SACOG Salutes! 2007
Winner, Blueprint Excellence:
WalkSacramento & Sacramento Area Bicycle Advocates
Trinh Nguyen, Walt Seifert, Anne Geraghty, and SACOG Board Members Rusty Dupray and Heather Fargo
The Blueprint Excellence Award recognizes a project, organization or business for outstanding approaches to Blueprint implementation projects.
This year SACOG is recognizing two community organizations for Blueprint Excellence for their work on complete street design. This year’s winners were selected for their cooperative work and community involvement in planning for complete streets throughout the Sacramento region. The 2007 SACOG Salutes! Blueprint Excellence award winners are WalkSacramento and the Sacramento Area Bicycle Advocates (SABA).
WalkSacramento is a non-profit organization dedicated to achieving safe, walkable communities- for personal health and recreation, for livable neighborhoods, for traffic safety, and for clean air.
WalkSacramento collaborated with the Oak Park Neighborhood Association to perform several walkability audits which has led to the current Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard streetscape project they also continually implement walkability audits near schools to create safe access for children. WalkSacramento has continually been a consistent leader in advocating for complete street in existing and planned communities. WalkSacramento works to increase public awareness walking as a safe and clean mode of transportation.
SABA is a non-profit group that represents cyclists with the aim of more and safer bicycle trips. The vision of SABA is bicycling everyday for transportation because it is safe, convenient and desirable.
SABA spearheaded the organization of Can the Trash! Coalition, which addresses the issue of green waste on local streets. These efforts have lead to the cities of Davis, Woodland and Sacramento getting green waste piles off of the street. Green waste piles are not only a danger to cyclists, they also contribute to street flooding and illegal dumping.
SABA and WalkSacramento are essential in organizing residents to participate in regional efforts such as May is Bike Month, Regional Bicycle, Pedestrian and Trails Master Plan, MTP2035, Caltrans System Management Plans, Sacramento Regional Transit's Master Plan and multiple city general plans. Currently both WalkSacramento and Sacramento Area Bicycle Advocates are working with the Los Rios Community College District to create safer bicycle and pedestrian accessibility.
Other 2007 Winners:
- Agency of the Year: Placer County Transportation Planning Agency
For Leadership and Advocacy for Transportation Solutions
- Citizen of the Year: Brooks Truitt
For Continuing Civic Engagement
- Project of the Year: Caltrans Division of Rail
Voluntary Diesel Retrofit of Passenger Cars and Overall Reductions of Greenhouse Gas Emissions
- Blueprint Excellence: Sacramento Area Bicycle Advocates & WALKSacramento
Collaboration with Community for Complete Streets
- Business of the Year: KCRA 3
Exemplary Public Education and Engagement of Regional Issues
- Bill Hughes Elected Official of the Year: Mike McGowan
Efforts in Open Space Preservation
- Employee of the Year: Sue Heitman, Capay Valley Vision
Revitalization Efforts for Esparto and rural Yolo County
- Special Recognition: Susan Frazier
Distinguished Service and Community Outreach in the SACOG Region
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