Re: California Rough Highways Reply #25 – November 14, 2018, 11:26:14 am Quote from: kool83704 - November 14, 2018, 10:26:15 amI'll have to speak speak up for Idaho roads - they're pretty good over all. The freeways are keep clean, in some areas, by low risk prisoners serving short terms in jail. Some secondary road areas are kept clean by volunteer groups. These same volunteer groups also take sections of the "green belt" and river area in town. I assume other states have their reasons for not using volunteers. Homelessness, while a problem, is not too obvious - yet. Idaho is being "discovered" however, and the problems the more populated states have will soon be here. FrankCalifornia does have a volunteer program called Adopt a Highway but no chain gangs, ala Cool Hand Luke, as far as I know. Caltrans Adopt-A-Highway Program
Re: California Rough Highways Reply #26 – November 14, 2018, 11:50:30 am Quote from: HiLola - November 14, 2018, 11:26:14 amCalifornia does have a volunteer program called Adopt a Highway but no chain gangs, ala Cool Hand Luke, as far as I know. Caltrans Adopt-A-Highway ProgramNot exactly chain gangs in Idaho. More like work release and it's on a voluntary basis. Many people would rather get out of jail for the day to pick up trash in the sunshine than sit staring through bars. Everybody wins in this scenario. Your post does make me want hard boiled eggs for lunch though. And maybe I could find some woman in a bathing suit to wash my LD too. 2 Likes
Re: California Rough Highways Reply #27 – November 14, 2018, 02:14:41 pm Here is one reason the California does not have inmates picking up trash along State highwaysInmate CrewsThat said, the City of Folsom uses inmate crews from Folsom Prison (where you can get a T-shirt labeled "Folsom's original gated community") to clean roadways and do landscape maintenance. They are from the low security side of the facility. I don't think they do road repairs, nor have chains. Joel
Re: California Rough Highways Reply #28 – November 14, 2018, 02:43:32 pm Quote from: rbkarrow - November 13, 2018, 10:34:45 pmA misconception about the gas tax revenue is it's now locked up away from the state spenders. Prop 69 in June 2018 fixed it permanently."As of June 2018, the state constitution prohibited the legislature from using gasoline excise tax revenue or diesel excise tax revenue for general non-transportation purposes."Jerry Brown I (first 2 terms 76-84?) declared war on roads and automobiles. Transportation taxes for road repair were diverted to mass transit (busses, light rail, and bicycles). Freeway and highway rights-of-way were abandoned and sold off. Caltrans road design expertise was decimated. Enthusiastic bipartisan efforts went into siphoning off more funds for pet projects.The high speed rail project to Fresno and at Bakersfield by Jerry Browb II (10 - 81) was funded by a separate bond issue which makes it difficult to raid transportation funds for the cost overruns.The historical transportation funds are gone and there is no way to retroactively get them back. What is strange about Prop 69, which tied the legislatures hands from dipping into that particular cookie jar was that it was placed on the ballot by the legislature in a rare-to-unique act of reducing the scope of the legislature's power to grab.SB1 which raised gas taxes to fund transportation was subject of an initiative to invalidate it. It failed at about 55/45 rate.Stay tuned to see what new monkey wrench the legislature will come up with. I doubt we will have to wait long.Joel 4 Likes
Re: California Rough Highways Reply #29 – November 14, 2018, 05:49:46 pm Speaking of the high speed train my mom in Morgan Hill says that's a big fight there right now. Proponents want it on the west side of 101 because it's the straightest route but that puts it right through the most densly populated part of Morgan Hill and it won't even stop there. I guess it's get on or off either in LA or SF and all towns in between can just wave as it rockets by right through their town.
Re: California Rough Highways Reply #30 – November 14, 2018, 06:04:41 pm Quote from: joel wiley - November 14, 2018, 02:14:41 pmHere is one reason the California does not have inmates picking up trash along State highwaysInmate CrewsThat said, the City of Folsom uses inmate crews from Folsom Prison (where you can get a T-shirt labeled "Folsom's original gated community") to clean roadways and do landscape maintenance. They are from the low security side of the facility. I don't think they do road repairs, nor have chains. JoelI'd like one of those T shirts. When I lived in Grass Valley California in the 70s I was working for a logging company and they hired some Folsom releases for labor work because they were having such a hard time finding anyone to do those low paid jobs that would stay in their camp called "Hell Hole". It was a slapped together logging camp with no hot showers and unheated bunkhouses full of mice and rats. I drove by one of those guys on the road crew that was throwing off roots and rocks behind the grader. It was a hot day and he had his shirt off. Across his entire back shoulder to shoulder was an eagle with wings spread clutching a banner that said Folsom Prison like he was extremely proud of it or something. Takes all kinds I guess.As a side note none of those guys lasted long and all were gone within a month. It was a failed experiment.
