SacMoves Coalition hosts an event calendar at https://sacmoves.org/events/, which is maintained by STAR (Sacramento Transit Advocates and Riders) and Getting Around Sacramento.
Monday 04
Sacramento Climate Coalition, 6:00 PM, To participate in this monthly meeting, please email info@sacclimate.org to be added to the list.
I don’t know anyone who hasn’t already voted, but information about the City of Sacramento mayoral candidates, Flo Cofer and Kevin McCarty, will be valuable beyond the election. SABA (Sacramento Area Bicycle Advocates) sent in a Gear’d Up email a compilation of candidate positions and perspective on transportation, which I’ve copied below.
Sacramento Mayoral Candidates on Transportation and the Environment SABA is taking a look at the stances of the two Sacramento mayoral candidates – Dr. Flojaune Cofer and Assemblyman Kevin McCarty – related to environmental issues. While we understand that there are many important issues facing Sacramento, especially with regard to the unhoused population, our focus here is on issues related to transportation and the climate crisis. The views presented here are taken from forums conducted by the League of Women Voters, the Sacramento Bee, and KCRA 3.
Dr. Flojuane Cofer is an epidemiologist, policy director, and advocate for change. She worked at the California Department of Public Health and then as a Senior Policy Director at Public Health Advocate. Cofer served on Sacramento’s Active Transportation Commission, Mayor’s Commission on Climate Change, Sacramento County Sheriff’s Outreach Community Advisory Board, and the Measure U Community Advisory Commission.
Since 2014, Kevin McCarty has served as Sacramento’s Assembly member – representing the 6th Assembly District. McCarty serves as Chair of the Assembly Public Safety Committee. From 2014 to 2023, he served as the Chair of the Assembly Budget Subcommittee on Education Finance. A lifelong Sacramentan, McCarty began his career as a Housing and Redevelopment Commissioner, and then served on the Sacramento City Council for a decade.
SABA does not endorse either candidate. (Disclosure: Cofer is a member of SABA and McCarty has lent financial support to a project that will launch in 2025.)
Here’s where they stand on the issues: Climate Action & Adaptation Plan, which includes a greenhouse gas reduction target for 2030 and a carbon neutrality goal for 2045. Cofer: As a commissioner on the Mayor’s Climate Commission, Cofer helped develop Sacramento’s Climate Action Plan and would like to move the dates up to accomplish carbon neutrality sooner. As mayor she would commit to setting priorities for the city council and plan how the city can take on more to achieve climate goals sooner. McCarty: He would like to achieve the goals that were set out in the plan and figure out how to pull down resources from the state and federal governments. When the city was in a budget crisis, he found resources to support city services like the firefighters and would do the same for the Climate Action Plan.
Funding for the Climate Action & Adaptation Plan Including Proposed 2026 Sales Tax (the Plan is budgeted at over $3 billion) Cofer: She believes we need to look at the Plan and figure out how to implement it; set a goal and figure out where to start; and decide on the major investments we need to make now to save money down the line and yield us dividends. Cofer says we should look at matching funds from the state and federal government, as well as local partnerships. She believes neighborhood associations, unions, nonprofits and businesses will step up and that we should see them as partners rather than adversaries. The public was frustrated that the sales tax from 2019 was not spent on homelessness, affordable housing and the arts, and Cofer says we need to build trust with the voters by righting things before going and asking for more money; and we also shouldn’t impose a tax on people with lower incomes. McCarty: He wants to look at opportunities to leverage funding for state efforts. McCarty says the State of California is our largest employer and landowner and we need them to step up to help us achieve our climate goals. Voters are very frustrated that things aren’t getting done and McCarty believes we have to restore confidence in city leadership to pass traditional revenue. He says the sales tax is regressive and that people of lower income are disproportionately impacted by climate and should not bear disproportionate burden.
