For those of you concerned with transportation issues in California (which I would imagine means a lot of people in Los Angeles, but very few people actually reading this page right now), take a look at Caltrans Strategic Plan 2007-12 [pdf].
While I haven’t yet read the whole thing, it does contain interesting facts and figures that might be worth the reading time.
- “Caltrans works to protect our fragile environment. To protect fish during bridge construction, Caltrans used an innovative new technology known as a ‘bubble curtain.’ The bubble curtain works by piping pressurized air through a series of hoops that encircle steel piles as they are pounded into the mud and shale. In the water, the bubbles froth like a spa. Those bubbles disrupt the underwater sonic waves, which can be fatal to certain fish. Water amplifies sound, and when those sonic waves reach fish, the blast can rupture their internal organs.”
- “Caltrans and our partner, the California Highway Patrol (CHP), launched an aggressive two month statewide clean-up in May 2007. The debris and brush clean-up, which stretched from Yreka to San Diego, was part of an effort to remove potential wildfire fuel along the highways. Caltrans has been actively working to raise public awareness of the litter and dumping problems with campaigns such as ‘Don’t Trash California.’ Last year, the State of California spent over $55 million in tax dollars to pick up and dispose of trash that was recklessly tossed or dumped onto California’s roadways.”
These “plans” tend to be more interesting to read after the fact when you can point to results, or lack thereof, but for now I suppose it’s slightly comforting to know there is a plan, even if it leaves out some things commuters and residents might like to see.