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14 | April 12, 2018 | Malibu surfside news Sound Off
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impact statement.”
City officials have been
assured that the project’s
timeline allows for geotechnical
studies to ensure that
the removal project won’t
cause the canyon walls to
collapse, or increase flood
risk to the Serra Retreat,
and that the sand deposited
offshore won’t impact the
Surfrider surfbreak, or water
quality.
The biggest obstacle for
the project remains congressional
approval. The
project is estimated to cost
between $172 million-$187
million. However, once the
first round of funding is
approved, and the technical
studies are undertaken,
the Coastal Commission
will have statutory authority
to make changes or take
remedial action, including
making supplemental consistence
determinations if
the project changes or new
impacts on coastal resources
are found.
While restoring the creek
and improving connectivity
for the endangered steelhead
trout and other species is the
primary goal of the removal
project, the dam has also
become a safety and water
quality issue in recent years,
as videos on social media
have attracted big crowds to
the derelict structure.
State Parks, which owns
the dam and is the Corps
partner in the project, officially
closed the area to the
Come visit our showroom
public in 2014, after several
serious accidents, including
at least one fatality accident
and a tragic 2011 suicide, as
well as an environmental toll
that has included erosion and
elevated fecal bacteria levels
in the water. Videos showing
daredevils diving from the
rocks into the pool below the
dam continue to be posted
and attract visitors, but the
park agency now has the authority
to fine trespassers.
“There’s a dramatic difference
between now and
before the closure,” State
Parks Angeles District Superintendent
Craig Sap told
the Malibu Surfside News.
“We had hundreds of people,
now it’s just a trickle. The
new ‘no pedestrian’ signs at
the tunnel have helped, too.”
Sap said his rangers have
gone from issuing 30 citations
a month down to just
a few, but, with warmer
weather arriving, that number
is expected to rise.
“This is a resource issue
as well as a safety issue,”
Sap said. “User trails created
massive erosion. There was
graffiti, trash, human waste.”
Sap said the closure will
remain in place until the old
dam is finally removed, to
protect the area’s environmental
resources as well as
to ensure the safety of park
visitors.
The full text of the staff
report on the project is available
at the Coastal Commission
website: https://
documents.coastal.ca.gov/
reports/2018/3/f11a/f11a-3-
2018-report.pdf.
Ride of the Week
SoCal — where classics are around every corner
Fireball Tim Lawrence
Contributing Columnist
Malibu resident
There is literally
nowhere you can
go on this planet to
see what we see here in
Southern California.
I mean there are wonderful
places in the world for
sure, but if you love cars,
then all you have to do is
literally step outside your
door and you’ll spot something
cool.
The other day, I was
traversing around and just
getting some errands done.
It was not an eventful day,
but after a couple hours I
ran across a very unique
car. Pictured here is a 1948
Chevy Fleetline Fastback.
Now, at first glance,
you may say that it’s just
an old car. And you’d be
partially right. It’s not even
restored. But let’s take a
closer look, shall we?
The Chevy Fleetline was
made from 1941-1952.
Only 11 years, but keep
in mind that this car was
state-of-the-art and the best
that Chevy could produce.
It was introduced late in
the 1941 model year as a
four-door and as a fastback
two-door “Aerosedan.”
And in 1947, it made up
almost 72 percent of Chevrolet’s
sales. But production
was delayed in 1942
due to WW2 after 110,000
were made.
It was called a “fastback”
because of its sloping
roof to the trunk lid.
Really the first of its kind
and made famous by the
1968 Bullitt Mustang. This
Malibu Glass & Mirror 310.456.1844
This Chevrolet Fleetline Custom was produced from 1941-1952. Photo Submitted
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Additional Services
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makes the Fleetline series
highly collectable and
lots of them are made into
street rods with Chevy 350
small block V8s.
It’s a car that you really
have to go to a car show to
see ... unless you’re in So-
Cal and Malibu like us.
The fascinating thing
about cars like these is
that, of the millions of
cars that exist on the
road today, none of them
existed at the time that
this one was built. This
was new, fresh and the
best. They were hand-built
without robots or computers.
Dipped in paints
that were toxic, cigarettes
were en vogue and some
cars even had beer taps on
the inside. There were no
seat belts or virtually any
safety features at all.
And this was the norm.
We’ve come a long way in
our automotive mindsets
for what is acceptable and
normal for today’s standards,
which makes this
car and cars like it truly
unique. It’s not about the
car, but about the mindset
that created it.
And as it stood there in
the parking lot, I felt like
I was looking into history.
A time of World Wars,
new roads, families and
I wondered how things
were different. Of course,
technologically we are
vastly different, but has
the world really changed
all that much? It’s a question
only to be answered
personally.
The 1948 Fleetline is
officially 70 years old now.
Seventy years of progress
has changed our automotive
world dramatically
and makes me wonder
what the next 70 years will
bring? 2088? Sounds like
science-fiction. But one
day, they’ll look back on
this time and I’m pretty
sure there’ll be a Fleetline
around for them to see. I
just wonder if there will
be a 2018 Corvette. Will
plastic last that long?
Want to be featured in Ride
of the Week? Send Fireball
an email at askfireball@
fireballtim.com.