Caltrans

In a wide-ranging conversation at the TransForm/CalBike Equity Summit, Malcolm Dougherty kept right on saying things that advocates are not used to hearing from the director of Caltrans. He reiterated Caltrans' commitment to its goals of  tripling biking trips and doubling the number of walking trips in the state. He said that California is investing more in transit than it ever has before, and he even said there are freeways in the state “that may not be serving their original purpose” and maybe should be removed, using the Embarcadero Freeway in San Francisco as an example of the improvements that could bring.

Caltrans is hosting a series of meetings around the state to get input on the California State Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan (CSBPP). The plan kicked off last year and is expected to be completed and approved by Caltrans management in early 2017.

Last year, Governor Brown called a “Special Session” to prod the California legislature to find solutions to what seemed an intractable problem: how to fund transportation needs in the state. Some bills were introduced, some hearings were held, but the biggest result of all the ballyhoo is a confirmation that the problem is, indeed, intractable.

The California Transportation Plan 2040 is nearing its final draft. Caltrans will accept public comments on it through Tuesday, March 29.

Caltrans was involved in two very different bridge demolitions last week, and has posted timelapse footage of both of them.

As the value captured from the state's gas tax continues to fall, and the conditions of the California's roads and bridges continues to worsen, state leaders unveiled a plan last week to pilot a program that could lead to replacing the gas tax with a road user fee based on vehicle miles traveled. A summary of the report can be found here.

Yesterday, the Public Interest Research Group (PIRG), a national non-profit with state chapters throughout the country, released a report detailing the "12 biggest highway boondoggles" under study in the country. Not surprisingly, a California highway project made the list, the I-710 Tunnel Project in Los Angeles County.

In 2015, Shasta Living Streets worked on a project that, on the face of it, was no different from many other local advocacy efforts in California. But its success is leading to new standards that the entire state will benefit from.

Squeezing up on its statutory deadline, Caltrans issued its "Class IV Bikeway Guidance [PDF]" on the last day of 2015.