California's transportation system is complex and dynamic. Although known for its car culture and extensive network of freeways and roads, the state also has a vast array of rail, sea, and air transport. Several subway, light rail, and commuter rail networks are found in many of the state's largest population centers. In addition, with the state's location on the West Coast of the United States, several important ports in California handle freight shipments from the Pacific Rim and beyond. A number of airports are also spread out across the state, ranging from small general aviation airports to large international hubs like Los Angeles International Airport and San Francisco International Airport.
However, in a state with over 39 million people, rapid population expansion, and diverse terrain and weather, that system is under pressure to stay ahead of population growth and transportation needs.
Map of California showing the primary cities and roadways
California is known for its car culture; by the end of 2010, the California Department of Motor Vehicles had 23,799,513 driver's licenses and a total of 31,987,821 registered vehicles on file.[1] The state's residents typically take to the roads for their commutes, errands, and vacations, giving California's cities a reputation for severe traffic congestion.
Perhaps it is a testament to California's sheer size that although it has one of the most extensive freeway systems in the United States, it contains many of the largest cities in the United States not served by an Interstate Highway, including the two largest, Fresno (pop. 471,479) and Bakersfield (pop. 247,057).[2] These cities, along with Modesto and Visalia, are passed by as I-5 veers west to avoid the congestion of the populated eastern side of the Central Valley as it connects Sacramento and Los Angeles.[3]
The state's freeway network has expanded ever since the Arroyo Seco Parkway, the first freeway in the Western United States,[4] connecting Los Angeles and Pasadena, opened in 1940. However, the state is not immune to freeway revolts, such as those that have prevented a freeway in San Francisco between the Golden Gate Bridge and the San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge, and an expansion of I-710 through South Pasadena.
US 50: Heads east from the Sacramento area through the South Lake Tahoe area before crossing into Nevada en route to Carson City.
US 95: Enters into California from Arizona through a concurrency with I-10. US 95 then splits from I-10 in Blythe, then travels north to Needles before crossing into Nevada en route to Las Vegas
US 395: A major north–south route in the eastern areas of the state, connecting the Mojave Desert with the Owens Valley and the Eastern Sierra Nevada. The route then clips into Nevada to pass through Carson City and Reno, before returning to California to serve the Honey Lake and Modoc Plateau areas.
California still uses an older, cut-out version of the U.S. Route shield instead of the current design used in the other U.S. states, printed on a square blank with a black background.
State highways in California range from one-lane rural roads to full urban freeways. Each state highway is assigned a Route (officially State Highway Route[5][6]) number in the Streets and Highways Code (Sections 300–635). However, the state is also currently relinquishing a number of non-freeway segments, especially in urban areas, and turning them over to local control.[7]
The standard California state route marker consists of a white numeral on a green shield, with the name "California" displayed above the numeral. The shield is shaped like a miners' spade to honor the California Gold Rush.[8][9]
Major long-distance, intercity state routes include:
State Route 1: Runs along most of the Pacific coastline from Dana Point north to Leggett. It links numerous coastal settlements, beaches, parks, and other attractions in the Greater Los Angeles Area, the Central Coast, the San Francisco Bay Area, and the North Coast.
State Route 49: Known as the Gold Country Highway, SR 49 links many historic mining communities of the California Gold Rush.
State Route 58: Although the western segment of SR 58 is a winding mountain road connecting the Central Coast to the southern San Joaquin Valley, its eastern segment is a major artery linking Bakersfield with the Mojave Desert and Barstow.
County routes in California are controlled and maintained by the respective counties in which they reside, but are normally patrolled by the California Highway Patrol like any other state highway. Each county route is prefixed with a letter, depending on the region of the state (e.g. G2). Routes with letters A, B, and D are in the region of Northern California; letters E, G, and J are in Central California; and N, R, and S are in Southern California. County routes can range from two-lane roads to the full expressways found in Santa Clara County.
The San Diego Trolley serves the metropolitan area of San Diego. It runs from La Jolla in the north to San Ysidro in the south, and from Old Town and downtown San Diego in the west to El Cajon and Santee in the east.
The world's last manually operated cable car system continues to operate in northeast San Francisco on its very steep hills, but the system's small service area and premium fares for single rides currently make the cable cars used more as a tourist attraction.
Class I: Bike path - completely segregated from traffic
Class II: Bike lane - a lane set aside in city streets exclusively for bikes
Class III: Bike route - a regular surface street that is designated as being safe or attractive to bicyclists
Many of the state's local public transportation systems are bicycle accessible. Numerous buses are equipped with bicycle racks at the front of the vehicle for the attachment of approximately two bicycles. Several rail systems such as the Metro Rail and BART also allow riders to carry bikes onto the trains during certain hours of the day.
