The following photos were taken by Cheryl Richardson and posted on my timeline, taken today. Waiting for confirmation of the time they were taken, but I got them around 12:30, so guessing around noon.
Now, let’s find a permanent solution. Ban selfies, jumping, and parking at Bixby Bridge, and give expensive citations.
…Or when Highway One became two lanes headed south.
This was the day after Christmas, or yesterday. Bumper-to-bumper so some people took matters into their own hands:
I am certainly glad I chose to stay home.
Photos provided by a friend and used with permission.
And here is another shot taken today, Friday Dec. 27:
In case you skipped over it, this morning’s notice was for the 19th, 21st, and 22nd. Notice that they skipped a day? Well, now we know why. There is yet ANOTHER filming happening in the same locations on the 20th. Here is that notice:
And if there was ever any question, these are clearly fill-inp-the-blank forms provided by the Monterey Film Commission as the wording is identical (except for the donation in this one)
Notification of Upcoming Film Activity – Big Sur Area
Date: December 14, 2019
To: Big Sur Residents and Businesses
From: Craft Worldwide/ York Production
Re: Film Production Activity in the Big Sur Area (Between Palo Colorado & Point Sur Lighthouse)
Scheduled for Friday December20, 2019
In an effort to better communicate with Big Sur residents and business owners regarding upcoming film activities in the area, this is to notify you of a film shoot to take place Friday December 20 , 2019 in the
Big Sur Area (Between Grimes Ranch @ Point Sur Lighthouse) between 7am and 5pm.
We will be hiring California Highway Patrol officers to facilitate the ITC and to ensure public safety and access with only brief traffic holds. Most of our trucks and equipment will be stationed a few miles away on private property
We have taken all necessary steps to ensure that the required permits have been obtained and will comply with restrictions necessary for a safe and efficient shoot.
Thank you for your cooperation and understanding. I hope this advance notice is helpful for you to plan your day.
Sincerely yours,
Alan Vasquez
Location Manager
Craft Worldwide/ York Production T.831.402.5668 Alan@locationsscouting.com
Date: December 19th, 21st, & 22nd, 2019 Big Sur
To: Residents and Businesses
From: Tool of North America
Re: Film Production Activity on Highway 1, Hurricane Point, Near Andrew Molera and Coast Road, in the Big Sur area, scheduled for December 19th, 21st, & 22nd, 2019.
In an effort to better communicate with Big Sur residents and business owners regarding upcoming film activities in the area, this is to notify you of a permitted film shoot to take place on 12/19/2019 from 7:00am to 6:00pm. Our work will require intermittent traffic control (ITC) including stages at and near Bixby Bridge and Hwy 1 to Hurricane Point (Mile Markers 58 to 60). As per our permit, a portion of parking at the Bixby Bridge turnout will also be used for production staging. We will also be filming along Hwy 1 from just beyond Point Sur to the small Redwood groves just North of the River Inn.
We will be hiring California Highway Patrol officers to facilitate the ITC and to ensure public safety and access with only brief traffic holds. Most of our trucks and equipment will be stationed a few miles away on private property. We have taken all necessary steps to ensure that the required permits have been obtained and will comply with restrictions necessary for a safe and efficient shoot.
The production company would like to show its appreciation to the community with a donation to the Mid Coast Fire Brigade. Thank you for your cooperation and understanding. I hope this advance notice is helpful for you to plan your day.
Sincerely yours,
Jeff Clark, Locations Dept. Tool of North America
(831) 521-3710 JClark@MrLocationScout.com
HIGHWAY 1 FULL OVERNIGHT CLOSURE NORTH OF RAGGED POINT NEXT WEEK
MONTEREY COUNTY – A full closure of Highway 1 in both directions approximately two miles north (typo, it is at Polar Star which is SOUTH) of Ragged Point in southern Monterey County will take place onThursday, Dec. 19 during the overnight hours from 9 pm until 5 am, weather permitting.
This closure will extend from the traffic signals which maintain 24/7 traffic control north and south of the project area between the San Carpoforo Creek Bridge and Ragged Point.
