News
News & Guest Blog Posts
Everyday, our region’s counties and cities are taking actions to make this to 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.
“Manage the Land or it Will Manage you”
Combating wildfires with good forest management and policy
July 17, 2019: “Manage the land or it will manage you.” El Dorado County Supervisor Brian Veerkamp shared his grandfather’s wise words with the House Committee on Natural Resources in May 2019 while speaking on the importance of wildfire resilient communities.
The last several years have brought California many devastating wildfires that have destroyed acres upon acres of land, people’s homes, and taken many lives. To an extent, there are certain factors that we can not control, such as climate conditions. But as Veerkamp shared, there are many things that we can take control of to reduce the chance of such catastrophic events, which include land and forest management, supported by policy. In his testimony to the Natural Resources Committee, Veerkamp described his career experience in the Fire and Emergency Services field and how he’s taken his current role as a county supervisor to enact policy for “preventative management.” This means putting in work early on so fires can be prevented, such as the Mandatory Vegetation Management Ordinance that was enacted in the western parts of El Dorado County during his time in the Fire Service and has now been adopted in all El Dorado County.
A Jolt of Youth Energy for the CTC
The California Transportation Commission gets a youthful welcome to the Sacramento region
June 27, 2019: When the California Transportation Commission rolled into Sacramento this week, SACOG greeted them with a youth quake.
The commission rotates its monthly meetings around California and SACOG executive director James Corless was asked to present the Welcome to the Region address that kicks off each meeting. He brought along Youth Leadership Academy (YLA) participant Kale Almeida, an incoming high school senior. The YLA is SACOG’s civic engagement program for emerging high school leaders.
Jumpstart for Catalyst River District Projects
$34 million for housing, light rail stations, and clean transportation
June 26, 2019: Two projects in Sacramento’s downtown field of dreams got a big boost on Friday.
When the California Strategic Growth Council board approved both of the Sacramento region projects that had applied for Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities Program funding, they pumped more than $34 million into the downtown Railyards/River District.
Bringing E-Bike Joy to the Burbs
Can the urban enthusiasm for bike share spread to the suburbs?
June 24, 2019: Getting around Elk Grove, Folsom, and Rancho Cordova is about to get a little more electric and a little more fun.
The three cities, SACOG, and Gotcha, a bike share company, have come together to launch a pilot program that will bring electric bikes to the cities (and a few scooters in Elk Grove). This new pilot program is the first opportunity for the Sacramento region to test the concept of suburban bike share. The pilot will test the bikes in a suburban environment and shed light on how a system not primarily focused in an urban core could provide residents new mobility options.
To date, bike share and scooter systems across the country have focused their efforts on city downtowns and urban cores, due to the density of human activity, including housing, jobs, and entertainment. As these mobility systems become more ingrained into everyday travel behavior for urban residents, residents in suburban areas should also have more travel options.
Green Light for Granny Flats
Sutter County makes it easier to build Accessory Dwelling Units
June 19, 2019: Whether it is called a granny flat, a carriage house, an in-law unit, a backyard cabin, or even a Fonzie flat, Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) offer an inexpensive and environmentally friendly way to boost housing.
California effectively made ADUs legal throughout the state in 2017 but legal does not always mean easy. Local regulations such as mandating parking spaces, large set-backs, or lot coverage requirements can, intentionally or not, make it difficult for ADUs to be built or approved.
Matchmaking for Commercial Corridors
Civic Lab Marketplace brings cities and developers together
May 29, 2019: Civic Lab, SACOG’s accelerator program for cities to design and launch pilot projects, hit its year two midpoint on Wednesday night.
The teams have been assessing their commercial corridors, identifying the challenges they need to overcome to bring them back to life and honing their vision of how the corridor may develop.
Cap-to-Cap Maryland tours showcase modern suburban development
May 29, 2019: In early May SACOG was pleased to partner with the Sacramento Metro Chamber to offer two tours in Washington D.C.’s Maryland suburbs for attendees of Capitol-to-Capitol.
How JUMP Changed my Life
After a year, JUMP shows e-bikes are a “viable alternative to car trips”
May 23, 2019: Up until a year ago, Matthew Hargrove
commuted to his downtown Sacramento job in his Ford F150 truck.
It took him 25 minutes to travel from his West Sacramento home to
work, including finding a parking spot and paying for it. Now “my
commute on a JUMP Bike takes about 20 minutes and I don’t have to
hassle with parking, get a little blood moving, and feel happy as
I ride through my town.”
A Month of Pedal Power
As May is Bike Month spins down, we review the highlights
May 23, 2019: For all the fun, festivals, and
miles pedaled during the 15th annual May is Bike Month, the
first event of the month stands out for making the biggest impact
on bike riding.
Safer Roads Don’t Have to be Bigger Roads
Quick safety fixes coming for SR 70 between Marysville and Oroville
May 23, 2019: Caltrans is undertaking six near-term safety projects along SR 70 between Marysville and Oroville, which has long had a reputation as a dangerous road. There have been 42 fatalities on the 27 miles between the two cities in the last decade, making it 3.8 times deadlier than the average California highway.
Some local leaders and stakeholders have been pushing for the road to become a continuous four-lane facility between Marysville and Oroville but the project faces a funding gap. In the meantime, fatalities keep coming: there have been 20 since the start of 2017.
