News

7/31/18 Sacramento Regional Transit (RT) has begun serving the Franklin Blvd. – South Sacramento area with SmaRT Ride on-demand transit. Notably, this service provides additional mobility for residents and visitors to this area, which has been without a bus line since 2008. The new service is expected to provide about 26,000 rides in its first year. Riders will be able to access the shuttle through an app-based ride hailing system, an online reservation or by phone. In the near future the shuttle buses will be 100 percent zero emission, made possible by funding though Electrify America.

7/31/18 A new innovative ridesharing program is being tested out by West Sacramento as part of a one-year pilot and is operated by Via. The service is a hybrid of traditional public transit and private transportation network companies such as Uber or Lyft. Anyone with the app can request rides within the city limits Monday – Friday 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. and Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Newly passed measure will allow the City of Davis to annex the Nishi property from unincorporated Yolo County in order to develop the land. Measure J was approved by residents with approximately 60% of total votes. Current plans for the property, which is located immediately south of UC Davis between the railroad and I-80, include 700 student housing units, some retail, and dedicated open space. The proposed housing on the Nishi property would provide much needed housing in Davis’ very tight housing market.

The voters spoke June 5th and sent a strong message to protect valuable transportation dollars. Prop 69 prevents the Legislature from taking from or borrowing any new transportation revenues for non-transportation improvement purposes. It extends constitutional protections to all new vehicle fees and gasoline and diesel tax revenues generated by SB 1 that were not previously protected. This ensures that the revenues passed by the Legislature will be spent exclusively on transportation. SACOG’s Board of Directors took a support position on the Proposition.

Earlier this month, Amtrak launched new intercity rail service that provides more convenient connections between Fresno and Sacramento through new early morning and evening trains.  The new schedule allows San Joaquin Valley residents to get to Sacramento before 8am and departs the state capitol in the late afternoon.  “This is going to be important that we make this a success, then we’re going to start other morning express trains,” San Joaquin Joint Powers Authority Chair Vito Chiesa

“Every student who is accepted into an internship program or hired through a program like 1,000 Strong or the Elk Grove Unified School District should have reliable transportation to their worksite,” notes a challenge statement from the Civic Lab team working to bring workforce transportation for youth and young adults. Now, with a three-year $400,000 award from the Sacramento Transportation Authority (STA), the North State Building Industry Association, Paratransit Inc., and Elk Grove Unified School District can make their project a reality.

The EPA has awarded $750,000 to the City of Sacramento for a brownfields revolving loan fund program that will be focused on the North Sacramento community. West Sacramento also received $300,000 from the EPA for brownfields assessments related to the Pioneer Bluff area. A brownfield site is an infill or redevelopment opportunity that is challenged by the contamination, or potential contamination, of a hazardous substance. The ability for cities and communities to safely cleanup these sites is essential to their eventual redevelopment, but is a time intensive and expensive process.