and where are the parking attendants as these people are parking in the middle of a effing public road?

  6. I can see the the “no parking” sign at the entrance. Where is law enforcement and the tow trucks?

  7. You are not seeing the approach as one is driving from the north. Traffic is slow and stopped as people exit their car doors into the highway because the pullout on the west is jammed with cars and photo takers. Watched as one man went down the slope into the canyon off Coast Road. I gave him the benefit of the doubt that maybe he was retrieving something that had blown away. Don’t get me started about the traffic situation at Soberanes.

  8. Actually, I WAS coming from the north, but I was driving, so lucky to get this photo. But driving TO the north would have been interesting.

  9. Of course you were. I should have clarified that your photo couldn’t include the foot and car traffic circus that starts as you round the corner before even reaching the pullout on the west. Wasn’t that the location for a restaurant, the Rainbow Inn, after the highway was built?

  11. They could put a parking lot in that big field to the south west, north of Hurricane Point.
    And charge admission.

  12. You live in a paradise that is a tourist attraction 🙂 . So there are tourists. Who are also the folks who paid to build the road and bridge, and pay to maintain and restore the highway.

  13. Oy! It’s back to the way it used to be before they put up the no parking signs on the north side of OCR. I still think google maps did no one any favors by marking photographic spots. And, it looks like cape ivy is going gangbusters in the background.

  14. Not if they are from out of state. Some gas money goes that way, but most of it comes from in state. And even living among idiotic tourists, there are people that have to go through that craziness to get to and from their homes — never mind emergency vehicles for fires or cliff rescues. Nothing excuses this kind of behavior. Nothing. This is NOT a theme park. And should not be treated like it is.

  15. WALLY’N’CATS that’s a big NO … the Big Sur Land Use Plan is all about Visual Access and putting in a parking lot is not about visual access, its about development and destruction, which our LUP is not about, so is not allowable. You can not pave paradise and put in a parking lot!!!

  16. 2.2 BASIC OBJECTIVES AND POLICIES

    2.2.5 Shoreline Access Because preservation of the land in its natural state is the highest priority, the County’s basic policy is that all future access must be subordinate to this objective. Care must be taken that while providing public access, that the beauty of the coast, its tranquility, and the health of its environment, are not marred by public overuse or carelessness. Visual access should be emphasized throughout Big Sur as an appropriate response to the needs of visitors. (LUP, 2.2.5, pg.7)

  17. This is a 1D10T problem (spells “idiot” in the urban dictionary). The purpose here for tourists is the view, not recreation on the public roads or cliffside. Paying a tax does not assume one may disrespect. If I’m there I think I’m calling the SO and the CHP. I do have a question: Is there a lot of traffic now on the Old Coast Rd? We hear about Naci-Ferg and SCRR but are there also issues up OCR?

  18. Thank you Tauria!

    3.2 SCENIC RESOURCES 3.2.1 Key Policy

    Recognizing the Big Sur coast’s outstanding beauty and its great benefit to the people of the State and Nation, it is the County’s objective to preserve these scenic resources in perpetuity and to promote the restoration of the natural beauty of visually degraded areas wherever possible. To this end, it is the County’s policy to prohibit all future public or private development visible from Highway 1 and major public viewing areas (the critical viewshed), and to condition all new development in areas not visible from Highway 1 or major public viewing areas on the siting and design criteria set forth in Sections 3.2.3, 3.2.4, and 3.2.5 of this plan. This applies to all structures, the construction of public and private roads, utilities, lighting, grading and removal or extraction of natural materials. (LUP, 3.2, pg.10)

  19. Some folks simply don’t have the slightest bit of sense or courtesy. We see some of this same sort of stuff along our section of the coast, but it hasn’t quite reached this level… YET!!! The craziness seems to have been increasing these last few years though. Sigh.
    Living in these wonderful places can sure be a mixed blessing at times. 🥴

  20. The residents are trapped. A very scary unsafe situation. I’m wondering why the Highway Patrol aren’t monitoring this situation better.

  21. No parking lots in Big Sur!!!! How about our County and State start taking some common sense responsibility and stop issuing permits to film and advertise this problematic location. It has become a public nuisance and safety issue.

  22. Privitize the roadway? TOLL ROADS with resident passes. $300 ought to weed out the idiots?

  23. How many shots of the Bixby Bridge does the world need? The problem is a lack of imagination on the part of tourists. More macro shots of banana slugs!

  25. I just wanted to mention that Big Sur is both a wilderness and rural area, where millions of people come to escape urban development and the noise that comes with it. So if any of you have concerns to what is now happening in Big Sur, I would like for you join us at http://www.keepbigsurwild.org and help in the protection of Big Sur too. Thank you, KBSW!

