Woodside: Adopting a highway is not so easy with Caltrans in charge

What bothers me isn't that it took 9 years to get this road adopted - it's that, instead of being out there taking care of the road they adopted, rolling up their sleeves and showing they really DO care about this issue - they're collecting money from strangers, using that to PAY SOMEONE ELSE - in other words - We look good, but we wouldn't dare think about doing it ourselves, when there's some peon who will do it for us.

Sorry - it's not like hiring a cheapo maid service - it's SUPPOSED to be about civic pride and community involvement, getting out there and MAKING A PERSONAL DIFFERENCE - Not about being a money redistributor and glory grabber for people with too much money and who likely really DON'T care.

Personally - I'd be EMBARASSED EVERY TIME I rode that piece of road, or saw one of those signs - if some group I belonged to did this. Why not get out there and SHOW the club REALLY IS a part of the community???

Who wants to bet the reason for all the Caltrans red tape is lawyers? Highway cleanup people have been hit and killed by distracted drivers in the past. Caltrans has to check and double check that each volunteer work project is as safe as possible and that all the liability waivers and insurance policies are in order. They would rather deal with professionals who have extensive safety training and experience than have to baby sit these volunteers.

The story of American decline, in a nutshell.