Since Highway 101 was completed in the early 1960s, no improvements or changes have been made and the highway has not been touched. Recently California transportation planners gave the final approval to the first expansion of Highway 101 in Santa Rosa. This raises some serious issues within the community. Although the planners have agreed to this change, members in the community have disagreements. The changes proposed consist of adding a carpool lane in both directions between Santa Rosa and Rohnert Park. There are issues raised with this proposal. Adding lanes to both sides of the highway will widen it, taking out trees and habitats of the area. If these trees are removed, homes of animals such as squirrels, birds and insects will be destroyed. As the lane widens, this allows for more cars to pass through. Cars are somewhat detrimental to the environment. They cause pollution in society that is ever growing. All the affects of the lane expansion lead to another. Gloria Stovall November 13, 2000Sect: John GulickWhen the lanes are added, more cars pass through the area, as was already said. With the increase in cars, it will undoubtedly lead to an increase in population. More people will travel through Rohnert Park and Santa Rosa and see what nice neighborhoods are there. However, these areas dont have very much room for expansion. The cities themselves are quite full and would not be able to support a quickly growing population.In 1990, the population of Santa Rosa was at 158,352. Since then the population has tripled. With such large growth, the area has become more congested and therefore so has the highway traffic. Even though the population in the area has grown a considerable amount in the last ten years, there is not a significant amount of room for more in the future. It has taken nearly ten years for CalTrans to get to this point and it is still in progress of trying succeed in the expansion.Gloria StovallNovember 13, 2000Se...