Commitments to Climate Initiatives Cofer: She believes we need new leadership. Cofer has built coalitions and served on five different boards, committees, and coalitions. In the first 100 days, she commits to 1) set priorities for the city of Sacramento that include our climate goals and take action every year. 2) Make sure we have a standing committee on climate where we have community members helping us to figure out new innovative solutions. McCarty: His top two initiatives are to promote active transportation and build more infill housing.
Public Transit & Active Transportation Cofer: She supported a resolution to expand transit and make it free for kids K-12. She believes the best way to expand transit is to provide it at low or no cost and wants to get young people to ride so they become lifelong transit riders. Cofer wants to expand free rides to college students and to make public transit accessible for disabled and older people. She would like to see it kept running for major events – make it convenient and useful for everyone, not just low-income people.Cofer served on the Active Transportation Commission because she is an avid bike rider and has been hit by a car. She wants to implement design features to make it safer for people to bike and walk. When there is new construction, Cofer wants to make bikes and pedestrians a priority to signal that safety is paramount. McCarty: When he lived in Boston, McCarty took public transportation everywhere, but Sacramento’s transit system isn’t as comprehensive. McCarty believes we need more routes and frequency, and to look at land use so people can live closer to the things they need and won’t always need to drive. He believes our transportation infrastructure prioritizes cars. As a medical consultant for a school district, McCarty tried to get kids to walk more. He says there’s a need to make walking safer by not having people camping on sidewalks and by addressing other public safety issues.
Cycling and Pedestrian Safety Cofer: She acknowledges that traffic is the number one cause of fatalities and serious injuries. Cofer wants to invest money to draw matches at the state and federal level. She says traffic safety should be proactive. McCarty: He believes that roads should be fixed to proactively eliminate deaths. He would like to improve bike and pedestrian infrastructure across Sacramento, not just midtown. McCarty acknowledges that there is an equity issue – some people ride by choice; some don’t have another option.
Sprawl and Urban Development & Downtown Revitalization Cofer: One of the things in the CAAP is prioritizing infill development. Cofer wants to develop housing and build near existing infrastructure to not increase emissions. As someone who served on the Climate commission, she doesn’t want to start building in places where we already have trouble with transit. She believes we need to start building in places where we already have rail and bus lines and not create another car-centric community. Cofer doesn’t want to offer downtown properties to developers “for free.” She would like to use adaptive re-use for example, bringing Sacramento State downtown. Cofer says downtown needs to be an entertainment hub. She believes that bringing state workers back to the office is not the way – it goes against our climate goals. McCarty: He says we have a housing shortage and we have people coming to Sacramento. McCarty believes we’re not going to end sprawl by simply limiting construction within the city; we can’t control what happens across another border. He says we need to facilitate infill development and that telework is here to stay. 45% of downtown property is state or federally owned and they pay zero property tax. McCarty would like to instead, put that property in private hands such as housing, entertainment, restaurants. He wants to work with Sacramento State to bring student housing downtown.
The City of Sacramento is holding two online workshops on the Neighborhood Connections portion of the Streets For All Active Transportation Plan, on Wednesday, November 13 at 6:00 PM, and Wednesday, November 20 at 12:00 noon. Registration is available on the Streets for People webpage. The Neighborhood Connections Public Draft Plan will be available on November 4 on the Streets for People webpage.
“The Neighborhood Connections Network is made up of residential streets and minor collectors that connect to neighborhood destinations, such as parks and retail. The network includes proposed traffic-calming treatments to reduce vehicle speeds and volumes to support people walking, biking, and rolling.”
The City of Sacramento is undertaking revisions to parking requirements for private motor vehicles and bicycles, as directed by council and the 2040 General Plan.
Two online meetings are being held, Wednesday, November 13 at 10:00 AM, and Thursday, November 14 at 5:30 PM. Registration is required, and available on the city Parking Revisions webpage. You can also email the city, address on the webpage.
The city removed parking mandates in the central city in 2013, and within 1/4 mile of transit in 2019, and state law now prohibits mandates within 1/2 mile of ‘major transit stops’.
I have not had a chance to review, so don’t have any comments at this time.
