News
News and Media
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.
SACOG’s Youth Leadership Academy is Shaping our Region’s Next Gen Leaders
High school students are encouraged to apply for the 2022 program. The application deadline is October 24, 2021.
Through the Youth Leadership Academy (YLA), high schoolers learn how to influence change in their communities. Students learn about the civic process and connect with their peers from across the six-county region. “It’s one of the best opportunities to meet people. That’s something there is a shortage of these days,” shared Tate Chatfield, a UC Davis sophomore and a graduate of the first YLA class.
Officials Eye New Train Service from Sacramento to Marysville and Beyond
Butte County Association of Governments receives grant to explore Sacramento to Chico rail line
If you want to travel north from Sacramento by train, options are limited. There are only two stops in Butte County, between 2 am and 3:30 am via the Amtrak Coast Starlight, with no stops in Yuba County. But the possibility of new stops and improved travel times connecting to the north from Sacramento may be in the not-so-distant future. Students, visitors, and residents could soon be settling in to pass the time with their favorite podcast while crossing through farmland on an effortless train ride from Sacramento to Marysville, Oroville, and Chico.
Caldor Fire Evacuees Greeted with Green Lights through Placerville
Trip to Green pilot program turns into emergency evacuation solution
If you’ve ever driven through Placerville on US-50 on a Saturday or Sunday, then you know how it feels as you approach the line of cars waiting to get through the downtown area. You take a deep breath and settle in for a crawl through three traffic signals along the highway. On a normal weekend, traffic gets backed up with people traveling to and from the mountains or Lake Tahoe for a visit.
Constructing Transit of the Future
Local transit agencies prepare for 100% zero-emissions fleets by 2040
What comes to mind when you think about the future of public transportation? Is it self-driving buses moving seamlessly along city routes? A plethora of transit options, each as convenient and accessible as the other? Or maybe it is simply solving the first mile, last mile dilemma. One thing is certain, clean energy will be powering public buses in California.
Successful City of Sacramento Pilot Project Made Permanent
Small project equals big impact for safety and mobility along Broadway corridor
Traditional city planning is a long game, with projects often taking 10 to 20 years (or more) to complete. Planners take care to design spaces and infrastructure with input from the community, but sometimes it can be challenging for residents to envision how a project might really impact their neighborhood.
State Bets Big on Infrastructure in Final Budget Deal
“Green Means Go” wins funding; Sacramento region needs to be ready to compete for billions more in new spending for transportation, housing, broadband, and climate resilience
After a series of legislative stops and starts and the passage of a temporary placeholder budget in mid-June, Governor Newsom and the legislature finally reached a deal late last month on a massive $262.2 billion budget that includes historic one-time expenditures on infrastructure, housing, broadband, climate resilience, and much more.
SACOG envisions connected future with new Director of Transportation
Kristina Svensk, AICP to start August 16
July 28, 2021 – SACOG is proud to announce Kristina Svensk, AICP as our new Director of Transportation.
Take Me Home, Country Roads
Placer County piloting “pop up” pedestrian improvements
To singer John Denver, who wrote the lyrics to the 1970s famous song “Take Me Home, Country Roads,” rural roads were the means to send him to the place “I belong.” He was reminiscing about West Virginia, but he could have easily been singing about Meadow Vista, an unincorporated rural community between Auburn and Colfax in Placer County.
It’s Game Time in Rancho Cordova
City launches RCity app to encourage local shopping through gamification
It doesn’t get much better than enjoying delicious foods and goodies while supporting local businesses from your hometown, but getting rewarded for it? Now that’s a triple win.
Elk Grove Historic District Invests in Placemaking
Plaza and streetscape improvements welcome visitors
International urban planner Jan Gehl once said, “Cultures and climates differ all over the world, but people are the same. They will gather in public, if you give them a good place to do it.” And the City of Elk Grove is doing its darndest to create a good place for its residents and visitors to gather. The City is making two major investments in its Old Town area.