  26. Correct me if the laws on police power have changed, but when I was in the USFS in the late fifties, they had the power to move ALL obstructions interfering with the emergency exercise thereof–expeditiously!

  27. OMG!!! I can’t stand this anymore! What can we do??? Can we as a community take turns babysitting these mindless idiots? Argggg

  28. Living in a paradise? Not with crowds like this coming year after year, trampling the bluffs, parking in places not intended for cars and assuming it’s no problem to block lanes of traffic or roads. They’d be the first ones to scream if a fire truck pushed their cars out of the way to get to a fire. It’s a matter of respect, for others and for the beauty of the land they came to see. Seems those who are just passing through don’t seem to care much what happens after they leave. Thank you, Janet, for the link. Hopefully sometime in the near future we’ll at least see more law enforcement, especially since the state budget has a surplus now. That is, unless it all goes to fighting more fires, hopefully not in Big Sur.

  29. “There can be no justice on stolen land.”
    Expand the area of land that was returned to the Esselen and watch how fast things are corrected, Dark watchers…

  30. Signed up for the newsletter, Janet. Back in the late 80’s, early 90’s, a group of us including Dona and Bill Nye, Axel Adler and others formed the Coastal Preservation Society to try and protect critical habitat on the Big Sur Coast and hold the County, CCC and Monterey County Regional Park District accountable for plans to develop in significant wildlife corridors. Thanks for picking up where we had to leave off.

  31. Thank you Ali. Our Keep Big Sur Wild group is just getting off the ground and officially a nonprofit. We need support from everyone who loves Big Sur but is concerned about the direction it is going With it’s ever increasing popularity comes more and more threats to its natural and scenic beauty. The Big Sur Land Use Plan is the document, if followed by State and local agencies, that has the language and policies put in place to protect what we all cherish about this coast. Please visit our website at keepbigsurwild.org and donate if possible. It takes attorneys and money to protect the LUP and when there are people or agencies that violate the plan.

  33. Suzie, the picture on our website is not an advertisement. It is trying to show the importance of all the historic bridges in Big Sur that are under threat. CalTrans has plans to modernize the bridge rails to “bring them up to code” on six bridges along the coast. We feel this would change the character of the scenic highway and Keep Big Sur Wild would like to see restoration over replacement, even at Bixby. We emphasize the need for better management and enforcement of bad behavior at this ever problematic area.

  34. Yes, enforcement is the key. I deal with that cluster-f often and have never seen law enforcement.
    Bixby Bridge is an accident waiting to happen and the county may be found liable for creating an attractive nuisance. They encourage visitation by granting film shoots and tourist promotion but do nothing to manage the crowds there. It’s like owning a swimming pool with no fence or lifeguard in a neighborhood full of children…negligent and irresponsible.

  36. I wonder if clouds ever look down on these people and say:” Hey look, that one is shaped like an idiot.”

  37. I am just thankful that all the thoughtless tourist have not taken to walking out on the bridge to get their selfie .Both Rocky Creek and Bixby bridges are narrow enough without people on the bridge. Always expect to see someone sitting on the bench/alcoves at Bixby’s towers when I drive by.

  38. Ali Van Zee … thank you and your friends for caring for the coast early on. By chance did you know of CoastWatch (mid 90’s forward) I think. They too cared, and some of those members are now KBSW. Thank you too Marcus for reaching out and making people aware of the historic bridge situation, and to Kate, thank you for allowing us a platform to reach out to visitors and residents alike!

  39. Keep Big Sur Wild’s mission is to:

    SERVE as a watchdog to address issues affecting the Big Sur Coast.
    PRESERVE the protections of Big Sur’s natural beauty provided in the 1986 certified Big Sur Land Use Plan.
    INFORM the broader community of the uniqueness and fragility of Big Sur.
    ENHANCE the current protections by seeking action to assure the preservation, in perpetuity, of its wilderness character and environmental integrity.

    Check out our new non-profit website KeepBigSurWild.org, we have so many issues we are watching and plan on addressing. With professional help (legal and a land use planner), we aim to actively address the challenges Big Sur is facing. Thanks all! It takes a committed group of people who care!

  40. Just watched a KSBW news segment about an emergency county ordinance about camping along HWY 1. Signs and laws will have no effect without ENFORCEMENT.

  41. The Amalfi coast is now requiring certain days for certain license plates. Plates starting with A-J can go Sunday-Wed and J-Z Th-Sat. (During peak season)

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