No more Bixby Bridge selfies? Parking ban at iconic Big Sur photo spot gets OK

The days of grabbing a selfie with Big Sur’s iconic Bixby Bridge span in the background will soon be a thing of the past — at least for the next year as officials test a parking ban at the popular photo spot.

Monterey County supervisors on Tuesday approved an ordinance authorizing a 12-month pilot no-parking program on both sides of the famous, jam-packed stretch of two-lane Highway 1.

The ban is expected to go into effect as soon as signs can be permitted and placed there.

The vote on the program was 4-1, with Supervisor Chris Lopez opposing the ordinance. He’s also a member of the California Coastal Commission, and his vote Tuesday echoed the one he cast in May at an initial hearing on the Bixby parking ban.

His objections then, he said, were related to visitor-serving restrictions and the difficulty of enforcing the ordinance in the relatively remote area.

Supervisor Kate Daniels, who represents the Big Sur coast and related regions, first brought the issue forward for emergency action, based on safety hazards caused by the increasing traffic bottlenecks in the area.

The site about 15 miles south of Carmel allegedly is one of the most photographed and touted locations in California and even the country, according to those tracking the slow-to-stopped traffic jams there as the summer tourist season ramps up.

That influx of visitors began in force in January, soon after Highway 1 reopened end-to-end from Cambria to Carmel following a three-year closure.

Currently, travelers interested in stopping for a closer look at the bridge have few safe options.

Drivers often park every which way along the narrow highway, sometimes even within the traffic lanes themselves, which can cause stop-and-go traffic for a mile or so in each direction, The Tribune previously reported.

There used to be 12 unofficial parking spaces available near the bridge, but those have been blocked off by barriers in hopes of nudging traffic along more expeditiously and safely.

Parking is also forbidden on about 1,260 feet of both sides of the nearby unpaved, single-lane (Old) Coast Road east from Highway 1’s center line. That no-parking rule has been in place since September 2024.

The new ban would prohibit parking from approximately 900 feet north of Bixby Bridge to approximately 700 feet south of the bridge, according to the draft ordinance.

Signs announcing the parking ban could go up as soon as 30 days after the Tuesday vote, assuming Caltrans approves, as expected, an encroachment permit allowing the temporary installations.

Monterey County already has an emergency coastal development permit for the signs.

Kathe Tanner

The Tribune

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Kathe Tanner has been writing about the people and places of SLO County’s North Coast since 1981, first as a columnist and then also as a reporter. Her career has included stints as a bakery owner, public relations director, radio host, trail guide and jewelry designer. She has been a resident of Cambria for more than four decades, and if it’s happening in town, Kathe knows about it.