Boo!
Did I scare you? Perhaps this will: We’re now a year and a half into this pandemic. Although we’ve got safe and effective vaccines, a large portion of the nation still believes what they have been told by particular political sector, and are avoiding the vaccines. They cite bad politics and bad science to justify their positions, and to avoid protecting others. Public health shouldn’t be political. Public health should be something you do to help others in society as well as yourself. The fact that it has become political and partisan, instead of science based, should scare you greatly. The fact that there are people who are proud of their ignorance should scare you greatly.
But this is a highway post, you say. What does public health have to do with the highways? Plenty. One of the major highway initiatives is something called “Towards Zero Deaths”. Each death on the highway means a state or local law enforcement has to inform someone their loved one has died. Each death from COVID means that someone’s loved one has died. Each person who catches COVID without the vaccine has the risk of “long COVID”: injuries to body subsystems that do not recover, and leave them permanently impared. Each case means a doctor had to tell a loved one that a person they care about won’t ever taste or smell again, will have permanent damage to their lungs or circulation, or will have brain injuries.
The Minnesota Department of Transportation has an approach to achieving zero deaths on the highway: The Four “E”s (and more). The Four “E”s apply not just to transportation: they apply to cybersecurity (my specialty), and to public health. The Four Es are:
- Education. Changing behavior is the focus of education efforts. It is not enough for people to understand the “rules of the road.” People must be motivated to change their habits.
- Emergency Response Services. The goal of the program is to reduce not just deaths, but total injuries and fatalities. That means that when a problem does occur, fast, efficient, and coordinated emergency response is critical.
- Enforcement. Ensuring compliance with laws and state and local mandates is a major component in driver behavior and reducing unsafe practices.
- Engineering. Modifying or reconstructing systems can be challenging and time consuming. Careful evaluation of characteristics is the key to a solid investment in public safety.
I made some slight changes to not mention driving, so you can see how these apply to public health. We can’t just get rid of the pandemic by designing better air flow in buildings and providing vaccines and treatments. We need to keep educating people about safe behavior, about how the medicines are safe, and how to avoid infection. We need to put safety policies in place to keep people safe and enforce them. We need to make sure our hospitals and emergency responders are not overloaded so they are there to treat people and save people when needed. This isn’t just for highways; it is for everyone. It is why — every month — I repeat these reminders. I’m not the only one reminding you of this: Caltrans is reminding you as well.
Yes, the pandemic is scary. Our recovery is scary with the impacts on supply chains and the transitory inflation. But I can at least give you a treat. Here are your headlines about California Highways in October. As with September, there seem to be fewer: I think more and more news sites are putting up paywalls and there is less and less new stuff of interest. But, as always: Ready, Set, Discuss, and get your vaccine or booster.
P.S.: Here’s a status update on the next round of updates for the California Highways pages: September headlines are incorporated, the legislative actions have been reviewed, and the CTC minutes have been included. All that remains is incorporating these headlines, doing a last pass through email, and reviewing posts on AARoads. It will hopefully be up by Thanksgiving.
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
- California park with racist past gets new Indigenous name (＄Los Angeles Times). Skip Lowry learned the Indigenous dances of the Yurok people as a child by watching the elders gather in the summertime at a re-created village along the Humboldt County coast in Northern California. The village, completed in 1990, was always a place of healing for Lowry, a Yurok descendant — but there was a lingering hurt there too. It’s in a state park that was named after a man accused of killing a Native American boy and committing other atrocities against Indigenous people in the 1800s. “It’s always been a slap in my face and a punch in my stomach,” Lowry said. But that changed Thursday when the California State Park and Recreation Commission took the unprecedented step of renaming the 625-acre park. The change, effective immediately, stripped the Patrick’s Point State Park moniker and restored its Indigenous Yurok name: Sue-meg.
- More safety improvements on tap for Hwy 154, including another roundabout, officials say (Santa Maria Times). Two new safety improvements are coming to Highway 154 on the heels of other crash-reduction efforts recently made by Caltrans, according to reports delivered to a traffic safety committee last week. The total number of traffic collisions and arrests for driving under the influence have fallen each year for the past three years, but the number of citations issued has already exceeded the total from 2019 after a lull in 2020, according to statistics from the California Highway Patrol.
- New Signs Aim to Steer Safety in a New Direction Along Highway 154 Corridor (SB Noozhawk). New signs, including a first of its kind, have been installed in the ongoing effort to improve safety at one Highway 154 intersecton, although statistics show that drivers still deserve the blame for crashes. The update occurred during the Highway 154 Safety Committee’s virtual meeting on Wednesday night with a panel discussion on the reasons for crashes and the status of efforts to improve safety. Caltrans has installed signs informing truck drivers that Highway 101, not Highway 154, is the recommended route for those traveling through the area, according to Peter Hendrix, branch chief for the traffic safety system at Caltrans.
- Update on US 101 Richardson Grove Project (District 1/Facebook). Update on the Richardson Grove Operational Improvement Project: In 2017, the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) completed an Addendum to the Final Environmental Impact Report (Addendum) for the project. This document, along with the 2010 Final Environmental Impact Report (EIR), studies, and other background material, is available at http://dot.ca.gov/…/d1-richardson-grove-improvement…. Between 2010 and 2017, Caltrans reduced the project footprint slightly and refined the design.
- Highway 101 wildlife crossing: Caltrans eyes early 2022 groundbreaking (＄VC Star). Caltrans plans to break ground early next year for a wildlife crossing that experts say could help save an isolated population of mountain lions from extinction. The first of its kind crossing in Agoura Hills would bridge a busy 8-lane stretch of Highway 101, a dangerous barrier for species from mountain lions to mule deer in Ventura and Los Angeles counties. The $87 million project led by a group of public and private agencies would connect the Santa Monica Mountains on the south to other areas to the north.
- Virtual Public Meeting on October 12, 2021 to Discuss the State Route 227 Corridor Traffic Study (County of San Luis Obispo). The County of San Luis Obispo Department of Public Works (County), San Luis Obispo Council of Governments (SLOCOG), and the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) are working together to develop solutions to the growing congestion on State Route 227 and the local roads between San Luis Obispo’s city limits and Price Canyon Road. As an alternative to U.S. Highway 101, the future role and functionality of State Route 227 has been a key policy issue for all three partners. Please see map for location .
- Route 905 Last USA Exit Traffic Shift (District 11/Facebook). 📆 On Thursday, October 7, Caltrans and @SANDAGregion will permanently move the Siempre Viva Road off-ramp (the last U.S. exit) to its ultimate configuration. Drivers not intending to go to Mexico will notice signage directing them to the new exit location. 🛣 To accommodate this work, a full closure along eastbound SR 905 between La Media and Siempre Viva Roads will be in effect beginning on 10/6 at 8 p.m. and continuing through until 10/7 at 4 a.m. Drivers will be detoured via the La Media Road off-ramp.