Adoption of the Sacramento County Community Climate Action Plan is item 2 on the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors meeting on Wednesday, November 6, at 2:00 PM. I have not been following the Sacramento County CAP, as it is beyond my capacity, but several organizations have, and they are opposed to the plan under consideration. To summarize, the county has created a plan that won’t stand in the way of low density development at the edge of and beyond the county growth boundary. Translation: sprawl!
The best reference I’ve found is an email from 350Sacramento, so this is duplicated below.
“Tell supervisors: Don’t Approve
In 2011 Sac County promised to adopt a climate action plan (CAP), “within a year”. We’ve pushed them hard for five years to do that, and critiqued five technically and legally insufficient drafts. The problem is that the County is committed to approving several very large, high-GHG, sprawl developments outside the County’s growth boundary, and an effective CAP would get in the way.
This Wednesday the County will try to steam-roll us, adopting a final CAP with the same deficiencies as before, claiming the CAP isn’t subject to environmental requirements. We’re not buying it… Please click and send a pre-written email to County supervisors.
We’re making legal points, but feel free to substitute or add your own thoughts and feelings. Think of pointing out that elected officials are irresponsibly embracing land speculators and sprawl over protecting our environment.
All this proposed sprawl would do nothing to solve the housing crises: The County has already approved over a 100 years-worth of growth in infill and new projects. With the new sprawl they will have adopted almost 200-years of growth capacity. That won’t build-out in anyone’s lifetime; but it will start to build-out as small tracts scatter across the County – the worst possible land use for climate stabilization.
Make your voice heard and share this issue with others in your network!”
The City of Sacramento is holding a community open house on the Truxel Bridge project, on Wednesday, November 13, 5:30 – 7:00 PM. The event will be at SMUD Museum of Science and Curiosity (MOSAC), 400 Jibboom St, Sacramento, CA 95811. There is an Eventbrite registration, though registration is not required.
Truxel Bridge was originally proposed as a light rail and walking/bicycling bridge across the American River, part of the Green Line (light rail) to the Airport Project. Though it is unlikely light rail will ever go to the airport, it is possible that it will go to south and north Natomas, though the two council members from north and south Natomas don’t want to wait for light rail and would like to see bus rapid transit (BRT), sooner rather than later. The American River Parkway Plan, adopted by the county and the state, recognizes a transit bridge across the river though does not specify the location. The plan very specifically prohibits a private motor vehicle bridge.
The city, however, wants an all-modes bridge, including private motor vehicles. The addition of motor vehicles to the bridge would require a significantly wider bridge, and significantly more impact on the natural environment of the American River Parkway. The city is willing to pay for part of the bridge, but apparently expects SacRT to pay for much of it. The city is claiming the bridge will reduce VMT (vehicle miles traveled) and therefore GHG emissions, by shortening the drive from Natomas to downtown by a small distance, but has offered absolutely no proof for this claim. New motor vehicle capacity always induces more VMT. The city has also claimed that the selected crossing, from Sequoia Pacific Blvd to Truxel Road, is the best or only viable crossing, and has larded on all sorts of not-required improvements that would argue against using the existing river crossing at Highway 160. It is recognized that the Highway 160 bridges are substandard and will need to be replaced, but the city would rather fund a new bridge than fix the old. City staff has also claimed that since this project was approved by city council in 2014, only the exact alignment is under discussion. BS.
Sacramento Transit Advocates and Riders (STAR) has a number of posts on the Truxel Bridge project, category Truxel Bridge.
I hope that you will attend this meeting and speak up for the original concept, which is a transit/walking/bicycling bridge.
This Saturday, October 19, 2024, the River District Open Streets Festival will occur 12:00 PM to 4:00 PM at Mirasol Village, 400 Pipestem St, in the River District. Civic Thread is the primary host, working with a number of other partners and supporters. Registration is not required to participate, but is available on Eventbrite.
