Q: Just before the Brookhurst Street exit on the southbound 405 Freeway, there is a brown sign noting to take Brookhurst to reach Huntington State Beach and Bolsa Chica State Beach. For Huntington State Beach, it makes sense. But to reach the Bolsa Chica beach, a southbound motorist should have exited significantly earlier. Do you know the logic of this misleading sign?
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– Mark Doran, Huntington Beach
A: That is rather curious, right, Mark?
Coming from Long Beach and points farther north, Waze — and Honk — would suggest you leave the 405 at the Seal Beach Boulevard exit and make your way from there. That exit comes 8 or so miles quicker.
There are other choices before Brookhurst, too.
“Your reader has a sharp eye,” Nathan Abler, a Caltrans spokesman, told Honk in an email. “While Brookhurst is admittedly not the most direct route to Bolsa Chica State Beach for (most) southbound drivers, Caltrans determined that this is the best location based on safety and operational guidelines for a sign of this type and size.”
He said among the considerations for where to post a sign are safety, the availability of space and what other signs are in the area.
Years ago, another Caltrans spokesperson told Honk that an agency concern is “sign fatigue,” which occurs when there are so many signs that drivers don’t bother reading them.
Black-and-white signs provide the law, such as the speed limit. The black-on-yellow signs offer safety recommendations. Down the priority list are brown ones, like the one Mark pointed out, which provide info on recreational or cultural spots.
“Because of these factors and priorities, and shoulder-space constraints … especially after completion of the I-405 (improvement and widening) project, there are very limited locations for an additional sign,” Abler said.
To be fair, for those on the freeway where the sign is, yes, it is the best exit to take at that point. If Honk were king, he would have planted a sign before the Seal Beach exit or, if that didn’t make sense for safety reasons, just called it a day and not even tried to direct drivers to Bolsa Chica State Beach.
But this would work out even better:
“(Caltrans is now) pursuing possible locations for an additional Bolsa Chica State Beach sign,” Abler said.
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Q: Hi, Honk: Those of us who buy gas for our cars pay taxes on each gallon that supposedly go to repair our roads and highways. How much do those who have electric cars pay for these same repairs? How does it get collected from these individuals?
– Bill Burfeind, Mission Viejo
A: Papa Honk once told his bright son, “Life is not fair.”
Since 2020, many zero-emission vehicles have been charged a road improvement fee on their annual registrations. It started off at $100, but, tied to the consumer price index, is now $121.
Not bad when taxes, collectively, are roughly 90 cents on a gallon of petrol in California, right?
According to Honk’s abacus, a gas-fueled vehicle will hit 121 bucks in taxes at the pump after just 134 gallons.
This discrepancy won’t go on forever. The bean counters in Sacramento are well aware this whole scenario is causing a budget problem.
At some point — and there are opponents — expect every vehicle to have on-board technology so vehicles are charged a tax based on miles traveled.
To ask Honk questions, reach him at [email protected]. He only answers those that are published. To see Honk online: ocregister.com/tag/honk. Twitter: @OCRegisterHonk
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