Widening the mouth of the lagoon will result in a catastrophic change to the wave by altering the fragile reef structure that makes the waves at Topanga so unique and rare. There are only a handful of cobblestone point breaks in California, and Topanga is a classic, to be sure. Similar projects ruined Malibu (see below), and this project will be no different: changing the river mouth changes the wave, and the wider the river mouth, the worse the wave shape will be. Thousands of surfers from around the world enjoy this wave every year, they spend money locally, take care of the beaches, and keep the area relatively crime-free. The wave itself benefits the local economy and provides mental health and solace in an increasingly stressful world. Don’t destroy it!

The project will eliminate most of the current beach parking lot and move parking to the other side of the PCH. Parking on the land side of PCH means that the only safe access is under PCH via underpasses. Close to 50% of the 100 surfers that frequent Topanga Beach in the pre-dawn twilight hours are women, and many more are kids surfing before school. They will need to decide to take the chance of crossing under PCH with the likelihood of encountering urine, feces, broken glass, dirty needles, and possibly facing assault or jaywalking as opposed to now when they can park directly at the beach access points in the safety of a well-lit parking lot. Don’t believe me? Come down and have a look look at the situation firsthand, and ask yourself if you, your friends, or your kids should be subjected to this.

For over 75 years, Topanga Beach has been a critical part of surf culture in Southern California, and there are a minimum of two hundred people who surf the wave daily and have for nearly a century. I personally started surfing Topanga when I was 11 years old and it shapes me to this day, I am now 57 (46 years), my son started surfing Topanga when he was 4, he is now 24  (20 years), my wife started surfing at AGE 60 (3 years) and has been so warmly embraced by the multi-cultural surfing community, and she feels safe parking in the existing lot for that reason. That’s 69 years for my small family alone. ITS NOT ABOUT THE SURFING. It’s about the parking lot, the community garden flanking the stairs that was planted and is tended by selfless community members, it serves as the backdrop for checking the surf, conversations, courtships, friendships, sharing losses, making business connections, mental health–like every other community, we need it now more than ever. THIS PROJECT WILL BULLDOZE IT! Reconfiguring the lot will displace and disperse our community.

More people mean more trash and more need for functioning bathrooms. The current septic is already stressed, and the solutions put forth are slapdash at best. I’ve yet to hear a solution to the other sanitation issues that will arise if there is an increase in demand for the beach/lagoon and a radical increase in the unhoused population due to all of the new infrastructure.

Reducing the Traffic to two lanes north and Southbound PCH to expand the bridge from 78ft to over 400ft will have a knock-on effect of impacting southbound Topanga Canyon Blvd traffic. Even with the roads fully open, rush-hour backups are typically up to the s-curves, meaning residents cannot escape in the event of a fire or other emergency. Cal Trans cannot claim this won’t be an issue when it already is every day. Closing one lane in each direction will back-up Traffic all the way to the 10 freeway to the south and past the Malibu pier to the north every single day that the project is ongoing (3-4 years), leading to a massive loss in productivity and increased emissions from gridlock traffic along the entire coast. 

Reducing the Traffic to two lanes north and Southbound PCH to expand the bridge from 78ft to over 400ft will have a knock-on effect of impacting southbound Topanga Canyon Blvd traffic. Even with the roads fully open, rush-hour backups are typically up to the s-curves, meaning residents cannot escape in the event of a fire or other emergency. Cal Trans cannot claim this won’t be an issue when it already is every day. Closing one lane in each direction will back-up Traffic all the way to the 10 freeway to the south and past the Malibu pier to the north every single day that the project is ongoing (3-4 years), leading to a massive loss in productivity and increased emissions from gridlock traffic along the entire coast. 

The plan is to dump 5,000 shipping containers worth of fill dirt directly into the ocean. There is a reef out there adjacent to the proposed dumping site. When the fill dirt hits the water, it will migrate with the tide, current, swell, etc. it will cover the natural habitat for Seabass, Halibut, Lobster, Sheepshead, etc. The project risks killing a thriving habitat to restore one–the irony lost to no one. The other unintended consequence is the surf spot, again, the environmental impact reports are academic but laughable to those of us who’ve observed this beach and its changes year over year for four-plus decades, we can predict with pinpoint accuracy how this project will change the spot for the worse because we remember every change this beach has encountered.  All this so MAYBE some fish can thrive in the creek.

There is not one example of a project this ambitious that has EVER been successful. Not one consultant or public official involved in the Topanga Restoration project has a track record that could provide confidence that it won't be a disaster. (See Malibu).

This project is unnecessary; the population that uses Topanga Beach didn't ask for it, and it will result in an environmental and cultural disaster, just like the Malibu Lagoon Restoration Project.

The Malibu Restoration project continues to be an unmitigated
https://www.theinertia.com/surf/the-dramatic-changes-at-iconic-malibu-surfrider-explained/environmental disaster, resulting in the death of over a hundred thousand fish whose stinking, rotting corpses were a stark reminder that the interested parties like Moffat and Associates–highly paid consultants on the Topanga Lagoon Project–got it very, very wrong.  The flow of the lagoon soon undermined historical landmarks that had been there for 100+ years (Adamson House and the world-famous Malibu Wall). It required the installation of groins and seawalls, which caused further coastal erosion and created additional hazards on the beach.

The Malibu Lagoon Restoration Project, which has all but destroyed three of the best pointbreaks in the world, has brought no benefit to the ecosystem, only destruction and a grand scale of dead birds and fish. The once-thriving Surfrider Beach, the main economic attraction of Malibu, is now a mere shadow of its former self, and none of the organizations involved have any accountability for the crime, just bucket loads of cash.

https://www.theinertia.com/surf/the-dramatic-changes-at-iconic-malibu-surfrider-explained/

https://www.theinertia.com/surf/malibu-lagoon-project-manager-responds-to-allegations-that-lagoon-restoration-is-ruining-surfrider-beach/

https://www.theinertia.com/surf/locals-enraged-at-california-state-parks-bungled-malibu-lagoon-restoration-project/