Chapter 9. District Powers of California Streets And Highways Code >> Division 16. >> Part 3. >> Chapter 9.

The district shall have perpetual succession and acting through the board shall have the powers prescribed in this chapter in addition to any others expressly conferred on it by this chapter.

The district may sue and be sued in its corporate name in all actions and proceedings in all courts and tribunals of competent jurisdiction.

The district may adopt a seal and alter it at pleasure.

The district may take by grant, purchase, gift, devise, or lease, or otherwise acquire, and hold, use, and enjoy, real and personal property of every kind within or without the district necessary for the full or convenient exercise of its powers. The board may lease, mortgage, sell, or otherwise dispose of any real or personal property within or without the district when, in its judgment, it is for the best interests of the district so to do.

The district may acquire, or contract to acquire, and may construct under contract, or by its own employees, maintain, improve, and operate bridges, abutments, rights-of-way, roads, tunnels, railroads, streetcar lines, interurban lines, telephone and telegraph lines, footpaths, viaducts, tollgates, tollhouses, subways, and all other forms of property necessary or proper for the successful prosecution of the project for which the district was organized, or which may be authorized by the board of directors of the district under its powers, including all machinery or other property useful or necessary to construct, maintain, operate, or otherwise make use of toll bridges and highways, and complete, add to, repair, or otherwise improve, any of the property acquired by it.

The district may acquire by purchase, gift or condemnation, or lease from the United States, this State, or from any person, or public or private corporation, lands, rights of way, or rights in, over or across lands or waters which are necessary or proper for the construction or operation of bridges, and the approaches thereto, fix and collect tolls, for the purpose of meeting the obligations of the district and repaying the same, and dispose of the surplus to the various counties within the district.

The district may exercise the right of eminent domain to take any property necessary to the exercise of the powers granted in this part, or in any provision of law, to the district.

The district may borrow money, incur indebtedness and issue bonds or other evidences of such indebtedness; and refund or retire any indebtedness or lien that may exist against the district or any of its property.

The district may purchase or condemn any works which might be constructed by the district, whether completed or partly completed, and conduct and manage the same.

The district may have taxes levied and collected in accordance with the provisions of this part for the purpose of paying running expenses, organization expenses and the investigation expenses of the district before the issuance of bonds, and for the purpose of paying the obligations of the district.

The district may make contracts, employ labor, and all kinds of employees, whether skilled or unskilled, for the purpose of carrying on the business of the district.

The district may establish all necessary rules, regulation or conditions under which the property of the district may be used by the public and fix and collect all tolls for the use thereof, and enter into contracts with any persons or public officers or public or private corporations, whereby the facilities constructed by the district may be made use of, by such persons, officers, or corporations, and at the tolls or for the consideration fixed by such contracts.

The district may do all things necessary for the complete exercise of the powers described in this chapter.

The work of constructing, repairing, relocating, or otherwise providing any of the highways or approaches composed of the structures or improvements mentioned in Part 3 (commencing with Section 27000) of Division 15 of this code or Article 60 (commencing with Section 20910) of Chapter 1 of Part 3 of Division 2 of the Public Contract Code, may be done by any district in cooperation with a city, county, joint highway district, or other district formed for the improvement or building of roads, or in cooperation with the state. For the purpose of doing work or acquiring rights-of-way therefor, the board may authorize a contract to be entered into between the district and the political subdivision or agency of the state with which it proposes to cooperate, and full power and authority is granted to the city, county, joint highway, or other district, or the Department of Transportation, to enter into the contracts for cooperative work, construction, or purchase of rights-of-way, in such a manner and upon such apportionment of the cost thereof as may be agreed upon between them. For this purpose, the contracting parties may designate engineers, county surveyors, or other necessary officials or employees to take charge of the particular work, and provide for the payment of the cost of the work out of funds contributed by the contracting parties. The plans and specifications for the work shall be approved by both of the contracting parties, and the work may be carried out by either one of the contracting parties as the agent of the other, or it may be carried out under the joint management of both of the contracting parties. Any project undertaken by a district alone, or in cooperation with any of the agencies mentioned, may be accomplished by federal aid under rules which may be prescribed by the federal agencies involved. Any work may extend across, through, or within any city, county, joint highway district, or other district, if the work is an extension of an approach to a bridge operated by the district and connects the bridge as a main or alternate route with state highways or other through routes leading to or from the bridge.

Every purchase or contract made in violation of the competitive bidding requirements of this part shall be void.

The district may contract with the State for the construction, repair or relocation of highways or approaches to any structure or improvement maintained or operated by it and may collect tolls for the use of such structure or improvement to pay any obligation to the State, incurred under the contract.

