Sand toys, check. Extra diapers, check. Sunscreen, check.
Laguna Beach parents who decide to leave the car or golf cart at home for their beach pilgrimage and instead take the Laguna Local on-demand van service must haul at least one more item— a car seat.
A group of Laguna Beach families said they feel excluded from using the free transit service upon hearing city policy requires parents to bring, install, and offload a car seat for each child who requires one under state law.
After lobbying councilmembers last month to find a reasonable compromise, interested parents were told by city staffers that providing car seats for young riders was not feasible. Among the concerns are additional liability involved for both the City and the City’s contracted van operator if a car seat is improperly installed and a lack of space on-board to carry a variety of car seats graded for children of all sizes.
Nine months pregnant with a toddler, Arch Beach Heights resident Roxanne Moin-Safa said she recently endured a flat tire on her car. The prospect of dragging along a car seat in addition to a stroller and other essentials would be a real physical challenge, she said, noting she was just outside the vans’ service area.
“If you’re going home that’s one thing but if you’re going to the beach or you’re going into town where are you putting your car seat that you’re responsible to bring?” Moin-Safa said.
State law requires children under two years old must ride in a rear-facing car seat unless the child weighs at least 40 pounds or is at least 40 inches tall. Children under eight years old must be secured in a car seat or booster seat, according to the California Highway Patrol website.
Laguna Beach launched the on-demand van service providing trips within the city limits in November 2021 after ending the neighborhood trolley service. The average number of hourly boardings had dipped below the amount required by an Orange County Transportation Authority grant agreement.
Reviews of the neighborhood trolley cancellations were mixed. Some residents complained about large trolleys rolling along narrow residential streets. Others bemoaned the City’s decision to keep trolleys largely shuttling tourists along Coast Highway and Laguna Canyon Road while axing service to neighborhoods in Top of the Worlds, Arch Beach Heights, and Bluebird Canyon. City staffers pitched the on-demand van service as a possible solution to all of these complaints.
Laguna Beach resident Meg Monahan said she’s used the transit service several times and has had a great experience.
“What I like about it it is I love to walk and when I there’s no transit [service] I can only go a certain distance from my house,” Monahan said.
Her main critique is that she struggled to get the smartphone app to request a second ride within an hour. Monahan would like to be able to ride to Ralph’s, do 15 minutes of grocery shopping, and hail another van without having to wait.
A city spokesperson noted residents can preschedule a return ride before starting an excursion. Riders are blocked from booking in the middle of an active ride.
A former municipal attorney with a master’s degree in public policy from Columbia University, Moin-Safa said she and her husband purchased a vacant lot in Arch Beach Heights in 2013, built a house on the land, and finally moved into their dream home in January 2021. Last year she also spent months lobbying city officials to add bathroom stall doors and other family-friendly improvements to Moulton Meadows Park. Coupled with the cart seat matter, she says, it’s become evident that city leaders need to consider policies benefiting all demographics including families with young children
“I get the feeling that for many years the focus has been on a different demographic,” Moin-Safa said. “The demographics are changing and Arch Beach Heights is an example of that change… There’s been an onslaught of young families and we need to take into consideration this demographic change when we talk about public policy needs to reflect that to be more inclusive.”
She suggested city leaders explore additional insurance policies or have parents sign a waiver to use car seats provided by the vans’ operator.
A city spokesperson declined to directly answer questions from the Independent regarding the on-demand van service.
“The ‘Laguna Beach Local’ pilot service is designed to serve all the members of the community and we encourage families with young children to ride the Laguna Beach local service safely by bringing their own car seats or child booster seats as required by California law,” city spokesperson Cassie Walder wrote in an email.
Moin-Safa isn’t alone in feeling the transit program should be tweaked to accommodate Laguna Beach families.
“The families I’ve talked to do find the switch from trolleys to vans challenging due to the need for car seats (although they also definitely appreciate the vans for date night!) It would be helpful if the city continued to research transportation options that are both safe and accessible for families with young children,” Laguna Beach Parent Club co-president Kayla Wiechert wrote in an email.
Louis Weil, chair of the Design Review Board, enjoys living in a walkable neighborhood but still feels for fellow Laguna Beach parents who live farther away from the City’s parks and beaches.
“For a five- or six-year-old not to be able to ride to downtown from Arch Beach Heights is a little hard put,” he said.
Parents should at least be given the opportunity to sign a waiver and use provided car seats carried by the on-demand van service if they wish, he said.
“From a population perspective, there are more senior needs within our community but there also needs to be some focus on families since these kids are being raised here,” Weil said.
About 3.4% of Laguna Beach’s population is under five years old, equivalent to 737 children, according to the U.S. Census Breau.
This spring, the City Council is expected to consider adding a resident-serving summer trolley service that would provide another transit option for residents in the Laguna Beach Local service area.
“If approved by City Council, we would provide a limited number of morning and afternoon trips between the three neighborhoods and the beaches [and] downtown during summer months,” Michael Litschi, Laguna Beach deputy director of public works, wrote in a January email to parents.
