District 3 photo
By the Director’s Office of Equity & Tribal Affairs
District 3 has worked with the Washoe Tribe of Nevada and California and the Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation to produce plaques and signage at the Donner Lake Vista Point eastbound and Maxwell Rest Area southbound to highlight tribal presence in the district and engage in language preservation efforts.
Both series of plaques and signs have the respective tribe’s translation of key animals, landmarks and plants in the area.
District 3 has also been working with tribal partners to conduct cultural sensitivity trainings with the department’s construction and contractor teams before construction activities begin. At least 20 trainings have been completed, and the district is working on making these a standard requirement.
District 6 initiative has multimodal in mind
The District 6 walk assessment initiative started in 2021, and there have been more than 15 walk assessments completed to date.
District 6 utilizes this walk assessment initiative to support the Caltrans Strategic Management Plan’s goals of enhancing and connecting the multimodal transportation network as well as advancing equity and livability, particularly in underserved communities.
These walk assessments provide opportunities for early engagement with local partners and community members to help better understand the needs for all users of the transportation system, therefore, resulting in projects that better reflect community ideas and needs.
The walk assessment efforts are a testament of the grass roots approach to the community engagement and project development process. They provide a great opportunity to walk in each community for a better understanding of their needs and work with local partners to develop projects and identify funding opportunities to make the transition from the planning and conceptual phase to construction of a project.