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California has the worst roads of any state I've driven in. San Fran and San Jose, rank among the top 10 in the country of the worst roads. Whatever they are

California has the worst roads of any state I've driven in. San Fran and San Jose, rank among the top 10 in the country of the worst roads. Whatever they are using it for, isn't for road maintenance.

ToDougie 2y ago
Agreed. Texas, Arizona, Nevada, Washington, Florida..... visited all of them in the last 12 months during various seasons.... they ALL have significantly better roads than California. HOW!!!!!! HOW!
- onlypassingthru 2y ago
  California has the second highest total lane miles by state[0] and it has the highest number of registered vehicles of any state, by a big margin.[1] Being a such a populous big state with only tiny, regional public transportation systems means everyone and their cousin drives everywhere, all the time. That's how. [0]https://blog.cubitplanning.com/2010/02/road-miles-by-state/ https://blog.cubitplanning.com/2010/02/road-miles-by-state/ [1]https://www.bts.gov/browse-statistical-products-and-data/state-transportation-statistics/state-highway-travel https://www.bts.gov/browse-statistical-products-and-data/sta...
  - ToDougie 2y ago
    Germany has an equal GDP to California with double the road miles. Their roads are ranked higher. California can do better, it just doesn't.
    - onlypassingthru 2y ago
      Germans roads are often very nice. The autobahn is awesome. Germans also pay $2.76/gallon in fuel tax. Californians only pay $0.68/gallon. You up for an additional $2.08/gallon in taxes to pay for those sweet, German roads? https://taxfoundation.org/data/all/eu/gas-taxes-in-europe-2023/ https://taxfoundation.org/data/all/eu/gas-taxes-in-europe-20... https://taxfoundation.org/data/all/state/state-gas-tax-rates-2024/ https://taxfoundation.org/data/all/state/state-gas-tax-rates...
      - ToDougie 2y ago
        No. If that's the difference maker, definitely not.
- dekhn 2y ago
  I've lived in California for 30+ years now and what I've observed is that we spend huge amounts of money on infrastructure and a lot of the spend seems to be absolute waste. For example, there is no realistic reason for high speed rail to cost what it does per mile; I am certain that a very close inspection of the process would uncover huge amounts of waste, padding, and theft. On top of that, people have been able to limit development using enivronmental rules and other legal methods to slow down things that are truly needed. I'm sure somebody has written a book already about how ostensibly wealthy societies can fail at basic infrastructure that they previously mastered, driven by greed and complacency and other socioeconomic factors. I think this has happened over and over again (Rome, and many other societies).
  - sly010 2y ago
    > I'm sure somebody has written a book already about how ostensibly wealthy societies can fail at basic infrastructure that they previously mastered, driven by greed and complacency and other socioeconomic factors. How about Foundation by Isaac Asimov.

California has the worst roads of any state I've driven in. San Fran and San Jose, rank among the top 10 in the country of the worst roads. Whatever they are using it for, isn't for road maintenance.

ToDougie 2y ago

Agreed. Texas, Arizona, Nevada, Washington, Florida..... visited all of them in the last 12 months during various seasons.... they ALL have significantly better roads than California. HOW!!!!!! HOW!

onlypassingthru 2y ago
California has the second highest total lane miles by state[0] and it has the highest number of registered vehicles of any state, by a big margin.[1] Being a such a populous big state with only tiny, regional public transportation systems means everyone and their cousin drives everywhere, all the time. That's how. [0]https://blog.cubitplanning.com/2010/02/road-miles-by-state/ https://blog.cubitplanning.com/2010/02/road-miles-by-state/ [1]https://www.bts.gov/browse-statistical-products-and-data/state-transportation-statistics/state-highway-travel https://www.bts.gov/browse-statistical-products-and-data/sta...
- ToDougie 2y ago
  Germany has an equal GDP to California with double the road miles. Their roads are ranked higher. California can do better, it just doesn't.
  - onlypassingthru 2y ago
    Germans roads are often very nice. The autobahn is awesome. Germans also pay $2.76/gallon in fuel tax. Californians only pay $0.68/gallon. You up for an additional $2.08/gallon in taxes to pay for those sweet, German roads? https://taxfoundation.org/data/all/eu/gas-taxes-in-europe-2023/ https://taxfoundation.org/data/all/eu/gas-taxes-in-europe-20... https://taxfoundation.org/data/all/state/state-gas-tax-rates-2024/ https://taxfoundation.org/data/all/state/state-gas-tax-rates...
    - ToDougie 2y ago
      No. If that's the difference maker, definitely not.
dekhn 2y ago
I've lived in California for 30+ years now and what I've observed is that we spend huge amounts of money on infrastructure and a lot of the spend seems to be absolute waste. For example, there is no realistic reason for high speed rail to cost what it does per mile; I am certain that a very close inspection of the process would uncover huge amounts of waste, padding, and theft. On top of that, people have been able to limit development using enivronmental rules and other legal methods to slow down things that are truly needed. I'm sure somebody has written a book already about how ostensibly wealthy societies can fail at basic infrastructure that they previously mastered, driven by greed and complacency and other socioeconomic factors. I think this has happened over and over again (Rome, and many other societies).
- sly010 2y ago
  > I'm sure somebody has written a book already about how ostensibly wealthy societies can fail at basic infrastructure that they previously mastered, driven by greed and complacency and other socioeconomic factors. How about Foundation by Isaac Asimov.