Junipero Sierra Statue: 50 Years Was Enough

What he's pointing at is a mystery (Macor/S.F. Chronicle)

Father Junipero Serra is a major figure in California history. From 1769 to 1782 the Franciscan priest founded nine missions, some of which became major metropolitan areas [e.g., Mission San Diego de Alcalá, Mission San Gabriel Arcángel (Los Angeles), Mission San Francisco de Asís, aka Mission Dolores].

Schools, roads, and monuments have been dedicated to Junipero Serra, but none stranger than the 26-ft-tall statue that was erected in 1975. Caltrans quietly removed it in August.

Caltrans officials disputed claims made by the San Francisco Archdiocese that accused the transportation agency of neglecting to inform the church of its decision to destroy a polarizing statue of Junipero Serra at an Interstate 280 rest stop near Hillsborough.

The colossal freeway icon — a 26-foot tall monument to the Roman Catholic saint who is remembered by many Indigenous communities as an enslaving colonizer — was a landmark for the last 50 years before the transit agency removed it in August.

Caltrans officials said the statue, created by artist Louis DuBois in 1975, did not meet current criteria for its Transportation Art program, which installs graphic or sculptural artwork that expresses “unique attributes of a community’s history, resources or character.” The agency reviews applications for proposed artworks by cities, counties, incorporated towns, tribal governments or non-federally recognized tribes.

Caltrans officials did not respond to direct questions about what criteria the statue failed to meet. Officials told the Mercury News that the statue was “frequently targeted” with vandalism and graffiti.

The I-280 rest stop became known for its views of the reservoir. It was also rumored to be a place for gay hookups in the 1980's.

I won't be mourning the statue's removal; it's big and not beautiful, and Caltrans had good reason to take it down quite apart from the prevalence of anti-settler ideology in academia and progressive government. A 50-year run was probably long enough.

Slip Sliding Away

Rat Creek mudlside (Mercury News photo)

A stretch of Highway 1 near Rat Creek has fallen into the Pacific.

“It looks as if about half the road has given way now. It was hit by a debris flow, and the erosion — as its falling over the side of the road — is cutting back into the road away from the sea,” [Caltrans' Kevin] Drabinksi said.

“The mountain slid over onto the road, and in that rush, it started wearing away at the road. As it has gone over the side of the road, the erosion is cutting the road back away from the sea.”

2017 Mud Creek slide (CNN photo)

It was only four years ago that photos of the Mud Creek slide, 26 miles south of Rat Creek, made the national news.

For a State that is always asking its residents to conserve water, California sure is getting a lot of rain--enough water to cause floods and long-term road closures.

70 years ago we would have built more dams to limit flooding, store water for the summer, and generate hydroelectric power.

Now we are spending $billions to eliminate carbon emissions that the leaders say cause global warming and drought, which has not been a problem by the way for the past six years.

The social engineers who run the State today are so much smarter than the real engineers of the mid-20th century. The science is settled, unlike the ground under Highway 1.

The Rationality Will Pass

Vice Mayor Sam Hindi and Councilmember Gary Pollard
install the first bike symbol in Foster City in 2017.

In California, where private citizens and businesses are subject to the latest whims of the one-party State--no plastic bags, no plastic straws, jail for using the wrong pronoun--the only effective pushback can come from another State government agency (as for the ineffectual Feds, two words: sanctuary city).

Scott Wiener, State Senator from San Francisco and incidentally the sponsor of the jailtime-for-wrong-pronouns law, wants to require crosswalks and bike lanes for new road projects. Though the proposal sounds innocuous, the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) objects:

Caltrans estimated that SB127 would cost more than $1 billion a year, or $4.5 million for each mile of blacktop. Caltrans officials said the state may lose its federal highway funds if the bill passes.

What Wiener had pitched as easy-to-do striping and crosswalk geometry would actually require a significant investment, according to a memo from state transportation officials. Most state roads promote ease and convenience for motorists above other uses. It takes a lot of staff, equipment and money to redesign them. Caltrans estimated it would have to complete 105 pavement projects — or 599 miles — in the next two years to meet the bill’s requirements.

In a fit of rationality California, which spent billions on the high-speed train to nowhere, is applying cost-benefit analysis to a transportation proposal.

Not to worry, folks, this mood shall pass, Scott Wiener's bill will pass, taxes will go up, and California will have a shot at claiming the mantle of having the highest gas tax in the nation.