The South Sacramento-Florin CERP (Community Emissions Reduction Program; I have provided it here as it is difficult to find on the SMAQMD website) was approved by the California Air Resources Board recently (see Elk Grove Citizen: Emissions Reduction Plan Approved by California Air Resources Board, 2026-09-01 press release).

The area of the CERP is shown on the map below. This is certainly not the only area in Sacramento County with emission concerns, but it was selected based on preliminary monitoring and community involvement.

The core of the CERP as it relates to transportation is in the Urban Planning and Mobile Sources Strategies table, below. In particular, ‘Safe and Resilient Streets’ and ‘Increase public ridership on public transportation within the community’, though all the elements relate to transportation in some way.

Safe and Resilient Streets

There are two sub-strategies within the Safe and Resilient Streets element: UM-4a Quick Builds, UM-4b Standards.

For Quick Builds, the strategy is “Support installation of quick builds to create protected and shaded cycling and walking routes.” and the Actions are:

• Fund changes to the built environment.
• Identify community desired infrastructure.
• Prioritize locations for intervention.
• Expand neighborhood street safety programs.

Though Sacramento County, City of Sacramento, and City of Elk Grove are gradually implementing quick builds, the rate is too slow, and the effort is underfunded.

For Standards, the strategy is “Support and/or amend street standards to create protected and shaded cycling and walking routes.” and the Actions are:

• Work with local jurisdictions to adopt new design or redesign standards and to implement improvements.
• Identify community desired infrastructure.
• Locate deficiencies in existing standards.
• Prioritize locations for intervention.

Sacramento County, City of Sacramento, and City of Elk Grove do not have modern standards that “Increase and prioritize pedestrian and cyclist safety.”

Increase public ridership on public transportation within the community

For this element, the Strategy is “Increase public ridership on public transportation within the community.” and the Actions are:

• Provide transportation demand management services for residents and businesses within the community.
• Work with organizations, businesses, and agencies to provide incentives for employees to take sustainable transportation (i.e., carpool, public transportation, electric vehicle).
• Work with the Sacramento Regional Transit (SacRT) to continue the funding for a free yearly bus pass to community members, focused on increasing student ridership.
• Provide public outreach to community members with information on how to access transportation apps and how to access maps, routes, and schedules.

Note that no increase in bus frequency or bus route coverage is proposed.

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Overall, the plan seems well thought out and seems to reflect community concerns and solutions. Mention of trees is scattered throughout, not just in the element UM-3 ‘Increase Tree Canopies’ element, which is a great sign. All of the strategies depend on multiple partnerships, and it remains to be seen whether the partners will follow through, and whether cooperation will continue and increase.