News
News & Guest Blog Posts
Everyday, our region’s counties and cities are taking actions to make this the best place to work, live, and play. We will share our member city and county milestones here, along with our own regional news and blog posts.
Transit Oriented Development is Not Just for Urban Cores
TOD toolkit a useful guide for all communities
February 27, 2020: Transit Oriented Development (TOD) is a hot buzzword in the planning field – but what does it actually look like and mean? If images of mixed-use buildings with a light rail train passing by come to mind, that’s not wrong, but TOD does go beyond some of those first assumptions and is useful to more than just urban cores.
How to Revitalize an Inner-Ring Suburb
Lessons from Arden-Arcade
February 27, 2020: When her local suburb of Arden-Arcade began to show some signs of aging, Sacramento County Supervisor Susan Peters took keen notice.
She knew a strategy was needed to create interest within the community in revitalizing the prospects of the area, a highly diverse community that includes older commercial corridors, modest homes as well as multimillion dollar houses consisting of the first suburban ring outside Sacramento’s city core.
Rancho Cordova Attracts National Attention for Transit-Oriented Development
Mills Station District poised to become a dynamic city center
February 26, 2020: The City of Rancho Cordova is investing millions of dollars in developing a community hub on what its economic development manager Amanda Norton called “truly a catalyst site.”
The City purchased the 9.8 acre site next to Folsom Lake College’s Rancho campus in 2018 and is in the process of reviewing proposals from the three short-listed development groups to transform the suburban commercial corridor site into the Mills Station District. The City expects to select a preferred developer this spring, said Norton.
Green Means Go Campaign Launches With Strong Legislator Support
Stockton Blvd. event showcases need for infill development
February 13, 2020: SACOG launched its lobbying campaign for the Green Means Go program with a press conference and walking tour of Stockton Boulevard on Monday, February 3. The press conference featured State Senator Dr. Richard Pan, Assemblymember Kevin McCarty, Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg, and City of Sacramento Councilmember Eric Guerra.
The strong support from the legislature followed on from the majority of the Sacramento region’s legislative delegation signing a letter to Governor Gavin Newsom in support of the Green Means Go proposed pilot program, which will lower greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the six-county Sacramento region by accelerating infill development, reducing vehicle trips, and electrifying remaining trips.
New Ride Alert! Yuba College Students Have a New Ride to Campus
Free Yuba College shuttle began January 13
January 30, 2020: Yuba College students are riding free as they head into the spring semester.
Sacramento Regional Transit Takes Flight
New airport service and SmaRT Ride growth expand the region’s mobility options
January 30, 2020: The new year started with a flurry of activity for Sacramento Regional Transit (SacRT). On January 6, in partnership with Yolobus, it launched its new Airport Express between downtown Sacramento and Sacramento International Airport and a week later it announced the expansion of its SmaRT Ride microtransit service.
SACOG ANNOUNCES NEW BOARD LEADERSHIP FOR 2020
January 16, 2020: The Sacramento Area Council of Governments (SACOG) Board of Directors has elected City of Davis councilmember Lucas Frerichs as the 2020 board chair and Marysville mayor Ricky Samayoa as board vice chair.
Chair Frerichs has served on the Davis City Council since 2012 and on the SACOG board since 2014. Frerichs is a leading regional voice for smart growth, multi-modal transportation, public safety, economic development, and environmental sustainability.
Ten of the Best
Our most popular news stories of 2019
December 30, 2019: Here’s our year-end gift for you, our loyal readers. We dived into the metrics and discovered that these were the 10 most-read stories we featured in our monthly newsletter The Current this year.
Youth Leadership Academy All Set for Year Two
November 25, 2019: A new wave of regional leaders is emerging as Pro Youth and Families and SACOG continue the Youth Leadership Academy for a second year.
Sacramento region’s 20-year transportation plan approved
Region’s Housing Needs Allocation also approved
November 26, 2019: Last week SACOG received federal approval for its 2020 Metropolitan Transportation Plan/Sustainable Communities Strategy (MTP/SCS).
The November 20 letter from the Federal Highway Administration is the final step in a four-year process of updating the 20-year MTP/SCS. Two days earlier the SACOG board had unanimously adopted the plan and certified the associated Final Environmental Impact Report (FEIR).
Prosperity Strategy Snapshot Reveals a Region Rising
A suite of strategies to boost Sacramento’s regional economy
November 26, 2019: Boosting our region’s most promising tradeable clusters is the best path forward to accelerate our economy, according to the forthcoming Prosperity Strategy.
