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.
Less Traffic, More Telework, More Productivity
Big data shows how work changes might outlast the pandemic
July 29, 2020: The suffering caused by the COVID-19 pandemic has been immense. In the United States alone, more than 150,000 people have died from the disease, more than 4.2 million people have been infected, and by the end of June, more than 12 million people had lost their jobs since February, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The changes wrought by the pandemic have also had unintentional benefits: cleaner air and, for those fortunate enough to still have jobs that can be done remotely, a chance to experience greater flexibility in where they work.
Work travel was down by about 50 percent from pre-COVID levels across the four-county Greater Sacramento region in mid-April, and by about 40 percent in early July, according to smartphone data from Google. And as vehicle traffic declined statewide in the early months of the pandemic, studies conducted by the California Air Resources Board revealed a 20 percent reduction in ozone-forming pollutants and a 50 percent drop in fine particulate emissions.
Making a Rural City Affordable For All
Placerville adding 154 affordable housing units
July 29, 2020: It has been roughly two decades since the City of Placerville has seen any type of affordable housing developments come through. But as Community Development Director Pierre Rivas described it, there has been “an alignment of the stars,” and now two major projects are on the way — changing that decades-long slumber. The two approved projects are the Mallard Apartments located within The Ridge at Orchard Hill at Mallard Lane and McIntosh Drive and the Middletown Apartments located at Cold Springs Road and Middletown Road.
Carbon Zero by 2045
Local mayors’ climate commission issues bold set of recommendations to achieve carbon neutrality
July 29, 2020: The cities of Sacramento and West Sacramento would be net carbon zero in 25 years if they were to follow a set of recommendations issued by a commission launched by their mayors.
Youth Leadership Academy Graduates Ready to Take Charge
SACOG’s innovative program preps high schoolers for local leadership
July 29, 2020: It’s a wrap for the second cohort of the Youth Leadership Academy (YLA). This year the SACOG program welcomed 36 students from four of SACOG’s six counties – Placer, Sacramento, Sutter, and Yuba – and despite the challenges brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, 30 students completed the program.
Video: How Main Street can survive and thrive beyond COVID
Tough lessons for brick and mortar and local governments
WATCH VIDEO
As California’s economy slows again in the face of climbing COVID case counts, it is clear that both brick and mortar businesses and the local governments that support and depend upon them must work together to create a new normal for retail.
Smarter Plans for a Better Prepared Region
How Caltrans Sustainable Transportation Planning Grants will aid Greater Sacramento
June 20, 2020: Better plans lead to better outcomes and the plans that will emerge from the latest round of Caltrans sustainable planning grants will improve the region’s emergency preparedness, access to buses, trail networks, and street safety.
These are just some of the needs addressed by the 10 successful projects in the Sacramento region that were awarded more than $2.5 million in planning grants by Caltrans in the latest round of the Sustainable Transportation Planning Grant Program, out of a statewide total of 77 grants totaling approximately $21.5 million.
Yuba City Plans a New Trail to Connect Communities
City receives a grant to begin study and prep work for a new trail
June 29, 2020: Yuba City is making moves to keep its residents walking and pedaling. This month the city received a planning grant from Caltrans to create a feasibility study for an abandoned Union Pacific Railroad. The stretch of rail is about 2.8 miles long and 80 feet across and would essentially extend the existing Sutter Bike Path all through Yuba City and right up to the Feather River across from Marysville.
This study will result in walking audits, community engagement efforts, a benefit-cost analysis for possible alternatives, early design plans, and recommendations for how to fund the construction. All of this is needed before the city breaks ground on the trail that is already in Yuba City’s Bicycle Master Plan and the region’s Sustainable Communities Strategy for 2035.
Completing “Main Street” in West Sacramento
Road rehab project helps transform former US Route
June 29, 2020: West Sacramento is taking the last step in transforming West Capitol Avenue into a functional “main street” for the city. Until the mid 1950’s West Capitol Avenue was US Route 40, which served as the only connection between the Bay Area and Sacramento. As an interstate highway the roadway was built to keep traffic moving at high speed while the development adjacent to the highway largely served the highway travelers, such as auto service and lodging.
Sacramento Region Is Ready for Recovery
Wide range of agencies identify more than $11 billion in near-term infrastructure needs across six counties
In June 2020, SACOG released a list of more than $11 billion in near-term infrastructure projects that could be funded by stimulus spending from the Federal government. “Ready for Recovery: A Call for Short-Term Strategic Investments in Infrastructure in the Greater Sacramento Region” collates key projects from 50 different agencies across the six-county greater Sacramento region. The projects represent an illustrative list of ready-to-go investments grouped in categories representing key strategic goals to advance economic recovery, prosperity and resilience. While not comprehensive, the list represents examples of the types and magnitude of investments the Sacramento region is prepared to make if Congress moves forward with an infrastructure-focused stimulus package.
Ready for Recovery:
A Call for Short-Term Strategic Investments in Infrastructure in the Greater Sacramento Region
Ready for Recovery Project List
At the same time as Congress has proposed a $1.5 trillion infrastructure investment bill to stimulate recovery in the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic, cities and counties within the six-county Sacramento region have been collaborating to identify a broad range of projects that could be quickly implemented. As the attached table shows, a consortium of more than 50 public and private sector organizations throughout the greater Sacramento region identified projects and programs totaling more than $11 billion across a diverse set of infrastructure categories. While not comprehensive, this list of projects represents examples of the types and magnitude of investments the Sacramento region is prepared to make if Congress moves forward with an infrastructure-focused stimulus package.
