Kanan Road as an evacuation route for the city of malibu
On September 6, 2020, the City of Malibu finalized their Mass Evacuation Plan. See article making announcement here: https://bit.ly/35EPLuo
The KANAN ROAD FIRE CORRIDOR" is part of Malibu's evacuation plan. You can read Malibu"s Mass Evacuation Plan here.
From page 7 of Malibu's Mass Evacuation Plan
"EVACUATION ROUTES
These are the five main evacuation routes to be utilized:
1) NB Pacific Coast Hwy (to Oxnard)
2) Kanan Rd
3) Malibu Canyon Rd
4) Topanga Canyon Rd(only as needed)
5) SB Pacific Coast Hwy (to LA / I-10)
Due to roadway conditions and existing population, every effort shall be made to avoid routing evacuation traffic onto Topanga Canyon Rd, and all other options should be exhausted first."
We heartily welcome our neighbors from the City of Malibu to use Kanan Road to evacuate in times of disaster. Clearly they, the approximately 2300 residents of unincorporated Agoura/Cornell and anyone who might have the misfortune of being on Kanan Road when the next wildfire strikes (Kanan is used by 25,000 commuters per day per CalTran's 2023 census), should be concerned about traffic flow through the intersection of Kanan and Agoura Roads during evacuation. The intersection lies at the mouth of this primary evacuation route out of this section of the Santa Monica Mountains and must be crossed in order to reach the onramps to 101 Freeway.
* It is difficult to estimate how many vehicles Malibu residents could represent during evacuation of a given fire or other disaster. According the the city's website, the 2010 census showed a population of 12,645 and presumed 2.58 people per household. Traffic studies use an average of 2.4 vehicles per household in Southern California. Therefore, based on population figures that are 15 years old that could be roughly 32,624 vehicles for Malibu. If only 10% of Malibu residents used Kanan Road in a disaster that could add as many as 3000 vehicles to Kanan Road.
The ONLY thing that matters is that traffic is moving smoothly through the intersection at Kanan & Agoura Roads and at both onramps at the 101 Freeway.