Funds Will Support 60 Projects Statewide
EUREKA — Caltrans today awarded nearly $115 million in Clean California grants to cities and local agencies. The grants are a key part of Governor Gavin Newsom’s Clean California initiative, which is a sweeping $1.2 billion, multiyear commitment led by Caltrans to clean up trash, create thousands of jobs and help communities beautify their public spaces.
With today’s announcement, Clean California grants have funded nearly 300 projects statewide to revitalize and beautify underserved communities, some of which are already complete and now sources of community pride. The projects will improve public spaces, tribal lands, parks, neighborhoods, transit centers, walking paths, streets, roadsides, recreation fields, community gathering spots, and places of cultural importance or historical interest in underserved communities.
The 42 Clean California local grants announced today are in addition to the nearly $300 million in grants Governor Newsom announced in March 2022 to more than 100 local Clean California projects statewide. In District 1, serving Del Norte, Humboldt, Lake and Mendocino counties, seven projects were awarded approximately $11.5 million in Clean CA grant funds in the first round. In this second round, five projects were awarded approximately $15.3 million.
Key projects include:
- Anderson Valley Track to Health and Fitness (AVTHF) by the Anderson Valley Unified School District will provide beautification, enhancement and expansive community fitness opportunities in Boonville. The track will be a venue for safe and equitable sporting events for high poverty youth at Anderson Valley Junior Senior High School, accessible for independent soccer league participation, a location for fitness charity/tournament events, and most importantly a place for all residents to achieve their individual wellness and recreation goals, since there are no gyms or workout facilities within a 20-mile radius. The grant amount request is approximately $4.7 million.
- The Crescent City Cultural Gateway and Beautification Project will improve the public space located at the juncture of US Highway 101 South and Front Street. The project includes a gateway, restoration of Elk Creek, improving public access to the Cultural/Visitor’s Center and Veteran’s Monument, and Tolowa Interpretive Walk, and relocating the Transit Hub to a safer, more convenient location. The grant amount request is approximately $2.9 million.
- The Fort Bragg Art and Recycling Beautification Project proposes to procure and install art covered, eye-catching multi-use waste receptacles at strategically placed locations throughout town to reduce littering and increase recycling. The receptacles will be distributed into three areas, 1) along the Coastal Trail, 2) within the Central Business District, 3) and around schools and parks. In partnership with local schools, the City will use art created by students to have quality skins manufactured to decorate the bins using themes, which connect art to environmental preservation. In addition, the City will host two (2) Beach Clean-Up Events during the grants performance period. The grant amount request is approximately $267,000.
- The Beautify Willits project by the City of Willits will beautify and improve public spaces, accessibility in downtown, public parks, and the Main Street and Commercial Street corridors with a focus on safety, reducing litter and illegal dumping, increasing community engagement and educational outreach. The grant amount request is approximately $2.7 million.
- The Yurok Tribe Reservation Parks, Recreation and Beautification Project will create new community spaces, renew existing gathering spaces, install new recreation equipment and bathrooms, renovate existing bathrooms, install new art, improve sports facilities, and secure public-use facilities. The grant amount request is approximately $5 million.
Following the positive community response to this first round of grants, Governor Newsom and the state legislature approved $100 million last year for a second round of local grant projects. The local grants awarded today range from $88,000 to $5 million, and all benefit underserved communities. In addition, today’s funding announcement includes $14.5 million to support 18 projects to clean up stations and other areas around public transit systems.
Since launching Clean California in July 2021, Caltrans and local partners have removed an estimated 1.86 million cubic yards of litter from state highways – a trash pile that would be more than 370 times taller than Mount Whitney (14,505 feet, the state’s highest peak). The program has created more than 4,000 jobs that have helped Californians overcome barriers to employment, including 357 people experiencing homelessness, and drawn more than 10,000 volunteers to events ranging from community cleanups to large debris collections for appliances, tires and mattresses.
As the Clean California effort moves forward, Caltrans and local communities will continue to draw attention to the negative impact litter has on natural resources, waterways, public safety and public health to create a cultural shift of shared responsibility for clean and vibrant public spaces.
Caltrans is also developing a program in which communities throughout the state can earn a special Clean California Community designation by meeting criteria centered around preventing and cleaning up litter, promoting recycling and greening or beautifying neighborhoods. To find out how to volunteer with Clean California, please visit Clean California.
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