From the festival info page:
“Get ready to experience the heartbeat of our community at the Open Streets Festival in the vibrant River District this fall!
Join us for a day filled with family fun, local flair, and exciting activities for all ages. Discover live music, delicious food from local vendors, arts and crafts. Participate in interactive games, enjoy street performances, and explore the many pop-up shops that line the streets. It’s a perfect opportunity to connect with neighbors, celebrate our diverse culture, and support local businesses. Don’t miss out on this unforgettable event that brings everyone together in the heart of our beloved community.
This event is intended to showcase the power of community connection, healthy and active lifestyles, and the multitude of what the River District has to offer whether it be arts, food, or fun. There will be tables from community organizations, food vendors, and performances, along with interactive community activities such as a bike rodeo.”
Rancho Cordova and SABA also hosted an open street event last Saturday, which I hope to post about soon. Several other open streets events have happened recently, and more are in the planning stages, which is good to see after the long pause since the Sunday Street on Broadway event in 2017.
There are so many actions and possibilities for improving the efficient, equity, and safety of our transportation system that I can’t keep up with it all, and even nonprofits that have staff are unable to keep up. So, what’s going on? The list below is not in any priority order, but may give you ideas about what you would like to get involved in. It takes a village!
Items specific to City of Sacramento were in a previous post, while these items are about other locations, and/or applicable to all the cities and counties in the region.
Transportation funding in Sacramento County: Transportation sales tax measures in 2016 and 2022 failed, and a 2020 measure was withdrawn. Each measure was weak on active transportation and transit (and the sprawl developer sponsored ‘citizens initiative’ in 2022 was horrible), and also suffered from anti-tax sentiment in the county. There are three efforts to place a funding measure on the 2026 ballot, Sacramento Transit Authority (SacTA) new Measure A, SMART/Steinberg citizen measure for housing, active transportation, and roadway maintenance, and SacRT transit measure for City of Sacramento and Elk Grove. All of these are in early stages, not yet formalized. Sales taxes are regressive, making low-income people pay a much higher percentage of their income on these taxes, so efforts to identify other mechanisms are critically important.
Sacramento County Climate Action Plan: The county has delayed a climate action plan by years, going through a series of revisions that aren’t much better than the previous. Sacramento Climate Coalition and 350Sacramento have been the most active on this issue. It will take citizen pressure on staff and on the Board of Supervisors to ensure an effective plan.
Other climate action plans: Every city and county is required to come up with a climate action plan. I don’t know the status of plans other than City of Sacramento and Sacramento County.
SACOG 2025 Blueprint: SACOG is developing a new version of the MTP/SCS called Blueprint ‘Linking land use and transportation in the Sacramento region’. There is a constant tension between the desires of cities, in particular Sacramento, West Sacramento, and Davis, and the smaller cities and rural counties of the six county SACOG region, over what kinds of transportation investment to make. SACOG is required to come up with a plan that would reduce greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) by 19%, and the transportation policies and projects selected will make all the difference in whether the region has a chance for achieving that goal. Citizen pressure for infill and livable communities is required to counteract the small city and rural voices that just want money to continue doing what they’ve always done, which is encourage low density sprawl development with a motor-vehicle focused transportation network.
Caltrans District 3: While other entities are beginning to meet the public demand and legal requirements to reduce greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) by reducing vehicle miles traveled (VMT), and improve roadway safety, Caltrans District 3 is continuing to expand highway capacity, inducing travel demand and increasing GHG/VMT, and making it very hard for cities and counties to make their roadways that are state highways or that cross state highways (underpasses and overpasses) to improve safety. Caltrans headquarters has been unable to rein in District 3.
This list no doubt misses some important topics. Please suggest them in the comments.
In compiling this list, I realized that it was becoming very long, so I’m splitting it into two lists, the second on non-City of Sacramento to be posted shortly.
There are so many actions and possibilities for improving the efficient, equity, and safety of our transportation system that I can’t keep up with it all, and even nonprofits that have staff are unable to keep up. So, what’s going on? The list below is not in any priority order, but may give you ideas about what you would like to get involved in. It takes a village!
