Monterey County Transportation Digest

The California Department of Motor Vehicles changed its voter registration process in 2019 to put a party selection dropdown on the same page. Since then, the number of people registering as Republicans or Democrats has jumped close to 20 points.

The Orange County Transportation Authority announced that work has been completed for express lanes along 16 miles of Interstate 405. The lanes, which were part of a $2.16 billion improvement project, span from Costa Mesa to the Los Angeles County line.

A new study by Forbes shows that four cities in the Golden State—Los Angeles, Fresno, San Diego and Sacramento—are among the 21 worst cities in the United States for holiday travel. Forbes looked at a variety of factors including car accidents, hotel prices and air travel.

Interstate 10 in Los Angeles will reopen Nov. 21, following a fire on Nov. 11. It had previously been feared the freeway would be closed much longer.

California State University, Monterey Bay’s parking technology is about to get an upgrade, and maintenance that was halted due to COVID-19 will also begin to roll out across campus.

China modeled some of its climate programs on policies first adopted by California. Now, California depends on the world’s most populous country for essential materials in its electric vehicle ambitions.

The Monterey Regional Airport had a ribbon-cutting ceremony last week to its nearly-completed Aircraft Rescue and Fire Fighting facility, marking another notch in its multi-phase safety enhancement program.

The city of Marina is supporting Joby Aviation’s submittal of a grant to expand its mid-range production capacity at the Marina airport.

Hydrogen fueling stations will get 15 percent of funds in a state program — even though Californians own only about 12,000 hydrogen cars. The funds come from fees paid by drivers.

Joby Aviation has been mulling a decision of where to build its new manufacturing plant, and according to a story in TechCrunch, Marina is no longer in contention for the coveted facility.

With only 12,000 hydrogen cars on the road, and just two models for sale, California lawmakers are debating how much state money should support them.

One of Monterey car week’s fastest-growing car shows is the all-women car show in Carmel-by-the-Sea. The Prancing Ponies Women’s Car Show started with two dozen cars. Now, it has more than 100 women drivers roaring onto Ocean Avenue.

In December, the Land Trust of Santa Cruz County spent $17 million to buy Rocks Ranch, a 2,600-acre property near San Juan Bautista that has been eyed by developers. The group is working to build a crossing so that wildlife can traverse Highway 101 without being killed.

California's public transit agencies are seeking $5 billion over five years to keep buses and trains running, but time is running out in the budget process at the state Capitol. To address criticism, they submitted a new accountability plan.

Access to popular spots on the southern Big Sur coast will be restored next week when Caltrans reopens a key stretch of Highway 1, just in time for Memorial Day holiday weekend travel.

Two key stretches of Highway 1 along the Big Sur coast are expected to reopen to traffic by mid-July, according to Caltrans.

As the industry invests $40 billion in new US electric car plants, the rapid transformation raises labor and supply chain issues. Automaker Ford says, “we’re all in.”

The ports of Oakland, Los Angeles, Long Beach, Hueneme and San Diego will receive a one-time $27 million allocation from the state budget to develop a shared data system aimed at smoothing the flow of goods.

A bipartisan congressional group from Nevada and California is asking the Biden administration to fast-track federal funds for a private company to build a high-speed rail line between Las Vegas and the Los Angeles area.

Politicians must contend with a multibillion-dollar budget deficit, but they also face demands from leaders of vital health care and transit services for more money to solve their fiscal woes.

Up to 60% of 2030 models and two-thirds of 2032 models sold nationwide would be zero-emissions—less aggressive than California’s mandate.

Transit agencies in California are struggling to avoid a “fiscal cliff”—and to persuade riders to return after the COVID pandemic. Advocates and legislators are seeking more state aid, but there are no simple solutions.

State Farm insures more drivers than any other company operating in California. Those 3.7 million drivers will see an average annual boost of $71 per policy, an increase of 6.9%, said Consumer Watchdog, a Santa Monica-based advocacy group.

Communities with high concentrations of electric cars are affluent, college-educated and at least 75% white and Asian—revealing a barrier to electrifying the state’s entire fleet.

A court ruling that upheld much of a 2020 gig-worker initiative also struck down a part that labor advocates say could lead to legislation for driver unionization.

At airports, facial recognition helps improve security and efficiency. But it has privacy ramifications.

The latest report from the California High-Speed Rail Authority projects costs for the initial segment at $35 billion, which exceeds secured funding by $10 billion. Other segments are likely to see higher projected costs.

Public transit is a lifeline for low-income Californians, and the key to realizing reduced carbon emissions. But the state’s major public transit agencies are facing myriad issues and are looking to state lawmakers for a solution.

Caltrans is conducting a "ballet" of road openings on the iconic road, an agency spokesperson says.

Another component of the Monterey County Rail Extension project is on track to becoming reality. “We are still in the process of acquiring properties for the Salinas layover yard,” said a TAMC rep.

That places the Monterey Regional Airport closer to having a new all-encompassing building where airline passengers can conduct the business of air travel from the non-hub commercial airfield.

The law was prompted by an audit revealing that up to 35,000 parking placards in use were in the names of deceased people.