Monterey County supervisors are moving to curb a growing safety problem at Bixby Bridge, one of the world’s most photographed landmarks, by advancing a parking moratorium along a section of the Highway 1 corridor.
On Tuesday, May 19, at the urging of Supervisor Kate Daniels, who represents the Big Sur region, the board moved forward with an emergency ordinance that would create a 12‑month no‑parking zone around the bridge. Daniels said the temporary restriction is needed to address a “documented public safety hazard” while enabling the board time to plan for a long-term solution.
As she consulted with other state agencies, Daniels said they found “there is not another place on the California coastline that is experiencing this.” The staff report noted that earlier this spring, traffic congestion at key Big Sur chokepoints, including Bixby Bridge, Point Lobos and Soberanes, reached unprecedented levels during spring break.
“These conditions continue to heighten risks to visitor and resident safety, emergency access, and sensitive natural resources,” the report continued.
Earlier this year, suspected vandals or handsy visitors cut down a trail of the famous calla lilies that lead to Garrapata State Park. With major events like the FIFA World Cup hosting games in the San Francisco Bay Area and Los Angeles, officials are bracing for a surge in visitors. Monterey County is already seeing record-setting tourism, reporting $3.3 billion in visitor spending for 2025, surpassing the previous high of $3.2 billion set in 2019 before the pandemic.
Rob O’Keefe, president and CEO of See Monterey, a nonprofit that promotes tourism in the region, told the Californian the group has not used the Bixby Bridge in any advertising since 2015 in hopes it would help curb unsafe tourist behavior at the iconic landmark.
“We do not want people to get out of their car or park illegal,” said O’Keefe. Instead, he said, people can enjoy the bridge without even stopping.
This article originally appeared on Salinas Californian: Bixby Bridge parking ban aims to boost safety at iconic landmark
Reporting by Roseann Cattani, Salinas Californian / Salinas Californian
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
