Q: You mentioned Quickmaps in a recent column. That website and app are worth highlighting for your readers. It’s useful not just for car trips, but also bike riding in local mountains. As you know, it can show data from Caltrans, Google Maps, and Waze. It’s a great way to find information about closures, lane reductions, incident reports, and much more.
It’s not perfect for cycling, as it doesn’t show many closed single-lane mountain roads, like Stage and West Old La Honda, but it gets the ones most traveled by autos, like Skyline and Highway 9, and 236 in Big Basin. For your readers driving to any of our mountains, it can be of great value. The app is better than the website, as it remembers your settings, and can push alerts for nearby issues. All in all, it’s a pretty slick app.
Kudos to Caltrans for this one.
Steve Rempel, Los Altos
A: Thanks for sharing your experience with it.
Q: My phone died and I need to reinstall apps on my new one. You named a good app for the status of CA rest stops. Would you be so kind as to tell me that name again?
Carl Baeuerlen, Los Altos
A: The Caltrans Quickmap app shows the location and status of all rest stops.
Q: I read about the road closure of Interstate 680 on Memorial Day weekend over the Sunol Grade. I am the activities director of an Antique Auto Car Club. Our group of about 15 cars will travel from the San Jose area to Sonora that weekend for a Model A Ford Roundup. I have been trying to find more information about the closure, with no luck. What is a good website to get more information on this closure?
Don Cole, Campbell
A: For more information about the project and recommended detours, see: https://dot.ca.gov/caltrans-near-me/district-4/d4-projects/d4-680-paving-project.
Q: Your June 4, 2013 column posted that it was illegal to have roadside memorials, with the exception of a person who died by a drunk driver. That is state law. I, for one, find these memorials an eyesore and a distraction to drivers. They turn into a garbage dump with stuffed animals, balloons, and candles. They appear on sidewalks where a blind person or a wheelchair cannot get by. After a month, they should be removed and if the individuals care to do a memorial, hold one in a church or in a cemetery. Keep our streets clean.
Michael McWalters, Alviso
A: You are correct about the law. Since that column was published, it is more common for people to create roadside memorials, even if a drunk driver was not involved in the death caused there.
Look for Gary Richards at facebook.com/mr.roadshow or contact him at mrroadshow@bayareanewsgroup.com.
𝗖𝗿𝗲𝗱𝗶𝘁𝘀, 𝗖𝗼𝗽𝘆𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 & 𝗖𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘁𝗲𝘀𝘆: www.mercurynews.com
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