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.
Are you going my way?
Animated maps make big data easy to grasp
Whether you are looking for a carpool buddy on 511 or just wondering where all of those cars around you are coming from, maps play an important role in explaining data. Animate those maps with commuting orbs in basic colors and you end up with a hypnotizing display. Mark Evans at I Like Big Bytes did just that with US Census American Community Survey data and it helps visualize the complexity of commuting patterns.
Taking a Bite out of Apple Harvest Traffic Jams
El Dorado County slashed agritourism traffic with help from Civic Lab accelerator
December 19, 2018: An innovative pilot program to slice traffic congestion around El Dorado County apple farms during the fall harvest took a big bite out of traffic delays, vehicle emissions, and driver frustration.
The Promise and Perils of Opportunity Zones
Sacramento a surprise top-10 office rental market according to new report
December 19, 2018: A new report on Opportunity Zones has ranked downtown Sacramento in the top 10 in two significant categories – one a positive and the other a signal of risk.
Future of Transportation Set to Roll on Sacramento State Campus
Olli Fleet Challenge win highlights the value of Civic Lab incubator
December 12, 2018: Civic Lab 2018 was always supposed
to fast-forward innovative mobility solutions but
perhaps no one anticipated the future arriving quite as
quickly as it has.
Big boost for transportation projects across the Greater Sacramento region
SACOG awards $132 million to 54 projects making transportation safer, greener, and more efficient
December 6, 2018: Transportation projects ranging from converting an abandoned Sacramento rail line into a bike trail to making a dangerous Yuba County road safer are among the 54 projects that have been awarded $132.4 million by the Sacramento Area Council of Governments (SACOG) through its Regional, Community Design, and Green Region programs.
Galt Makes it Safer for Students to get to School on Foot or Bike
Ten miles of bike lanes, two miles of sidewalks, and more improve Galt’s roads for all users
November 29, 2018: About 3,000 students now have access to safer routes to school thanks to the City of Galt’s Safe Routes to School Project. The growing community of over 25,000 residents, 20 miles south of Sacramento, committed to improving the city’s bike and pedestrian network to improve safety and give residents more active transportation options.
SACOG Director Testifies Before US Senate Public Works Committee
Sacramento region needs highlighted as Congress seeks local input on next federal Infrastructure Bill
November 28, 2018: SACOG Executive Director James Corless appeared this morning before the US Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works to provide testimony on the future of transportation and the critical perspective that the Sacramento region has to offer on the next federal transportation bill. It was the first time in a decade that Congress had heard testimony from a SACOG staff member.
The Transit Trade-off
SacRT faces the dilemma: High ridership or high coverage?
November 21, 2018: Imagine you are designing a transit route map. Would you rather deploy your fleet to serve the most riders or the most places? That is the heart of the dilemma that faces transit planners: every vehicle that runs down a main road, to provide more frequent service where demand is high, is a vehicle that is not running on smaller streets, providing coverage where there is less demand.
JUMP Bike Share Flourishing
Early use in the Sacramento region has exceeded expectations.
November 20, 2018: The Sacramento region has the largest electric bike share fleet in the country. JUMP’s electric bike share system across Sacramento, West Sacramento and Davis launched in May 2018 with 300 bikes and has grown to 900 bikes total with plans to add more in the future. But more impressive is how much the distinctive candy-red bikes are being ridden.
VOTERS GIVE GREEN LIGHT FOR SACRAMENTO REGION FUNDING MEASURES
Success of local measures means money for infrastructure
November 9, 2018: The big California transportation news to come out of midterm elections was the failure of Proposition 6, an effort to roll back recent increases in the gas tax that are projected to produce about $5 billion a year for road maintenance and other transportation projects. The proposition was defeated 57 percent to 43 percent.
Voters Nationwide to Decide on Key Transportation and Growth Issues
11/8/18 Update with Results
Rocklin Transforms Old Quarry Into Adventure Park
New attraction anchors downtown and encourages private development
October 31, 2018: The City of Rocklin is maximizing a 160-year old granite quarry to catalyze an entire district. The Quarry District is experiencing a transformation via public and private development which are creating a downtown environment that supports vibrant entertainment, commercial activity, and residential options.
