San Pedro Residents Around Landslide Area Brace For Wet Weather
SAN PEDRO (CBS) — With a big chunk of their San Pedro neighborhood lying in the harbor, neighbors met with city officials Thursday night to decide how to clean up and rebuild after the Paseo del Mar collapse.
Another topic of discussion at the meeting was how best to prepare for the coming storm and what affect it might have on the slide area.
Geologists warned that anytime there is rainfall, movement is possible at the landslide site.
Margaret and Bret Cook's deck overlook the section of Paseo del Mar that collapsed in the November 20 landslide last year.
The area is now fenced off and surrounded by 'no trespassing' signs.
"I was concerned at first, but it seems to have stabilized. And so they told us our homes are safe," Margaret said.
But as the ominous weekend whether approached, residents, like the Cooks, were invited to a committee meeting to address concerns regarding safety and future plans for the land.
"Some of the residents want to build a bridge; some residents want to build a road through the preserve; some residents just want a traffic circle on each end," said Joe Buscaino of the L.A. City Council.
At the meeting some expressed concerns about emergency vehicles getting access fast enough to neighborhoods without the road.
"I have an elderly mother that lives with me and that is where my concern is," resident Dorine Schneider said.
Others, like San Pedro resident Arthur Coronas, hoped to see nothing done at all.
"From my standpoint I think it's the best thing that has ever happened to us, because it has cut traffic down about 70 percent," he said.
While there has been some cracking around the landslide, a report by city engineers found that there hadn't been any movement outside of the fenced off area. It deemed the area safe at the time -- rain or no rain.
"The geologist came out and said, you can anticipate some movement during rainfall, so our message to the community and to residents across the city is to stay out of the area during the rainfall," Buscaino said.
Even though the Cooks live right next to the slide, the couple was not on edge, as they watched the clouds approach.
"We feel that nature will take its course, and, of course, slough off a little bit into the ocean. But there hasn't been any serious ground movement, you know, close to us, so we feel safe," Bret Cook said.