Streets for All Active Transportation Plan: This is ongoing. The neighborhood connections part of the plan, perhaps the most important element, will open a public input process in November, with two online workshops.
Work Zone and Event Detour Policy: This is ongoing, however, opposition in Public Works has delayed this policy by many months, and it will take public pressure to free it up.
Active Transportation Commission (SacATC): Though it has been pretty ineffective since founding in 2018, the addition of strong leaders to the commission and the notice of supportive city council members has opened the opportunity for real progress.
Vision Zero: Though the city committed to Vision Zero in 2017, the rate of traffic fatalities and severe injuries has increased every year since, because of the city’s unwillingness to take dramatic action, and the very very slow process of depending on grant funding to improve streets. The focus on corridors and inattention to intersections is also a flaw. The Vision Zero plan is being updated, but so far there has been no public involvement.
Speed limits: The city reduced speed limits in many school zones several years ago, on a few streets recently, and is working towards additional reductions under AB 43.
Emergency Declaration on Roadway Safety: Vice Mayor Caity Maple, Mayor Darrell Steinberg, and council member Karina Talamantes are sponsoring an emergency declaration on roadway safety, to address the epidemic (pandemic?) of traffic violence in the city. The initial proposal focused on ineffective traditional responses, but they seem open to more innovative and effective approaches.
Climate Action and Adaptation Plan: This plan, now part of the 2040 General Plan, set targets for walking, bicycling, and transit mode share, that were less ambitious than proposed in the Mayors Climate Action Plan, but nevertheless significant. Reaching these targets will require proactive changes to transportation funding allocation, street redesign, and implementation of quick-build projects.
Transportation Priorities Plan (TPP): This plan was adopted in 2022, to guide city investment and grant seeking based on objective criteria, rather than the whims of traffic engineers. Though the priorities could have been better weighted towards equity, active transportation, and climate action, it is nevertheless an immense improvement. Citizens will have to monitor the city’s decisions to ensure that the plan is followed, and improved over time.
Shared Mobility/Shared Rideables: The city has a shared rideables program which has resulted in a plethora of electric scooters in some parts of the city, and almost none in others, and almost no bike share at all, though we once had the second most successful bike share in the US. The city has chosen to let the market decide, the commercial companies, and has refused to consider city subsidy or a city program to ensure more widespread and equitable availability.
Quick-build: The active transportation community has requested that the city implement a quick-build program, with funding, that can respond quickly to crashes and traffic safety issues. Leadership has primarily been by Slow Down Sacramento. Though the city has discussed a program, they have so far refused to implement or fund a program.
Red light camera enforcement (no link because the city removed its page): The city participated in the county’s red light camera program, but when the county dropped the program, the city did as well, and so far as is known, has no plans to develop their own program. Red light running is epidemic (pandemic?) in Sacramento, and elsewhere, and there must be an automated enforcement program, with equity guardrails, to address this traffic violence issue.
Daylighting: State law (AB 413) prohibits parking with 20 feet of intersections, in order to increase visibility between drivers and people walking. The city has not said whether it will enforce this law, nor whether it will add signing or red curbs to communicate it to drivers. So of the benefits of daylighting can also be achieved through temporary (quick-build) or permanent curb extensions.
Speed camera enforcement: The city is not part of the speed camera enforcement pilot program (though to its credit, it asked to be). The city should continue to ask to be part of the pilot program, and to fully participate when the program becomes permanent.
The 2040 General Plan: The plan sets a new vision for mode priority in the city (graphic below). This is a seismic shift in priorities, and will be resisted by many city staff, so it will take citizen pressure to ensure that it is followed.
User Prioritization from City of Sacramento 2040 General Plan
This list no doubt misses some important topics. Please suggest them in the comments. The next post will include some actions that are applicable to City of Sacramento, but also to other cities, the county, and the region.
Since 2014, 
Getting Around Sacramento 