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2023 is rapidly coming to a close, and so I wanted to get the December headline post out a little early. The primary reason is that I need to go through the December headlines to finish off the November/December updates to the highway pages. You can expect that post to follow on the heels of this one, pretty shortly. There may also be another podcast episode, but we’re having trouble scheduling the recording session. So it’s more likely you’ll get 2-3 episodes in January to make up for a light December. Next up: The election year of 2024. Oh. Boy.
December was busy, what with the conference in Austin at the beginning of the month, and our daughter coming into town. We got one episode recorded and up — and it was an interesting one, talking all about Big Sur and the impact of highway closures there. We had planned on recording another episode this week, but various issues have delayed that. I hope we’ll be able to record it this weekend, and perhaps I’ll get it edited and up — but who knows. On the positive side, the scripts for the two Route 2 episodes are written and being reviewed. A short break, and then I’ll start researching and writing Season 3, covering Route 3 through Route 7. As always, you can keep up with the show at the podcast’s forever home at https://www.caroutebyroute.org , the show’s page on Spotify for Podcasters, or you can subscribe through your favorite podcaster or via the RSS feeds (CARxR, Spotify for Podcasters) . The following episodes have been posted this month:
CA RxR 2.04: Route 1: San Luis Obispo (SLO) and Big Sur. In Episode 2.04 of California Highways: Route by Route, we continue our exploration of Route 1 by exploring everything about the segment in San Luis Obispo (SLO) County and the portion in Monterey County up through Big Sur until just S of Carmel. This includes the Five Cities (Grover Beach, Pismo Beach, Shell Beach (actually part of Pismo Beach), Arroyo Grande, and Oceano (unincorporated county land serviced by the Oceano Community Services District)), San Luis Obispo, Morro Bay, Cayucos, Cambria, and San Simeon, as well as the (in)famous Big Sur. This episode also features an interview with Anneliese Ågren, a resident of Big Sur. As always, we go over the history of this segment of the route, the history of the route through various communities , the freeway plans, discuss relinquishments, names, and some current plans. We also talk about the history of slides on the Sur, and what people should know about the impacts of those slides. Looking forward, episode 2.05 will continue our exploration of Route 1 with the portions in Monterey, Santa Cruz and San Mateo county from Carmel through Devil’s Slide (Montara). (Spotify Link)
The updates to California Highways are nearly done; I just need to incorporate this headlines post. Other than that, theatre reviews have started up again. I’ve posted “new style” reviews for A Christmas Story – The Musical at the Ahmanson, and MJ – The Musical at the Pantages, as well as my plan for theatre reviewing going forward in 2024 (which includes a summary of my 2023 shows).
I wish everyone a happy and healthy 2024. Please spread the word about the California Highways: Route by Route podcast. Review it, rate it, share it. If you’re listening to the early episodes — yes, the sound quality does get better (I’ve learned a lot about audio editing). You’ll find it in your favorite podcatchers; you can also just subscribe to the RSS feed. If you listen through Spotify or a podcatcher, I may even see the numbers go up. The Spotify RSS feed is here. Our most played episode is just under 150 listens according to Spotify; for this season, the best is at 71 (Route 1 in LA County). I’d love to see the numbers grow.
Well, you should now be up to date. Here are the headlines that I found about California’s highways for December:
Key
[Ħ Historical information | ＄ Paywalls, ＄＄ really obnoxious paywalls, and ∅ other annoying restrictions. I’m no longer going to list the paper names, as I’m including them in the headlines now. Note: For ＄ paywalls, sometimes the only way is incognito mode, grabbing the text before the paywall shows, and pasting into an editor.]
Highway Headlines
- Caltrans Announces Public Information Meeting for Proposed State Route 154 and Foxen Canyon Road Intersection Improvements (The Santa Barbara Independent). Caltrans District 5 will hold a Public Information Meeting regarding a proposal to implement improvements at the intersection of State Route 154 and Foxen Canyon Road in Los Olivos. The public is invited to this meeting which will be held in an open house format at the St. Mark’s-in-the-Valley Episcopal Church at 2901 Nojoqui Avenue in Los Olivos on Tuesday December 12th from 6 pm until 8 pm. The public will be able to learn more about this project, view informational displays and ask questions of the project team, including staff from engineering, traffic operations and environmental. Caltrans considered current and future traffic volumes, collision data, and other factors to identify feasible safety enhancements that would address a pattern of collisions at the intersection and support safe and efficient travel for all users now and into the future. The preliminary evaluation indicates that a traffic signal or a roundabout would be feasible alternatives at the intersection. Now that the preliminary evaluation is complete, we will lead a more detailed analysis to identify a preferred solution, and we are looking for public input.
- Google apologizes for trapping Calif. drivers in the desert (SFGate). Google has apologized for sending a gaggle of Californians on a road to nowhere in the desert as they tried to make their way home from Las Vegas. The apology comes after Shelby Easler went viral on TikTok for documenting her experience after Google Maps promised her family a faster way out than Interstate 15. “The minute we got in the car to leave from Vegas, it popped up on Google Maps as a suggested alternative route to avoid the dust storm,” Easler told SFGATE over Instagram DMs.
- Toll lanes open on 405 Fwy in Orange County (KTLA). It’s finally here, Orange County. On Friday, new express lanes on the 405 Freeway opened, providing what officials say is a faster option for those willing to pay and less congestion for those who aren’t. “Everyone is going to benefit from this program,” Darrell Johnson, CEO of the Orange County Transportation Authority, told KTLA’s Ginger Chan. “We’re very proud of the work that we’ve done with our partners at Caltrans and all of the cities along the corridor.” The lanes, which span 16 miles from the 605 Freeway at the Los Angeles County line to State Road 73 in Costa Mesa, use electronic tolling, requiring drivers to have a FasTrak transponder.
- ＄ Mammoth $2 billion 405 Freeway project completes with express lanes opening (Los Angeles Times). The opening of new express lanes on the 405 Freeway in northwest Orange County on Friday marked the final step of a massive $2.16-billion highway improvement project. But in many ways, it also wrapped up one of the region’s last major freeway expansions as transportation officials move toward more sustainable and efficient investments. “The era of the big highway projects are over,” said Marlon Boarnet, an urban planning professor at USC and the director of the METRANS Transportation Consortium. “The big, big highway projects are going to become more rare. … [Future work] is going to become much more part of a more balanced system.”
- LAFD Finds Nearly 2 Dozen Freeway Underpasses Need Fixing (LAist). In the wake of the 10 Freeway fire, the Los Angeles Fire Department inspected all state-owned freeway underpasses in the city and has identified nearly two dozen properties with violations. LAFD inspectors reviewed 50 underpass properties that are similar to where that massive fire sparked in downtown L.A., and 23 of them were referred to the State Fire Marshal for fire code violations. In addition to fire code issues, inspectors were looking for health and safety code violations. Specifically, LAFD looked at hazardous materials storage that exceeds the state reporting threshold of 55 gallons of liquid, 200 cubic feet of gas, and 500 pounds of a solid. LAFD also kept an eye out for improper storage or use of hazardous materials.
- Driving on the Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu is about to change (KTLA). An ambitious multi-million-dollar project begins Monday to improve safety and traffic flow along the Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu, including the area where four Pepperdine University students were killed in a crash in October. As part of the “Traffic Signal Synchronization Project,” crews will install communication lines between existing traffic signals on PCH between John Tyler Drive and Topanga Canyon Boulevard. Officials said this will allow signals to be controlled remotely by Caltrans to lower speeds and reduce congestion.