Managing One of the Region’s Worst Bottlenecks
I-80 causeway project gets $86 million federal grant
If you’ve ever traveled between Davis and Sacramento, you know the frustration that is the Yolo causeway. And if you feel like it’s been getting worse lately, you aren’t imagining it; that segment is ranked in the top three worst in the region in increasing congestion delays.
California Plans a Housing Infrastructure Spending Spree
Funds would accelerate infill development across Sacramento region to help achieve region’s climate goals
In his May budget revision, Governor Newsom proposed investing $500 million to boost regional land use plan implementation; and the legislature doubled down by upping that investment to $600 million in the adopted, but still unsigned, state budget. Every region in California must develop a regional land use plan called a Sustainable Communities Strategy that acts to underpin the respective region’s Metropolitan Transportation Plan and is a critical piece to reining in greenhouse gas production from the transportation sector.
The future looks bright
A new group of Youth Leadership Academy students graduate
With a new group of intelligent and passionate Youth Leadership Academy (YLA) graduates, the Sacramento region has a lot to look forward to. YLA students have shown yet again how smart and talented they are, and how much they have to offer. Through the program, students learned about the principles and history of transportation and land use planning, local government processes, and community advocacy.
Something for Everyone: Placer County Reinvents Transit
New services launching across the county
Placer County has a lot going for it: FBI statistics name Placer communities as among the safest in the state, it’s one of the few counties in the state to have population growth, it is working on its first ever Parks and Trails Master Plan, and it has
El Dorado Trail Wins ASCE Outstanding Bikeways and Trails Project Award
The El Dorado Trail is a cornerstone to the budding trail network in the Sacramento region. The trail covers more than 35 miles, from the Camino community, west to the El Dorado-Sacramento county border at the City of Folsom. A notable addition in 2018 that connected the City of Placerville over Weber Creek Canyon to the Missouri Flat interchange brought recognition in 2020 from the American Society of Civil Engineers, who aptly deemed it an Outstanding Bikeways and Trails Project.
Regional Trails Survey Reveals Local Favorites and Regional Preferences
The Sacramento region Parks and Trails Strategic Development Plan envisions a dynamic system of interconnected trails and parks across El Dorado, Placer, Sacramento, Sutter, Yolo, and Yuba counties. Part of the visioning process included surveying residents across the region, and to celebrate May is Bike Month, here are some fan favorite trails and Top 5 insights.
Sacramento Region Grows While State Loses Population Overall
Pandemic-fueled migration from coastal areas drives inland housing demand
Across the country, COVID-19 has impacted where people are choosing to live. Major coastal cities are seeing population declines while regions like Sacramento are experiencing population increases, according to recently released California Department of Finance 2021 population and housing estimates. While California lost 182,000 residents last year, bringing the state’s population to 39.467 million, the Sacramento region continued to grow. The region netted 12,750 new residents (a 0.5 percent increase), bringing the six-county population total to 2.56 million.
Updated Placer County Housing Element First in Region to Integrate MTP/SCS Growth Forecast
New housing element full of practical, sustainable, “Placer-ized” solutions
May 26, 2021: Even before the pandemic, southwest Placer County was on everyone’s list of places they wanted to live. That high demand continues as the Sacramento region grows while the state overall has shrunk. For their part, Placer County is taking the demand seriously and met the challenge head on with a suite of forward thinking policies and programs in their recently adopted housing element that covers the unincorporated county.
What Would a $2 Trillion Infrastructure Bill Mean for the Sacramento Region?
Biden administration has made it clear it wants to advance economic growth, racial equity, and climate change preparedness
April 28, 2021: As Congress prepares to draft a $2 trillion infrastructure bill, regions are naturally asking, “What’s in it for us?” But let’s start with an even more fundamental question: just how much even is $2 trillion? A trillion is a thousand billions or a million millions. In economic terms, $2 trillion is about the market valuation of Apple.
Tactical, High-Impact Improvements for a Small Town Main Street
Colfax uses hay bales to make hay for downtown business
April 28, 2021: Not all planning projects are costly or take years to complete and/or implement. Small, tactical moves can make a big impact in a small amount of time. The Main Street Concept Plan for the City of Colfax is an example where simple tactical design concepts were successfully used to improve a historic small-town main street.