What’s Missing From Your Transit-Stop Parking Lot? Housing, Jobs, and Life
Expert panel delivers transit-oriented development recommendations
May 21, 2019: Train stations and the communities that surround them are interdependent so when the land uses around a train stop change, it can spell trouble for commuter rail.
That is what happened at Florin and Meadowview stations in South Sacramento, which were the final two stops on the line before SacRT’s light rail Blue Line was extended 4.3 miles south in 2015. That meant their large parking lots, which had been popular park-and-ride sites for light rail riders who lived south of the line, lost half of their passengers to the new southern-most stations of Cosumnes River College and Franklin.
Go Time for Green Means Go
Strong support for innovative pilot program that would remove roadblocks to infill development
April 29, 2019: Sacramento’s Capitol Park is a hive of activity this month, as office workers and pollinators alike are drawn to beautiful spring blooms. But the buzz of activity in the park is eclipsed by the rush of work happening inside the Capitol building, where lawmakers are jockeying to get their priorities reflected in the state budget.
A key priority for the Sacramento region is the $400 million that Senator Richard Pan and Assemblymember Ken Cooley have requested to fund the Sacramento region’s Green Means Go pilot program.
Get on Your Bike
May is Bike Month makes cycling fun
April 26, 2019: May is coming – and with it, the Sacramento region’s annual May is Bike Month campaign. Take advantage of the beautiful spring weather and longer days to join your friends, neighbors, and co-workers in their commitment to bicycling to work, school, errands, or for recreation or training this May. This is the 15th year that people throughout the Sacramento region are working together to opt for their bike pedals over the gas pedal, get some fresh air and exercise, and take cars off the road for all kinds of trips.
Fast, flexible funds: TDM mini-grants
Applications close June 30 for projects that encourage alternatives to driving
April 26, 2019: Does your organization need funding for a great idea that would help get people out of their cars? SACOG has grants available for small non-infrastructure programs, events, or projects to reduce single occupancy vehicle trips and miles by encouraging biking, walking, riding transit, carpooling, vanpooling, and teleworking as options for reducing car trips.
Isleton Bounces Back From the Brink
“I haven’t seen this much activity on Main Street in 40 years.”
April 24, 2019: The final week of March was a good one for the tiny Delta city of Isleton and its 804 residents. On Tuesday it got a $500,000 grant from California’s Regional Water Quality Control Board enabling the city to begin planning a $5 million upgrade of its sewer system. Two days later, it closed the deal on a new bond measure replacing a disastrous 2012 bond that had been costing the city about $175,000 in interest annually. The new bond cuts that almost in half.
That’s no Menace, That’s the Phantom
Phantom Auto’s remote driver technology aims to keep AVs safe
April 16, 2019: Curious passers-by in downtown Sacramento yesterday could be forgiven for wondering why TV crews were clustered around an ordinary looking black Lincoln sedan. Sure, Sacramento mayor Darrell Steinberg was in the passenger seat but the most innovative feature of the car was nowhere to be seen: it was a remote driver sitting in their office in Mountain View, 120 miles away.
The Phantom Auto test drive was the end-cap to months of mapping and testing the 4G mobile network in Sacramento to make sure an autonomous vehicle could be safely driven by a remote operator. California law requires any company testing autonomous vehicles on public roads to have a human driver overseeing the “driverless” vehicle who can take over control when an AV encounters a scenario it can’t safely handle on its own, such as emergency road closures, construction detours and four-way stop intersections.
Transforming Government One Pilot Project at a Time
April 11, 2019: SACOG’s innovation accelerator Civic Lab was today presented with an Outstanding Achievement in Innovation award by the Alliance for Innovation. The presentation was at the Alliance’s Transforming Local Government Conference in Reno.
Are High Speed Rail’s Problems Good for the Sacramento Region?
Emphasizing connections to the Valley a plus for the region
March 28, 2019:
Opponents of the California High Speed Rail project cheered when Governor Gavin Newson said “Let’s be real” about the troubled train plan in his State of the State speech. He later clarified that he wasn’t scrapping the project but rather committing to finishing the Bakersfield to Merced portion of it.
Data Reveals Pedestrian Deaths on the Rise
Cars are getting smarter so why are they killing pedestrians at record rates?
March 25, 2019: Pedestrian deaths in the United States grew by 35 percent from 2009 to 2017, according to a new report from the Governors Highway Safety Association, reversing a 30-year decline before that. And although the 2018 numbers are still preliminary, they show the U.S. is on track to report the highest number of pedestrian fatalities since 1990: 6,277.
One Year Check-up for Sacramento’s Economy Shows Mixed Symptoms
New Brookings Metro Monitor data mixes healthy job growth with falling productivity
March 21, 2019: Sacramento had job growth of 1.9 percent in 2017, placing it 30th out of the 100 largest U.S. cities. That is according to the Brookings Institution’s 2019 Metro Monitor that was released today, which compares data on growth, prosperity, inclusion, and inclusion by race.
However, comparisons with the biggest cities in the U.S. are not especially revealing — it is more illuminating to compare the Sacramento/Roseville/Arden-Arcade metro with the cluster of cities that Brookings identifies as its peers, the American Middleweights. That list of 16 cities includes Riverside, Phoenix, Kansas City, San Antonio, Detroit, Cincinnati, and Tampa.