Local resident’s will be able to proceed through the closed area when heavy equipment is not on the highway. Delays are anticipated not to exceed one hour.Electronic message boards will be posted to alert the public.
This full highway closure is necessary so that Caltrans can install pre-cast beams as part of a project to construct a viaduct and retaining wall along this portion of Highway 1.
This $4.1 million project is Souza Engineering of San Luis Obispo, CA. It’s scheduled to be complete by Spring of 2020.
Today’s Date: November 29, 2019
District: 05 – Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, Monterey, San Benito and Santa
Cruz Counties
Contact: Susana Z Cruz (bilingual) or Colin Jones
Phone: (805) 549-3138 or 549-3189
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
**24-HOUR TRAFFIC ADVISORY**
TEMPORARY CLOSURE OF HIGHWAY 1 AT PAUL’S SLIDE AT 5 PM SATURDAY AND MUD CREEK AT 9 AM SUNDAY
MONTEREY COUNTY — Caltrans has received confirmation from National Weather Service (NOAA) data that a significant storm is in the forecast for the areas of Mud Creek (PM 8.9) and Paul’s Slide (PM 21.6) on State Route 1 in the Big Sur area.
This advisory is to inform the public to be prepared for preemptive closure of the roadway scheduled for 5 pm Saturday, Nov. 30 at Paul’s and 9 am Sunday, Dec. 1at Mud Creek due to a significant storm. A final notice will be sent just prior to the roadway closing. Caltrans will have our Geotech Maintenance and Construction units on call and prepared to inspect/clean up during daylight hours when the storm ends and it is safe to be onsite again.
The gates on either side of Mud Creek and Paul’s Slide will be key locked. These gates will not be manned when the highway is closed. No one, including Emergency Services or Caltrans employees will be allowed access until a proper assessment can be made and any necessary cleanup has been completed.
NOTE: These advisories apply only to the Mud Creek and Paul’s Slide areas with each closure being treated separately—Paul’s Slide will close at 5 pm Saturday, Nov. 30; Mud Creek will close at 9 am Sunday, Dec. 1. Please stand by for additional information.
# # #
Susana Z. Cruz
Today’s Date: November 28, 2019
District: 05 – Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, Monterey, San Benito and Santa
Cruz Counties
Contact: Susana Z Cruz (bilingual) or Colin Jones
Phone: (805) 549-3138 or 549-3189
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
**48-HOUR TRAFFIC ADVISORY**
TENTATIVE TEMPORARY CLOSURE HIGHWAY 1 AT MUD CREEK/PAUL’S SLIDE
Monterey County — Caltrans has received notification from the National Weather Service (NOAA) that there is a significant storm arriving in approximately 48-hours for the areas of Mud Creek (PM 8.9) and Paul’s Slide (PM 21.6) on State Route 1 in the Big Sur area.
This advisory is for the public to be ready in the event the roadway needs to close due to a predicted significant storm and allow time for the public to prepare for the closure including stocking up on necessary supplies and making plans.
NOTE: At the 24-hour mark, an updated traffic advisory will be sent, either confirming the full closure or providing additional information. These advisories apply only to the Mud Creek and Paul’s Slide areas with each closure being treated separately.
Susana Z. Cruz
Caltrans District 5
Public Information Officer
This ought to be interesting with the rain…
Dear Big Sur Kate,
In an effort to better communicate with Big Sur residents regarding upcoming filming activities, this is to notify you of an upcoming permitted film shoot scheduled for 12/2/19 and 12/3/19 from 6:00am to 5:00pm with a 2-3 hour break between approximately 11am-2pm. Our work will require intermittent traffic control (ITC) at and near Bixby Bridge and Hwy 1.
As per our permit, a portion of the Bixby Bridge turnout may be used for parking of a few production vehicles.
We will be hiring California Highway Patrol officers to facilitate the ITC – ensuring public safety and access with only brief traffic holds. Most of our trucks and equipment will be stationed a few miles away on at Rocky Point Restaurant.
