California Issues $114M for Beautification Projects
Cities and local agencies throughout California recently received $114.5 million in grants to help fund 60 litter removal as well as neighborhoods and public space beautification projects.
[Above photo by Caltrans]
That funding includes $14.5 million set aside specifically to support 18 projects for cleaning transit stations and other areas around the state’s public transportation systems.
Those grants represent the latest round of funding from the “Clean California” initiative; a sweeping billion-dollar multiyear clean-up effort led by the California Department of Transportation, known as Caltrans, to remove trash and help to revitalize public spaces in local communities statewide.
[Editor’s note: Caltrans is also supporting those clean-up and revitalization efforts though a public outreach campaign starring several well-known celebrities; in this case, Fullback Kyle Juszczyk, who plays for the San Francisco 49ers football team.]
According to a statement by the California Governor’s Office, the 60 projects receiving this round of “Clean California” grant funding will improve parks, tribal lands, neighborhoods, transit hubs, walking paths, streets, roadsides, recreation fields, community gathering spots, and places of cultural importance or historical interest in underserved communities.
This funding builds on the nearly $312 million in grants to 126 beautification projects along the state highway system announced by Governor Gavin Newsom (D) in April 2022. Since launching Clean California in July 2021, Caltrans has removed an estimated 1.9 million cubic yards of litter from state highways.
The agency added that that program has created more than 4,000 jobs that have helped state residents overcome barriers to employment – including 357 people who had been experiencing homelessness – and drawn more than 10,000 volunteers to events ranging from community cleanups to large debris collections for appliances, tires, and mattresses.
