The city of Rialto, Calif., wants to take over a three-mile stretch of Foothill Boulevard, aka Route 66, that’s owned by the California Department of Transportation, reports the Inland Press-Enterprise.

The city assumes that Caltrans has bigger fish to fry — notably the maintenance of a new stretch of Highway 210 — than worrying about a small piece of local road.

The effort still is in its infancy, but there is precedent.

“We completed a relinquishment with the city of Rancho Cucamonga three years ago, and two years ago with Fontana,” said Rose Melgoza, a Caltrans spokeswoman.

“Caltrans would no longer have the financial responsibility of maintaining the route, and the city now (would) have more creative freedom of doing what they want,” Melgoza said.

Rialto is leaning toward beautifying the street like Rancho Cucumonga did.

That city played up the Route 66 angle through decorative medians and sidewalk monuments with the iconic black-and-white highway shield on river-rock pedestals. [...]

City staff is developing a Foothill Boulevard Specific Plan, which spells out goals for the street.

Foothill needs uninterrupted sidewalks; landscaped center medians; smooth pavement with newly painted lane lines; a uniform curb-to-curb width; streetlights; and curbs, gutters and storm drains.

As long as the street’s history is respected, it seems sensible to turn over Foothill to someone who cares more about it.

Don’t know who the jazz band is, but the YouTube contributor who posted this is from Australia.

The singer mangles some of the lyrics for “Route 66,” and the club the group is playing in is so dark you can barely see anyone. But the music cooks so much that I don’t really care.

And, like the last video, there’s saxophone.