We have taken all steps to ensure that the required permits have been obtained and will comply with restrictions necessary for a safe and efficient shoot.
The production company would like to show its appreciation to the community with a donation to Midcoast Fire Brigade and Big Sur Fire Brigade.
Thank you for your cooperation and understanding. I hope this advance notice is helpful for you to plan your day.
Sincerely,
Bonnie Gallanter
Production Manager
Valkyr Productions LLC
While this is still an extremely active slide, and will be subject to close scrutiny this winter — by not just Cal Trans, but by Rock Knocker, Brendon, and me, also, Cal Trans is turning off the traffic lights and allowing two-way traffic for now.
Today’s Date: Thursday, November 21, 2019
District: 05 – Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, Monterey, San Benito and Santa
Cruz Counties
Contact: Susana Z Cruz (bilingual) or Colin Jones
Phone: (805) 549-3138 or 549-3189
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
HIGHWAY 1 AT PAUL’S SLIDE OPENS TO UNRESTRICTED TRAFFIC TODAY; DE-ACTIVATING EXISTING TRAFFIC SIGNAL BUT LEAVING HARDWARE IN PLACE
MONTEREY COUNTY – Construction at Paul’s Slide (PM 21.6), about 25 miles south of Big Sur, has been completed so the temporary traffic signal in place since the winter of 2017 is being turned off but will remain in case it needs to be activated, Caltrans officials announced today.
Although a major slope cut has been completed, Paul’s Slide remains an active landslide and continues to be closely monitored.
Paul’s Slide, near Limekiln State Park, suffered major storm damage in January 2017, losing part of its embankment including the southbound lane and closing for several months. Highway 1 there has been operating under one-way control with a temporary traffic signal for over two years.
John Madonna Construction of San Luis Obispo was the contractor for this repair project. Having the traffic signal turned off but still in place at Paul’s Slide will ensure a safer environment for all travelers.
Caltrans reminds motorists to move over and slow down when driving through
Highway work zones.
For more information on this project and for traffic updates on other Caltrans projects in Monterey County, residents may call the District 5 Public Affairs Office at (805) 549-3318 or visit our website at: https://dot.ca.gov/caltrans-near-me/district-5.
I apologize for my lack of blogging this week, but several things converged at once, and since Saturday, I have had to be selfish. First I was sick and ended up sleeping most of three days. Then, I had a deadline to make for Voices (see below), and finally, the winter power issues have hit, which means no internet, among other things.
I have recovered from that nasty bug (thanks in part to the Elderberry tincture I made last year), I made my deadline, and will give you the lead-in and a link below, and today, I am, hopefully, resolving my power issues, by making sure my batteries are fully charged after having replenished them with two gallons of distilled water.
From Voices of Monterey Bay:
“Big Sur is the greatest meeting of land and sea. It is where the mountains are constantly marching to the ocean. It is a place to which the word “iconic” has been applied much too often. It is a place that has been “discovered” and Instagramed into a cliché.
We have come to experience ‘LA-type traffic‘ here in paradise, and thus, we are in need of a plan.
Just in the last few days the magazine Fodor’s Travel put Big Sur on its 2020 NO GO list. It is in good company, along with Bali, Barcelona and 10 other popular destinations. With its beauty and all the promotion it gets, the chickens ’have come home to roost,’ according to Fodor’s.
Big Sur is past the point of needing to be ‘managed.’ Any plan that attempts to do this ‘managing’ will be, by necessity, complex and difficult. In the end, it is Mother Nature who determines much of what happens here. That is the allure and the draw. We humans must be careful to consider the needs of this place — her environment — before our own. And a proposed plan meant to tackle the problem acknowledges that Big Sur’s terrain and remote location make solutions even more difficult.”
Please take a few minutes and read about the Traffic Demand Management Plan and the formation of the Byways Organization that will be charged with designing and implementing any possible solutions to our highway issues here: https://voicesofmontereybay.org/2019/11/21/traffic-demands-management-plan-for-the-highway-1-corridor-in-big-sur/
