Caltrans and climate change

In the LA Times:

A Caltrans executive questioned a freeway expansion. Then she was demoted.

....Caltrans was created to build freeways. For decades those sprawling roads were seen as a sign of progress, even as they exacerbated economic burdens through a reliance on costly vehicles, undermined cleaner and cheaper public transit and divided communities, particularly Black and Latino ones.

The agency is now grappling with its legacy, under the pall of deeply rooted inequity and a warming planet. Transportation is the largest contributor to California’s greenhouse gas emissions and studies have shown adding lanes increases vehicle dependence, while doing little to reduce congestion....

“This is classic Caltrans,” said Stephen M. Wheeler, a professor of urban planning and design at UC Davis, who has followed development along the I-80 corridor. “Caltrans has a long history of plowing ahead and widening roads without regard to various better policy alternatives. It has done that in many different ways, including by breaking projects up into small pieces, which makes it easier to get it approved and avoid public scrutiny....“