A number of ferry services take commuters across San Francisco Bay from San Francisco to other communities in the Bay Area. Ferry service is also available for commuters crossing San Diego Bay from San Diego to Coronado. Passenger ferries also serve the offshore city of Avalon on Santa Catalina Island. There is no regular vehicle ferry service to Avalon, however, since the city restricts the use of cars and trucks within its borders.[14]
Numerous local harbors are spread out across the Pacific Coast, San Francisco Bay, San Diego Bay, and the Sacramento – San Joaquin River Delta for commercial fishing or recreational use.
Because of the state's population growth, many settlements that were once small or rural communities in the 1940s and 50s, when much of California's transportation infrastructure was originally designed, are now thriving suburbs and exurbs. According to a 2011 study by Forbes, the cities of Lake Elsinore, Los Banos, Adelanto, and Brentwood were ranked as the top four longest commutes in the country.[15]
A regularly recurring issue in California politics is whether the state should continue to aggressively expand its freeway network or concentrate on improving mass transit networks in urban areas. Bay Area Rapid Transit, the Los Angeles Metro Rail, and several other public transportation systems have expansion plans either currently under construction or in the planning stages. Several HOT lanes across the state are also either currently under construction or in the planning stages.
Reloadable contactless smart card systems, allowing electronic fare payments on various public transportation systems, have been introduced since 2007, such as the Clipper Card in the San Francisco Bay Area, the Transit Access Pass in Los Angeles County, and the Compass Card (later replaced in 2021 by the Pronto card) in San Diego County.
The California High-Speed Rail Authority was created in 1996 by the state legislature to implement an extensive 800 miles (1,300 km) high-speed rail system. It would provide a TGV-style high-speed link between the state's four major metropolitan areas, and would allow travel between Los Angeles' Union Station and the San Francisco Transbay Terminal in two hours and forty minutes. Voters approved Proposition 1A in November 2008, approving a $9 billion state bond to begin the project. In 2012, the California legislature and Governor Jerry Brown approved construction financing for an initial stage of the project.[16] The Authority estimates that the first segment of the California High-Speed Rail will be operational by the end of 2030. The project has been widely described as troubled, being far behind schedule, suffering from management inexperience, and delays in procuring land, and engineering issues.[17]
Traffic safety considerations
Texas and California are comparable being the two largest states in the contiguous United States as California contains 39 million inhabitants. This results in these states to have higher traffic fatalities than other states.[18]
There were more traffic fatalities in California than in Texas until 2007. Since 2017, there have been less fatalities in California than in Texas.[18]
Fatalities in California
Fatalities in California by zone
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by VMT
by population
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In California, around 40% of the state's greenhouse gas emissions are from vehicle transportation, and this number is increasing. Distant suburbs such as Stockton, and Modesto have the two highest percentages of residents who are super commuters in the United States, at around 11% of Stockton residents, and 9% of Modesto residents commuting over 90 minutes to get to work.[19] The transportation problem is beginning to threaten the state's future goals in terms of emissions and carbon neutrality. By 2030, California hopes to limit greenhouse gases to 40% below 1990 levels, and hopes to achieve carbon neutrality by 2045.[20] As time goes on, however, these goals are becoming increasingly difficult to reach unless the state takes significant measures to combat their transportation problem. With 1.7 million renting households in California spending half their income on rent, California has a housing crisis that is impacting their climate goals.[21][22] Infill housing is seen as a solution to build more affordable housing in coastal cities where people would not need to drive to work or other errands. Senate Bill 50, The More Homes Act is waiting to be voted on, and attempts to address the housing crisis by overriding local zoning codes to legalize small apartment buildings (up to 5 stories) in urban areas near jobs and public transportation.[23] Caltrans plans to work on their infrastructure to make sustainable transportation methods such as trains, biking, and walking more accessible to more people. In 2008, California passed a law requiring communities to alter their land use and transportation plans to actively combat climate change, however, statistically the bill has done little to change the state's emissions. Caltrans has acknowledged that extreme wildfires and floods, driven by climate change, have plagued California in recent years which has impacted transportation infrastructure. In 2013 Caltrans released the "Caltrans Activities to Address Climate Change- Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Adapting to Impacts" report, which highlighted statewide efforts to address climate related damage.[24]
^Papoulias, Alexander (January 4, 2008). "Car Sales Curbed Along El Camino". Palo Alto Weekly. Office of California State Senator Leland Yee. Archived from the original on October 19, 2012. Retrieved July 16, 2012. State routes can be identified by the green State Highway Route shield, which is in the shape of a spade in honor of the California Gold Rush, and bears the route's number
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