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Monterey County Transportation Articles



Monterey County Weekly logo LOCAL NEWS
Caltrans Is Reducing Speed Limits on Highway 1 in Big Sur.

Once the signs are replaced, which is expected to happen in the next 30 days, speed limits are going down on parts of Highway 1 in Big Sur.

Monterey County Weekly logo LOCAL NEWS
Caltrans eyes March 8 opening for section of Highway 1 in Big Sur, but more hurdles remain for rest of roadway.

Caltrans hopes to reopen one section of Highway 1 in Big Sur on March 8. But when the rest of the highway will be cleared remains unknown as crews deal with multiple other rockslides.

Monterey County Weekly logo LOCAL NEWS
Two retirees with ideas are causing agencies to rethink roundabouts on Highway 68.

Are roundabouts, perhaps, overrated? That is a key question being asked right now about Caltrans’ Highway 68 Improvement Project, which is currently undergoing a final environmental review (public comment for the project’s draft environmental impact report closed Jan. 8).

Image caption: A new law seeks to prevent cars from speeding, which causes about one of every three traffic fatalities.
If Drivers Won’t Slow Down, Proposed Law Requires Cars Do It for Them

“Intelligent” speed-limiting technology will be required in all new California cars starting in 2027, if a new law authored by San Francisco Senator Scott Wiener passes.

Image caption: Los Angeles voters can take a step toward reducing traffic violence with a measure on the March ballot.
Can Traffic Deaths in Los Angeles be Reduced With a Ballot Measure?

With traffic deaths now regularly topping 300 per year, Measure HLA on the March 5 ballot gives Los Angeles voters the opportunity to force their reluctant city to implement new traffic safety measures.

Image caption: California traffic deaths dropped by 12 percent in the first three months of 2023, but road fatalities remain at crisis levels.
Death on the Roads: Traffic Fatality Crisis Far From Over

As the COVID pandemic eased, so did the epidemic of death on the road. Somewhat. But the ongoing crisis of traffic fatalities remains at high levels with early numbers form 2023 appearing to top 4,000 in California.

Image caption: "Passive agressive tactics" by auto insurance companies are leaving many California drivers struggling to obtain required coverage, according to the state.
California Insurers Drag Feet, Leaving Many Drivers Uninsured

Drivers’ complaints about difficulty getting insurance coverage prompt state to reiterate laws, signal possible enforcement actions.

Monterey County Weekly logo LOCAL NEWS
Salinas recieves $16 million for Williams Road to improve safety.

In its budget, the City of Salinas allocated $7.8 million for street repairs for the 2023-2024 fiscal year. That amount will be divided equally among the city’s six political districts, each represented by a different city council member. Each district…

Image caption: Funding for California's roads and highways could be a casualty of the transition to electric vehicles.
EV Transition Threatens Roads With Drastic Gas Tax Revenue Cut

As the state battles climate change and Californians drive fewer gas-powered cars, tax revenue will drop substantially, according to a new state analysis. EV fees will make up only part of the transportation shortfall so lawmakers need new funding options.

Monterey County Weekly logo LOCAL NEWS
MST’s SURF! project is advancing, but kinks are still getting smoothed out.

There aren’t many hurdles left to clear for Monterey-Salinas Transit’s SURF! project, which is planned to be a rapid transit busway between Marina and Sand City, and would have its own, separated roadway to the west of Highway 1 between…

Monterey County Weekly logo LOCAL NEWS
Caltrans estimates a “late spring” 2024 reopening for Paul’s Slide in Big Sur.

There may be light at the end of the long Highway 1 closure tunnel—in 2024. Caltrans announced on Friday, Dec. 8 that the agency now estimates a full reopening of the highway at Paul’s Slide on Big Sur’s south coast…

Monterey County Weekly logo LOCAL NEWS
TAMC will open a traffic garden at San Antonio Park in King City.

Play can be a way for kids to learn new concepts, including math, vocabulary words and, according to transportation officials, the rules of the road.

Monterey County Weekly logo LOCAL NEWS
Transit officials are seeking public input on Highway 68 corridor improvements.

Having just released a draft environmental impact report on planned improvements to the Highway 68 corridor, transportation officials are now hosting a series of public hearings to present their plans and receive feedback from residents.

Image caption: Californians continue to set clocks back every fall, and ahead each spring.
Daylight Saving Time, Explained

After a 2018 vote authorizing the state legislature to make daylight saving time year-round, Californians are still changing their clocks twice per year. How did we get here?

Image caption: A terrifying incident in which a Cruise car dragged a pedestrian who had been hit by a different car led the DMV to take the cars off the road.
State DMV and CPUC Both Pull Self-Driving Cruise Taxis From Road

A recent incident in San Francisco spurred the Department of Motor Vehicles and the California Public Utilities Commission to suspend the licenses for Cruise’s driverless cars.

Featured

Over two weekends last October, residents of Santa Cruz and Watsonville  participated in demonstration rides aboard an electric streetcar on rails.
The ‘Rail Trail’ Movement, Explained
The heated controversy over what to do with abandoned railroad tracks
California transportation history runs from railroads to today’s car culture.
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