Pacifica planning panel reapproves Caltrans signs and wireless detectors for State Route 1 after permit lapse

The Pacifica Planning Commission voted to reapprove a coastal development permit that lets the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) install wireless vehicle detection modules and a variable message sign (VMS) at two locations on State Route 1 in Pacifica.

The commission action on the State Route 1 traffic operations improvements project adopted Caltrans’ May 2021 Initial Study and Negative Declaration for the corridor and approved Coastal Development Permit CDP-468-24, with a motion by Commissioner Ferguson and a second by Commissioner Redfield; the motion passed by recorded tally (motion summary in record).

Caltrans consultant Jacob Garcia presented the application and staff packet, describing it as the same project the commission approved in 2022 that now requires reapproval because the original permit expired before construction began. The reapproved work within Pacifica includes: installation of a small wireless detection module mounted about 25 feet high at the intersection of State Route 1 and Reina Del Mar Avenue (Location 9-1); and a 12-foot-by-5-foot variable message sign (VMS) mounted on two wooden poles, roughly…