Re: California Rough Highways Reply #31 – November 15, 2018, 08:41:38 pm Corruption, pure and simple. Nothing else can explain such levels of incompetence, lack of planning and resource divergence. (See my other post above. Why do the wealthiest states with the highest GDP and economic resources suffer the most degraded, pitiful 3rd world infrastructure?)Port Authority Bus Terminal closed due to snowstorm overcrowding
Re: California Rough Highways Reply #32 – November 15, 2018, 11:31:13 pm Quote from: snerf - November 15, 2018, 08:41:38 pmCorruption, pure and simple. Nothing else can explain such levels of incompetence, lack of planning and resource divergence. (See my other post above. Why do the wealthiest states with the highest GDP and economic resources suffer the most degraded, pitiful 3rd world infrastructure?)Perhaps we have differing concepts of corruption. The main topic was the lamentable condition of California's roads despite massive amount of tax dollars going down the drain. To me, Boss Tweed exemplifies corruption. In my 28 years in California civil service, I did not see evidence of corruption at that level. Inefficiency, incompetency, lack of leadership, and intramural petty office politics yes, but real corruption was rare. A better yardstick could be this performance review question:QuoteCompare and contrast malfeasance, misfeasance and nonfeasance. Which best describes your activities this week? Cite examples, be brief One could add inconsistent direction from the top of the chain. But you have to remember that it is difficult to do a five year plan with a four year election cycle.Cheers,Joel 1 Likes
Re: California Rough Highways Reply #33 – November 16, 2018, 08:17:52 am Quote from: joel wiley - November 15, 2018, 11:31:13 pmPerhaps we have differing concepts of corruption. Cheers,JoelI don't think California has corruption in that the money slated for roads is going into someone's pocket but I do think funds allocated for roads are instead going into social programs.
Re: California Rough Highways Reply #34 – November 16, 2018, 09:55:18 am I don't think California is any different than any other State in that humans run them all. The big difference is size. The other difference is taxing policy. All States have a different tax policy that seems to work for most things within that State. That's just the nature of this country. It's my observation that this country was founded on the idea we will always be small rural agricultural enclaves. I'm thinking we need a massive overhaul in our underlining policies. Something that would reflex that state of things as we are today, massive electrified connected urban. Infrastructure (at all levels) needs massive overhaul that reflex our state of being today.<smile> but that is a large debate for another day
Re: California Rough Highways Reply #35 – November 16, 2018, 03:06:52 pm maybe this is how CHP sees it? 1 Likes
Re: California Rough Highways Reply #36 – November 16, 2018, 06:18:20 pm Joe, Boss Tweed was crude and unsophisticated. A century later, the systems set in place to achieve the same ends of raiding the public purse utilize advanced media and demographic analysis to shape public opinion in order to approve & finance certain pet projects.Who writes legislation? Who authors propositions? Why are these democratic processes subject to influence from the commercial marketplace? These are all examples of highly professional, well thought out schemes that meet the definition of corruption. Except, as you stated, you never saw any evidence.Rather, for some reason we all cannot seem to figure out, the high speed train to nowhere seems to win out over everyday road and freeway projects. Or, money that could be spent on subsidizing higher education (eg UC system) is instead diverted to other social programs that benefit those who elected the sponsors in the first place.This is how advanced 1st world economies evolve: everyone is making so much money, that no one seems to care that the institutional standards are compromised, and then abandoned, as everyone takes a shot at the brass ring. My original comment pertained to NYC & Calif roads/infrastructure vs a place like TX that doesn't brook such behavior. It's why they have DFW & Bush, while we have SFO & LAX.This is 21st century corruption, and the productive class are the ones financing it.
Re: California Rough Highways Reply #37 – November 16, 2018, 06:28:28 pm I think we all agree that California highways could be improved and that there are nefarious activities taking place in state governments as regards use of taxes for highways and other infrastructure. That said, this would be a good time to put this topic to rest.Chris 4 Likes
Re: California Rough Highways Reply #38 – November 16, 2018, 11:23:52 pm Need to keep on topic here. (Lazy Daze topic)
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