Category: livability
-
downtown or midtown?
I attended the State of the City event last week put on by the Downtown Sacramento Partnership. It was interesting, and the talk I was primarily there for, Brent Toderian, was good (more about that later). But the boosterism of downtown got way out of hand, in the sense that the picture of economic success…
-
real transportation solutions
Measure A 2022, which will be on the ballot this November, is a bundle of old ideas and a commitment to doing things the old way, the way that has dominated our transportation system since World War II. It does not address current transportation challenges. It proposes building more freeways, more interchanges, and widening roadways.…
-
motorist hegemony
I have been seeking a term for the car dominance of our society that captures how oppressive it is to anyone walking or bicycling. Totalitarian is not it, that implies that walkers and bicyclists would be disappeared and have absolutely no rights. Authoritarianism certain overlaps, but doesn’t really capture it. I saw a term used…
-
Sacramento open streets for eating
With the removal of blockages to motor vehicle travel on Capitol Avenue, a few weeks ago, and R Street, recently, Sacramento no longer has any streets closed to motor vehicles for the purposes of encouraging outdoor dining. There are still a few locations with sidewalks diverted to the street for outdoor dining, and parking lanes…
-
car sickness on Capitol Ave
I walked by the section of Capitol Ave in Sacramento, east of 18th St, as I have done many times, but today it struck me how dead this street is, now. It was alive for a while: But now it is sick again. To extend the analogy, it has always suffered from car sickness (a…
-
small business, not homeownership
Many organizations and governments are again touting homeownership as the path to economic security and wealth creation. I have my doubts. The wealth generated for people who own homes is not wealth out of thin air, nor is it wealth out of moral superiority. It is wealth out of exclusion and externalized costs. Every day,…
-
leaf blowers
In the City of Sacramento, there are two sections of city code that address leaf blowers, both in Title 8: Health & Safety. 8.68.180 Portable gasoline-powered blowers. A. It is unlawful for any person to operate any portable gasoline-powered blower on residential property or within two hundred (200) feet of residential property, except between the hours…
-
Strong Towns approach to public investment
This is a follow-on to my post don’t forget the little things. Though my post doesn’t have the same message, it goes back to the idea presented by Strong Towns, that big projects are not the secret to improving communities, but small steps, refined and repeated. This applies just as much to transportation as anything else.…
-
What about mass murder?
I will pause for a moment my mission to publicize and formulate ideas that make for a more livable place, more walkable, more bikeable, with effective transit, a diverse range of people, and jobs close to home. The city, and the streets, are not safe for many people, not just because of traffic violence, but…
-
I’m tired of the electric vehicle conversation
Warning: Grumpy old man mode. I am really, really growing tired of the electric vehicle boosterism that pervades the environmental community. It is sucking all the air out of organizations and meetings, diverting attention away from solutions that would have a much greater impact on greenhouse gas emissions (GHG). The transportation sector is responsible for…
Getting Around Sacramento 