Capay Valley Coalition (CVC) is a community organization committed to agricultural
viability and safety in western Yolo County.
On January 6, 2010 Capay Valley Coalition and Yolo County Farm Bureau jointly filed a legal challenge to the certification of Caltrans’ Final Environmental Impact Report (FEIR) for State Route 16 Safety Improvement Project (SIP).
History
For almost 10 years members of the community have been working with Caltrans to improve safety on State Highway 16 between I-505 and the Cache Creek Casino. With the expansion of the casino and the start of 24/7 gambling, there was an increase in accidents. However, increased law enforcement, specific site improvements by Caltrans, familiarity with the road on the part of casino employees and patrons have all led to a
marked decrease of speed, passing, and accidents.
The State of California is in severe financial crisis. Wasting $50-70 million on an unnecessary project that would undermine agriculture and the scenic beauty of the Capay Valley is a poor choice on the part of the State. The reasonable alternative is scaled down improvements to improve safety.
Caltrans plans
Yet, Caltrans plans a large scale and disruptive project which would:
- nearly triple the width of the current highway from I-505 to the casino
- widen, flatten, and straighten a greatly expanded highway
- have a 65 mile per hour design speed
- increase speeds and passing, thus increasing accident severity
- consume a significant amount of land on the Valley floor
- not address traffic in towns of Madison, Esparto, and Capay
- destroy over 166 acres of farmland
- destroy 300 native oak and black walnut trees
- destroy nearly 2000 almond and walnut orchard trees
According to Caltrans, their design will increase driving speeds. Given the mix of drivers, a high speed, 2 lane road will not be safe for locals and the traveling public.
Go to Caltrans’ website for detailed information about their SIP.
|
|
CVC Proposal
CVC proposes that safety improvements can be achieved without increasing speed by:
- Maintaining existing road bed
- Paving existing shoulders where possible
- Adding occasional pullouts on west side of Valley
- Addressing traffic in Madison, Esparto, and Capay
- Enacting independent utility to move forward on Madison/Esparto segment to reduce flooding while allowing farmers access to their fields
- Making spot improvements, such as guard rails where necessary
- Taking other calming measures to curtail speed and improper passing
Call to action
- We would appreciate donations for the legal effort. Checks may be made out to Capay Valley Coalition, P.O. Box 894, Esparto, CA 95627
- Contact the media; write letters to the editor. Click here for a sample letter.
- Contact elected officials at all levels, voicing your concerns. Click here for addresses of state officials.
|