Whether by land, sea or air, Santa Monica is going to be a tough place to get around today as the Summit for the America’s is passing through town.
The official schedule for the summit lists President Biden and the First Lady as hosting a Leaders’ Dinner at 7:30 at the Getty Villa in the Pacific Palisades. Security is expected to be tight throughout the area in advance of the dinner including a partial closure of the PCH, increased helicopter activity and additional security measures throughout the local area.
One southbound traffic lane of the Pacific Coast Highway from Coastline Drive to the McClure Tunnel will be dedicated to emergency vehicles from noon to 10 p.m. and residents are encouraged to avoid the area if possible.
The Summit includes world leaders from throughout North, Central, and South America, as well as the Caribbean. The Ninth Summit is only the second time the United States has hosted since 1994, when the inaugural summit was held in Miami.
“We’re thrilled to host the Ninth Summit of the Americas in Los Angeles and to welcome leaders from across the Western Hemisphere here to focus on our shared goal to secure a sustainable, resilient, and equitable future for all our peoples,” said Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti.
Some activity has already occurred in town as Vice President Kamala Harris hosted a dinner at El Cholo earlier this week with business executives and leadership of the Call to Action for northern Central America, her effort to bring together the private sector and social enterprises to invest in and support the long-term development of the region.
The dinner was part of a series of engagements in which the Vice President will participate on the margins of the Summit of the Americas to further her work addressing the root causes of migration from northern Central America.
The Vice President and the business executives discussed how to further strengthen collaboration and strategize on next steps as we continue to create economic opportunities for those in northern Central America. They also reviewed progress made thus far, including progress on the investments from 40 companies and organizations that have participated thus far in the Call to Action.
Officials said traffic impacts will continue throughout Los Angeles through Friday.
“The Summit will bring not only real benefits to our communities and local economy, but also result in temporary changes to traffic patterns in some parts of the City — and we want to make sure that Angelenos are aware of, and prepared for, these impacts on our streets, highways, and freeways,” said Garcetti.
Passengers traveling to or from Los Angeles International Airport should expect rolling traffic impacts. Departing passengers are encouraged to allow additional time to reach the airport. In order to avoid traffic congestion and delays in Downtown Los Angeles during the Summit of the Americas, the areas between the 10 and 101 freeways, and east of the 110 should be avoided whenever possible.
editor@smdp.com
