Council Weighs Rerouting Traffic to Ease Congestion

Responding to complaints from residents that traffic on Monterey Boulevard has reached capacity, the City Council is planning to reroute rush-hour traffic on the residential street and may consider reopening Valley Drive to two-way traffic.

Traffic on Monterey, which runs parallel to Pacific Coast Highway and Hermosa Avenue, has grown worse in recent months as commuters from Redondo Beach, Torrance and the Palos Verdes Peninsula use the residential street to avoid congestion on PCH.

Councilwoman Julie Oakes said the city plans to put up signs that would divert traffic away from Monterey during rush hour in the morning and evening.

Oakes said that if the problem does not ease, the council will consider reopening the south end of Valley Drive to two-way traffic. The thoroughfare was turned into a one-way street near Herondo Street years ago.