Lessons for Main Street More Urgent Than Ever Due to Covid-19
Rural Main Streets program brings timely expertise and technical assistance to 11 rural and suburban districts
May 29, 2020: The commercial corridor of Greenback Lane though Orangevale has needed a lot of help for a long time. As Brad Squires, the chair of the Orangevale Chamber of Commerce said, “most rental space is vacant, there’s a lot of tattoo, massage parlor, and auto repair and the businesses there are not very community oriented, in terms of restaurants and cafes or places where people gather.”
In that sense, Greenback Lane was an ideal candidate for SACOG’s Rural Main Streets program, which brings experts in retail, housing, and streetscaping to help communities work out how to revive their commercial corridors, be that a long suburban auto-oriented retail boulevard like Greenback, a small-town downtown like Marysville, or a shrinking retail destination like the Galt Marketplace.
Strategic Framework for Region’s Inclusive Economic Recovery and Growth Released
The path forward is based around making key sector job opportunities accessible to all
May 28, 2020: A newly launched strategic framework for the recovery and growth of the Sacramento regional economy lays out a pathway that prioritizes our core economic initiatives resulting in a more aligned, prosperous and resilient Sacramento Region.
“Our Path Forward: The Prosperity Strategy” is the result of two years of work by the Greater Sacramento Economic Council, Sacramento Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce, SACOG, and Valley Vision. It reflects the follow-up work to the Brookings Institution report in 2018 that painted an economic picture of a region that was not growing compared to other mid-market regions and presented many indicators that those most in need were falling behind.
Lime Has Taken Over JUMP’s Bike and Scooter Business
What Does That Mean for the Sacramento Region?
May 28, 2020: On May 7, micromobility company Lime announced a $170 million funding round, led by an $85 million investment from Uber. The deal folded Uber’s JUMP e-bike and e-scooter business into Lime’s operations. Since then, a chorus of local users have been asking, what does that mean for the Sacramento region, where both JUMP and Lime had operated scooters pre-Covid-19?
The short answer is that we don’t yet know.
Slowing Streets for Walking, Biking, and Dining
Slow Active Streets pilot project will showcase streets as public amenities
May 23, 2020: Traffic has plunged as much of the region operates under shelter in place guidelines. Data has shown traffic levels as low as 70 percent below usual limits but at the same time, many more people are walking and biking around their neighborhoods for exercise and relaxation.
For Deb Banks, executive director of Sacramento Area Bicycle Advocates, the scenes of people walking and playing in the streets while giving each other a wide berth, has been as if “Mother Nature has given us a big demonstration project” of how people reclaim the public space value of streets. But at the same time, an unintended consequence of lower traffic levels has been that many of the remaining drivers have been speeding through residential neighborhoods.
$27 Million Boost for Transit in the Sacramento Region
Exciting developments for the Gold Line and Sacramento Valley Station
April 30, 2020: More than $27 million was awarded to two key transit projects in the Sacramento region in the latest round of the Transit and Intercity Rail Capital Program (TIRCP) grants announced last week.
Relief Funds and New Roles for Transit
Quick action and strong regional partnerships helped SACOG expedite $112 million to transit agencies
April 30, 2020: Transit agencies have been on the frontlines of the Covid-19 crisis and as we’ve reported, their budgets have been battered.
But they have also adapted quickly and in many cases, taken on new roles as food distributors, wellness checkers, Census workers, and even WiFi providers. ACC Transportation Services, Paratransit, El Dorado Transit, and YoloBus have been delivering meals and groceries, as well as making wellness check calls to seniors. Paratransit staff have been working with the City of Sacramento to call people to remind them to fill out their census and SacRT has been working with partners to equip 8-10 40 foot buses with WiFi capabilities and extenders to make them into mobile hotspots to support Governor Newsom’s telehealth, telework, and distance education guidance.
Placerville Pedaling Forward
New bike lanes with pedestrian and roadway improvements create better access to resources
April 28, 2020: New bike lane alert! The City of Placerville is well on its way to becoming more bike and pedestrian friendly with the Upper Broadway Bike Lanes and Pedestrian Connection Project (UBBL) that will construct a brand-new bike lane along with sidewalks and a transit stop. The UBBL project will construct a 1.2-mile long bike lane along Broadway from Schnell School Road to Point View Road and will also include amenities for people on foot, including a shoulder, sidewalks, and safety railing.
Lean Budgets Loom for Local Governments
Most SACOG cities and counties have had no Federal relief. We asked local budget makers where they are seeing the revenue impacts of Covid-19.
April 28, 2020: Local governments are facing rising costs from dealing with Covid-19 at the same time as the pandemic-caused economic shut-down is slashing their revenues.
A League of California Cities analysis released on April 23 that shows nine out of 10 cities project that these shortfalls will lead to service cuts or furloughs and layoffs. California cities are projecting a nearly $7 billion general revenue shortfall over the next two fiscal years, and the shortfall will grow by billions of dollars if COVID-19 stay-at-home orders extend into the summer months and beyond.
Local Rideshare Start-up Transitions to Grocery Deliveries
Go360’s March launch was bad timing but there may be a silver lining
April 28, 2020: When the Go360 subscription ride-sharing service launched in Sacramento on March 1, founder Anuj Gupta didn’t know that the Tesla car service would have to temporarily suspend operations two weeks after launch as Covid-19 spread.
Webinar: COVID-19 Impacts to Public Transit: What the Sacramento Region Needs to Know
Recorded Thursday, April 9
Join local public transit experts to learn how COVID-19 has impacted public transit ridership, operations, and funding and how the region is responding to the current crises.
Speakers:
Amanda Blackwood, CEO, Metro Chamber
Mike Dour, Roseville Transit, Chair of the Transit Coordinating Committee
Henry Li, General Manager, SacRT
Tiffani Fink, General Manager, Paratransit, Inc.
Moderator: Lucas Frerichs, Davis City Council Member & SACOG Board Chair