(a) The district may adopt rules and regulations not inconsistent with the Vehicle Code for the control of traffic on any facility of travel constructed by the district, to aid and ensure the safe and orderly flow of traffic, and shall, so far as practicable, notify the public of those rules and regulations by signs on the facility of travel. The district may also adopt rules and regulations pertaining to parking areas in conjunction with any facilities of travel constructed or maintained by the district. The district may also adopt rules and regulations governing the use of all modes of transportation owned, operated, or maintained by the district.
  (b) The district may enforce any rule, regulation, or ordinance adopted by the board of directors of the district pursuant to this section or subdivision (a) of Section 21113 of the Vehicle Code and relating to stopping or parking of vehicles by the issuance of notices of parking violation and notices of delinquent parking violation in the manner prescribed by Article 3 (commencing with Section 40200) of Chapter 1 of Division 17 of the Vehicle Code. Notices of parking violation and notices of delinquent parking violation may be issued by those employees of the district authorized by rule, regulation, or ordinance of the district.
  (c) The district may enforce any rule, regulation, or ordinance relating to toll evasion adopted by the board of directors of the district pursuant to this section or subdivision (a) of Section 40250 of the Vehicle Code by the issuance of notices of toll evasion violation and notices of delinquent toll evasion in the manner prescribed by Article 4 (commencing with Section 40250) of Chapter 1 of Division 17 of the Vehicle Code.

(a) Every person who, without permission of the board or its authorized officers or agents, climbs upon any railing, cable, suspender rope, tower, or superstructure of any district toll bridge, or otherwise trespasses on any portion of the bridge that is not intended for public use, is guilty of a misdemeanor, punishable by imprisonment in the county jail not exceeding one year, by a fine not exceeding ten thousand dollars ($10,000), or by both that imprisonment and fine.
  (b) Every person who trespasses on district property other than that referred to in subdivision (a) is guilty of a misdemeanor.
  (c) If the court grants probation to any person punished under subdivision (a), in addition to any other terms or conditions imposed by the court, the court shall impose as a condition of that probation that the person perform not less than 40 hours and not more than 160 hours of community service in the county in which the violation occurred. To the extent practicable, the service shall involve work in homeless shelters, programs designed for the care of drug abuse, and hospices. The service shall be performed during a time that does not interfere with the person's school attendance or employment.
  (d) Any person convicted of a violation of subdivision (a) of this section shall reimburse the bridge district for costs resulting from the violation. The court shall consider the costs to the bridge district and shall prorate the defendant's share of the costs based on the defendant's responsibility for the acts and in accordance with the defendant's ability to pay, as the court deems appropriate in the interest of justice.
  (e) This section does not apply to persons engaged in the operation, maintenance, or repair of a bridge.

Every person who stands in the roadway or on the sidewalk of any district toll bridge, or the approaches thereto, for the purpose of soliciting a ride from the driver of any vehicle is guilty of a misdemeanor.

The district shall cause to be published and made available to the public at the toll gates of any facilities of travel constructed by the district, copies of those traffic laws and rules and regulations particularly applicable thereto.

Violation of any rules or regulations provided for in Section 27174.1, notice of which has been given by a sign on the facility of travel constructed by the district is a misdemeanor.

The California Highway Patrol shall have the authority and it shall be its duty to provide for proper and adequate policing of all facilities of travel constructed by the district, to insure the enforcement thereon of the Vehicle Code and of any other law relating to the use and operation of vehicles upon highways or vehicular crossings as defined in the Vehicle Code, and of the rules and regulations adopted by the board of directors of the district in respect to facilities of travel and parking areas, and to cooperate with the district, to the end that such facilities of travel and parking areas be operated at all times in such manner as to carry traffic efficiently. This authority of the California Highway Patrol is exclusive except as to the authority conferred upon the district by Section 27174.1 in respect to those facilities of travel or parking areas. All required accident reports and supplemental reports, and all other reports made to the California Highway Patrol by any peace officer, member of the California Highway Patrol, or other employees of the Department of Motor Vehicles and California Highway Patrol relative to accidents and incidents occurring on property of a bridge and highway district shall be immediately available for the confidential use of the district.

A towing service may be maintained by a bridge and highway district on each vehicular crossing under its jurisdiction, and said district may furnish such towing and emergency road service as is necessary to permit the orderly flow of traffic upon such crossing and upon district property. The district may prescribe and collect reasonable rates for towing and other services furnished. When any vehicle or object on any vehicular crossing or road under district jurisdiction or upon district property upon which towing service is maintained is stopped for any reason and such vehicle or object is obstructing or may obstruct traffic, the district shall order that such vehicle or object be towed by the towing service either to the nearest property of the bridge and highway district designated for the parking or storing of vehicles, or to a suitable parking location on a public street or highway and thereupon left in the custody of the owner or operator of such vehicle or object, or his agent, or, in the event no such owner, operator, or agent is present, or if such owner, operator, or agent so requests, to a public garage or off-street parking facility. The district may prescribe the limits within which the towing service authorized herein shall be operated. The district may furnish and deliver fuel to vehicles, the supply of which is exhausted, or change tires, and may charge a reasonable sum for the services and materials furnished. If the district deems it safe and advisable and the owner or operator of such vehicle or object so requests, it may be towed from the vehicular crossing as herein provided. The towing service maintained by a district pursuant to this section shall be the only towing service authorized to render service to or remove vehicles or objects which become disabled upon vehicular crossings or property under the jurisdiction of the district.

Within the district, the Department of Transportation may restrict any portion of a state highway to a particular mode of vehicular transportation during such hours as the department, upon the basis of an engineering and traffic investigation, determines such restriction would expedite the flow of traffic.

A bridge and highway district may contract with the State to furnish regular highway patrol officers to serve for 24-hour police or patrol duty on the bridge and its approaches. The cost of such services shall be a legal expense for operation of the district.