Lessons from Brooklyn: Riverfronts, Rezoning, and Reuse
10/31/18 The Sacramento Metro Chamber’s 2018 study mission drew over 100 local leaders to New York City’s booming borough of Brooklyn earlier this month. At first glance, the Sacramento region and Brooklyn may not seem to have much in common. But demographics tell a different story: our two regions are both remarkably diverse, with a mix of incomes, races and high percentages of foreign born residents.
SACOG Board Kicks Off ‘Next Generation Transit’ Initiative
10/31/18 The SACOG board kicked off a bold new “Next Generation Transit” initiative at its October 18 meeting. Speakers from the Los Angeles Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LAMTA) and Sacramento Regional Transit (RT) provided board members with their agency’s roadmaps for rethinking their business proposition in an age of disruption.
SACOG Announces new senior staff positions and promotions
New Deputy Executive Director and Director Positions Announced
After approval by the Board of Directors at their October meeting, SACOG has announced the creation of two new Deputy Executive Director positions. Kacey Lizon is being promoted to Deputy Executive Director of Planning and Programs, and Erik Johnson is being promoted to Deputy Executive Director of Operations. The creation of the Deputy Executive Director positions became possible after Kirk Trost announced his intention to step down as Chief Operating Officer in order to focus on special projects in a new role as Senior Advisor for the agency.
$991,000 coming to the Sacramento region in transit funding
The CTC Commits $72 Million in New Funding to Improve Transit Throughout California
Thanks to the recent decision from the California Transportation Commission (CTC), the Sacramento region will be receiving $991,000 for transit improvements. The money will be used to fund Sacramento Regional Transit District’s Circulator Bus Service Expansion, which includes the expansion of service throughout the district with the purchase of electric and/or gasoline buses for safe, reliable, and affordable transportation.
Promoting Walking Through Wayfinding
Midtown Association's Walk Alhambra
Midtown Association launched a
temporary sidewalk wayfinding program along Alhambra Boulevard
called Walk Alhambra. Walkways were brightly decorated with
directional signs and stenciled in chalk paint along the Alhambra
corridor, helping to highlight nearby amenities and destinations
that could be reached through a short walk.
To launch the new Alhambra district branding a walk began at The Cannery and ended with an unveiling of the new Alhambra Mural located behind Star Ginger restaurant at 3101 Folsom Blvd.
National Experts Propose Solutions to Spark Transit-Oriented Development in South Sacramento
9/28/18 An Advisory Services Panel of national land use and urban planning experts representing the Urban Land Institute (ULI) spent the week in Sacramento diving into the area around the Meadowview and Florin Road light rail stations. Their aim is to provide unvarnished outside strategic recommendations of how to encourage the revitalization of a commercial corridor that has the benefit of being on a light rail line and includes multiple properties owned by Sacramento Regional Transit. The panel is one of only three in the country that ULI is hosting.
Governor Acts on Key Bills for Sacramento Region Dealing with EVs, Infill Housing and Forest Management
9/28/18 September was a busy month in the Governor’s office as he worked to meet the September 30 deadline to sign or veto all legislation sent to him at the end of the legislative session. While a number of bills were still pending as of this writing, the Governor did act on a variety of measures with a direct impact on the Sacramento region, including bills in the area of CEQA, electric vehicles, and forest management.
‘New Normal’ of California Wildfires: Reduced Timber Harvests Threaten Sierra Nevada Forests
9/28/18 California’s historic wildfires in 2018 may be a sign of more devastating summers ahead. The state’s wildfire season is starting earlier and lasting longer, by about 2 ½ months since in the 1970s. Fifteen of the 20 largest wildfires in California history have occurred since the year 2000. This increased fire occurrence is also costing Californians more in loss of life and property, health care for air quality-related illness, insurance rate increases, and impacts on forest-based businesses.