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.
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.
$200 Million of Funding for Transportation Projects Across the Region
SACOG passes $1 billion mark in funding for Sacramento region
April 15, 2021: Transportation projects across the Sacramento region received $198 million in funding from SACOG today. The 2021 funding round is the tenth in the 17-year history of the funding program, which has awarded more than $1.1 billion over that time. The SACOG board also acted to recommend nearly $12 million in funding in the regional Active Transportation Program.
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.
SACOG board approves 2021 funding round awards
Funding for transportation projects in four-county region
On April 15, 2021 the SACOG board approved $198 million in competitive funding awards through the 2021 cycle of the Regional and Community Design funding programs.
See the below for the details on the 2021 four-county funding round staff awards.
SACOG releases staff recommendation for 2021 Regional and Community Design programs
Funding recommended for transportation projects in four-county region
SACOG has released the staff recommendation for the 2021 cycle of the Regional and Community Design funding programs. Staff will present this recommendation at all upcoming SACOG board committees: Transportation Committee (10 a.m. on Thursday April 1st), Land Use and Natural Resources Committee (April 1 at 1:30 p.m.), and Policy and Innovation Committee (April 5 at 10 a.m.). The SACOG board will act on the 2021 funding round recommendation at its April 15th meeting.
See the below for the details on the 2021 four-county funding round staff recommendation.
ACE Train Races Toward Sacramento Region
Rail expansion on track to connect the Northern California MegaRegion
March 31, 2021: The Sacramento region is on the verge of much better access to both the Bay Area and the Central Valley thanks to the expansions of key regional rail services. For a sense of the potential impact, consider that together Amtrak’s Capitol Corridor and San Joaquins services and Valley Rail’s ACE service carry about 4.4 million passengers a year.