Lack of reflective paint on some I-680 signs makes them ‘almost unreadable’

Q: At about 10 p.m. Thanksgiving night, I entered northbound Interstate 680 at Monument Boulevard in Concord. Luckily, I knew how to get to westbound Highway 4, because overhead signs were almost unreadable. Reflective paint on all the signs was worn off, to the point where some would have made no sense to a driver relying on them.

I don’t know if the problem is more extensive than what I saw on that short stretch of 680. It was pretty alarming.

— Gail Wiemann, Richmond

A: I’ll forward your message to Caltrans.

Q: Your column on illegal dumping reminded me that in the 1960s, illegal dumping and its consequences were made famous by a singer/songwriter, Arlo Guthrie, who documented the experience when he and a friend dumped garbage alongside a road and faced consequences. His famous song, “Alice’s Restaurant,” sold millions of copies.

The incident Guthrie recounts in the song was reported in the Berkshire Eagle on Nov. 29, 1965. It describes the conviction of Richard J. Robbins, age 19, and Arlo Guthrie, age 18, for illegally disposing of rubbish, with a fine of $25 each, plus an order to remove the trash.

Personally, I think that anyone caught dumping trash in California should spend a month on a Caltrans team, picking up all the trash alongside roads.

— Diane Gaskill

A: And …

Q: I’m probably giving away my age, but every time I read about littering, I am reminded of “Alice’s Restaurant” by Arlo Guthrie.

— Tom Dunbar

A: I hadn’t listened carefully to “Alice’s Restaurant,” so looked up the lyrics. Indeed, there’s the story, in song, nearly 20 minutes long.