Tradeable clusters are groups of related industries that bring new wealth into the region, pay above average wages, and have a higher multiplier effect in the broader economy. The three most promising clusters in our region are life sciences, food and agriculture, and future mobility.
The Power of Coalitions and Visionary Thinking
Lessons from the Regional Futures Forum
November 18, 2019: The Regional Futures Forum is over for another year but the lessons from the day-long conference about the future of transportation live on.
The second annual RFF was a bigger event than last year’s inaugural Forum, with more than 300 people showing up at the Center at 2300 on October 30. The audience was mostly elected officials, senior city and county staff from all around the Sacramento region, and staff and guests from partners and sponsors.
The day’s first keynote speaker was Mayor Jackie Millet of Lone Pine, Colorado, with “Lessons from Lone Tree”. She detailed how her small, conservative, suburban city had gone all in on transportation investments and how that had benefited her community. But it had not been easy — one newspaper ran a series of editorials every Sunday for 13 weeks against the tax measure that financed much of the transportation infrastructure and the state’s governor and head of the Department of Transport were also opposed.
Pilot Projects Give Communities a Preview of Changes
Testing safety strategies in Citrus Heights and Sacramento
October 29, 2019: Two recent road demonstration tests showed the value of doing a pilot project before making big changes to a road.
In Citrus Heights major thoroughfare Old Auburn Road is getting a Complete Streets makeover. The community got a nine-day preview that was launched with a Community Safety Fair on October 19. People could ride in a temporary bike lane created for the pilot as well as attend a pedestrian safety class, and some family fun activities drew a steady stream of visitors.
Window Makeovers Aim to Jumpstart Downtown Marysville
The first step to a vibrant downtown? Being able to see in the windows.
October 29, 2019: If the eyes are the windows to the soul, then what are shop windows? According to retail design guru Michele Reeves, they could reveal a shop’s soul.
When Innovation Happens in the Slow Lane
Keep Calm and Drive a Neighborhood Electric Vehicle in Lincoln
October 28, 2019: When you think about innovative mobility you might think autonomous vehicles, electric scooters, or maybe something more futuristic like flying cars. But innovative mobility doesn’t have to involve a high-tech device, it just needs to bring a new solution to an existing transportation challenge. That’s what City of Lincoln is doing with Neighborhood Electric Vehicles (NEVs).
Big Boost for Small Solutions to Housing Crisis
Governor Newsom signs three bills that make it easier to build ADUs
October 10, 2019: As we pointed out in June, Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) are an inexpensive and environmentally friendly way to boost housing.
The small secondary units on residential lots, also known as granny flats, carriage houses, in-law units, or backyard cabins, provide more affordable housing in existing communities without changing the existing fabric of residential neighborhoods. They can meet the needs of low- to moderate-income families without the need for public subsidy.
Given that about three-fourths of the SACOG region’s homes are single family houses, ADUs could provide a viable avenue to increase the naturally affordable housing stock in the region.
Live Oak Comes Alive
Housing demand boosted by Camp Fire victims
September 30, 2019: Live Oak, the greater Sacramento region’s northernmost city (population 8,771), has quietly been building homes and hatching plans to revamp its Main Street, Highway 99.
Tahoe Tests Traffic-Busting Ideas
Placer County Pilots New Transportation Options in Tahoe
September 30, 2019: Lake Tahoe’s beauty is also its curse. The year-round playground draws millions of visitors who make 25 million vehicle trips within the Tahoe Basin a year, generating significant congestion for both visitors and the 50,000 permanent residents.
Paving the Way for Better Commutes
Biggest freeway project in the region since 1975 will bring faster travel times and smoother rides to I-5
September 30, 2019: Look out, I-5 is getting some major work done, all to improve commutes and make carpooling a lot easier.
The SAC 5 Corridor Enhancement Project, which began in July, is the biggest freeway construction/expansion project in the region since 1975. The work will occur one mile south of Elk Grove Boulevard to the American River viaduct and will include 67 miles of new and rehabilitated lanes and 23 miles of carpool lanes, or High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lanes.
Planning Begins For Sunrise Mall’s New Future
City of Citrus Heights steps in to lead a reimagination of dated mall
September 30, 2019: After 13 years of falling sales at Sunrise Mall the City of Citrus Heights has begun a “visioning process” to reimagine the future of what was once the region’s dominant mall.
Since 1996, sales at the mall have declined by 50 percent and about a quarter of its retail space is vacant. The 25 acre mall building is surrounded by another 75 acres of vastly underused parking.