Adopt A Highway Program

Caltrans has abruptly suspended its popular Adopt-A-Highway program several months after an anti-illegal immigration group sued the state agency for discrimination after it was forced to move its stretch of highway farther from a U.S. Border Patrol checkpoint along Interstate 5 in San Diego County.

Was that janitor wearing a hood? Because nothing says "white supremacy" like picking up litter, a Ku Klux Klan group in Georgia has applied to adopt a one-mile stretch of highway through the Appalachian Mountains. That creates a quandary for that state's Department of Transportation, which is reportedly meeting with officials from the attorney general's office to decide what to do. Past experience suggests only one outcome: The Klan will get to adopt its highway. Rancor and vandalism will infect that stretch of road like the stink from a flattened skunk, and the International Keystone Knights (that's Knights, not Kops)

The Boy Scouts can do it. So can religious congregations. But when the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan volunteered to pick up litter here as part of Missouri's Adopt-a-Highway program, state administrators balked. So now the state and the KKK are locked in a legal battle over the right to trudge through roadside weeds in search of stinky beer cans and greasy burger wrappers.

An anti-illegal-immigration group's Adopt-a-Highway sign was re-posted this week on Interstate 5 near the Border Patrol checkpoint in San Clemente after a federal judge ruled that it did not pose a danger to the public. State transit officials had moved the San Diego Minutemen's sign to a less-busy highway in eastern San Diego County, saying they were concerned that it would become a gathering place for protesters and clog the busy interstate.

Keeping roadways clean has become a popular cause, evidenced by the waiting list of more than 250 companies eager to adopt and maintain two-mile stretches of highway in Orange County. All 206 miles of the eligible roads have sponsors, and "orphans" are rare, making Orange County's Adopt-a-Highway program one of the most successful in the state. "We've never had a problem finding good, reliable sponsors in Orange County," said Russ Snyder, a spokesman for Caltrans in Sacramento.

Is this the sort of behavior one would expect from a bunch of frat boys? A couple of times a month, the gang at UC Irvine's Pi Kappa Phi fraternity heads out to a rolling stretch of California 73 in Newport Beach to pick up bottles, newspapers, fast-food wrappers and other trash scattered along the highway. No, this is not some sort of hazing ritual. The brothers of Pi Kappa Phi are one of more than 700 groups up and down California taking part in the state's fledgling "adopt-a-highway" program.

Is this the sort of behavior one would expect from a bunch of frat boys? A couple of times a month, the gang at UC Irvine's Pi Kappa Phi fraternity heads out to a rolling stretch of California 73 in Newport Beach to pick up bottles, newspapers, fast-food wrappers and other trash scattered along the highway. No, this isn't some sort of hazing ritual. The brothers of Pi Kappa Phi are one of more than 700 groups up and down California taking part in the state's fledgling "adopt-a-highway" program.

The Knights of Columbus have adopted a highway. So have the Japanese American Citizens League, biker groups, Indian casinos and the International House of Pancakes. Now add the San Diego Minutemen. Caltrans has granted an Adopt-A-Highway stretch of Interstate 5 to the ardent foes of illegal immigration -- and not just any stretch. The two miles of freeway the Minutemen will be charged with beautifying include the U.S. Border Patrol Checkpoint near San Clemente.

The practicing pagans of Salt Lake City keep an eye on 2.9 miles of state highway. The Ashland, Ore., Friends of John Denver chapter has a 2-mile stretch of Interstate 5. Nudists in Florida, Wiccans in New Jersey and the Ku Klux Klan of Missouri all have toiled to keep America clean through Adopt-a-Highway programs. So the Sioux Empire Gay and Lesbian Coalition of Sioux City, S.D.

Participation in the state's Adopt-a-Highway program is growing faster than a field of dandelions. Since July, 1990, the number of businesses, service organizations and individuals volunteering to pick up litter along freeways and highways has increased tenfold. But in typical California fashion, those with the wherewithal are hiring the asphalt equivalent of maids to do the cleaning for them--while taking credit for the work by means of large roadside signs.

