Two Los Gatos women who are disgusted with the amount of discarded trash littering streets and freeways are now campaigning to persuade Caltrans to do a better job of cleaning up the freeways.

Lisa Keller and Amy Despars also want to educate people about the need to pick up after themselves.

“We both grew up in Los Gatos and have watched our little valley turn into a dumping ground,” Despars said. “I happened to be sitting at a Los Gatos High School football game with graduates from 50 years ago and this was a hot topic of conversation.”

Despars, Keller and others have been emailing Gov. Jerry Brown, the town of Los Gatos and Caltrans, saying the “state of our roadways is unacceptable.”

“Please clean all of the on/off ramps into and out of Los Gatos, Campbell and San Jose,” their email to Caltrans says.

Keller received a reply from Caltrans on Oct. 28 that said, “Situation acknowledged. You will be notified that the problem has been resolved as soon as I hear back from the maintenance crew.”

The email to Keller was unsigned and calls from the Weekly-Times to the regional Caltrans manager were not returned by deadline.

Meantime, Los Gatos public works superintendent Steve Regan is getting ready to launch a cleanup program for the Highway 17 on and off ramps at Highway 9.

“There’s a lot of garbage out there on Highway 17 and Caltrans only has 10 road workers for the San Jose area,” Regan said. “So we’ll be cleaning the Highway 9 cloverleaf ramps. We have a permit through the Adopt-a-Highway program to bring out volunteers to pick up the debris, which we’re hoping to do once a month.”

Before hitting the streets, though, cleanup volunteers must first watch a training video. “We’ll have a kickoff event at the town service center on Miles Avenue after Thanksgiving,” Regan said. “Then we’ll schedule the first cleanup, weather permitting.”

Regan said Caltrans will supply the volunteers with pickup sticks, hard hats and bags. Caltrans will also pick up the debris-filled bags.

Regan has been working with the Los Gatos Beautification Committee, which is expected to provide the initial group of volunteers.

Keller and Despars plan to be among them.

“If they need manpower they should let us know,” Keller said. “We can get over 100 people just like that.”

Keller and Despars aren’t just targeting freeways–they say Los Gatos streets are filthy, too.

“We’re a dirty little town right now,” Despars said.

Keller added, “A lot of people are saying that. So I tell them, ‘If you see garbage, pick it up.’ My children and I have been going along Montevina Road and we pick up six giant bags of trash every week or so.”

Despars is particularly disgusted with trash flying out of truck beds and discarded cigarette butts. “Throw away your cigarette butts in your car,” she said.

Despars is a Los Gatos kindergarten teacher, who is educating her young students about litter. “We talk with our kids about keeping our campus clean, but when we come back on Mondays we often find that people who used the campus over the weekend have not picked up after themselves,” she said, “so we have to clean up their trash.”

“What kind of message does this put across to our children?” Keller asked. “People need to follow the Girl Scout rule–always leave a place cleaner than you found it.”

To contact the Los Gatos Beautification Committee, visit losgatoscommunity foundation.org. Email Caltrans at dot.ca.gov/contactus.htm and click on “Maintenance Service Request.”