Sonora, CA – Many noticed the white and yellow markings, or Ls, on Sonora City streets, questioning what they are for.
Central Sierra Broadcasting received several emails and phone calls from the public asking what the markings were for, so we went to the city for answers. Sonora Community Development Director Tyler Summersett told us the markings are for Mobile LiDAR Street Scanning, detailing, “The purpose of the Mobile LiDAR scan is to perform a pavement condition assessment for all streets within the city network.”
Today, two trucks drove along streets with those L markings to collect and assess pavement conditions, identify damage, and plan future repairs. Some travelers may have been delayed by the main scanner truck, followed by a “shadow truck” (a small Nissan), both with amber light bars on them protecting the scanning zone. To collect data, the trucks went 5–10 mph below the speed limit and made at least two passes, covering each lane with the scanner, which is eye-safe and invisible, collecting data based on line-of-sight.
The retroreflective angle-shaped targets seen in roadways recently, pictured to the left, are control points that are collected in the scan data and improve the data’s accuracy, making it more usable.
Summersett added, “The scanner cannot produce any data from behind windows and cannot see into houses or buildings (the glass actually refracts the light from the equipment and scrambles it). The data will not be made publicly available.”
Additionally, private and state-owned roadways were not scanned. The city noted that these projects are funded by Measure Y and will help make more strategic tax-dollar investments in the future.