Caltrans has abruptly suspended its popular Adopt-A-Highway program several months after an anti-illegal immigration group sued the state agency for discrimination after it was forced to move its stretch of highway farther from a U.S. Border Patrol checkpoint along Interstate 5 in San Diego County.

The San Diego Minutemen have filed a federal lawsuit against Caltrans, accusing the state agency of discrimination in its handling of the group's participation in the Adopt-A-Highway program. The California Department of Transportation last month decided to move the Minutemen from a stretch of I-5 near the U.S. Border Patrol checkpoint to a quieter, less visible state highway. Caltrans officials said the presence of the anti-illegal immigration group posed a safety risk because members could draw protesters during clean-ups.

Caltrans has given the San Diego Minutemen a new stretch of road to clean up for the Adopt-A-Highway program, moving the group that fights illegal immigration from Interstate 5 near the U.S. Border Patrol checkpoint to a quieter, less visible state highway. Caltrans officials say the change was made because of safety concerns.

The Knights of Columbus have adopted a highway. So have the Japanese American Citizens League, biker groups, Indian casinos and the International House of Pancakes. Now add the San Diego Minutemen. Caltrans has granted an Adopt-A-Highway stretch of Interstate 5 to the ardent foes of illegal immigration -- and not just any stretch. The two miles of freeway the Minutemen will be charged with beautifying include the U.S. Border Patrol Checkpoint near San Clemente.

Frustrated that the state won't clean up its act, Anaheim will launch an effort to pick up the tons of trash littering the freeways and offramps that greet tourists headed to Disneyland and other city hot spots. City officials told the California Department of Transportation that the city would pitch in and also encourage local businesses and organizations to sign up for the Adopt-a-Highway program to keep the freeways clean.

This summer, as more Americans hit the road for vacation, it seems appropriate to think about the scenic byways they'll be taking, like the Pacific Coast Highway in Big Sur and U.S. Highway 395 below the eastern flank of the High Sierra. To my mind, they aren't just roads through the state; they are routes to the heart. So it appalls me to think of people who despoil them by throwing cigarette butts, beer cans and hamburger wrappers out the window.

Dear Street Smart: I've noticed signs on a number of freeways which say "Adopt-a-Freeway" and list some sponsor's name underneath. Will you please explain more about this concept? It sounds intriguing. Jerry Page Newport Beach The state began the Adopt-a-Highway program in 1989, and it has become so popular that there is now a waiting list of individuals, businesses and service organizations wanting to volunteer to pick up litter along freeways and highways.

Ever since it was launched by Caltrans in 1989, the Adopt-a-Highway program has been wildly popular among community organizations, businesses and individuals who help spiff up the roads while putting a shine on their public image. Waiting lists now run years to adopt heavily traveled stretches of popular highways, and to encourage even more would-be adopters, Caltrans has halved cleaning responsibilities: Now an adopter need spruce up only one side of a roadway.

Re "Gays Seek Adopt-a-Highway Sign and Get Cold Shoulder," Aug. 15: I can understand why the Boy Scouts of America doesn't allow openly homosexual men into its leadership positions, and I can understand why most churches don't want gay marriages. But the South Dakota Department of Transportation is not a religious organization and therefore has no justification in denying the Sioux Empire Gay and Lesbian Coalition a roadside sign for its Adopt-a-Highway program. The department's reasoning is shallow and inconsistent, exposing its bigotry against--and ignorance of--homosexuals.

The practicing pagans of Salt Lake City keep an eye on 2.9 miles of state highway. The Ashland, Ore., Friends of John Denver chapter has a 2-mile stretch of Interstate 5. Nudists in Florida, Wiccans in New Jersey and the Ku Klux Klan of Missouri all have toiled to keep America clean through Adopt-a-Highway programs. So the Sioux Empire Gay and Lesbian Coalition of Sioux City, S.D.