California’s climate action plans fall behind on equity, sticking instead to boilerplate solutions, new study says

By Manola Secaira | February 28, 2022 | Capitol Public Radio

Sacramento County’s climate action plan is almost finished. When it’s complete, it will join the dozens of other California cities and counties that have created plans to combat climate change on a local level in the last couple decades.
But despite their growing popularity, these plans aren’t without criticism. Environmental justice groups often find faults in their approach – or lack thereof – when it comes to including equity in their planning, like how they address affordable housing or funding public transportation.

Click here to read the article.

Blueprint Then and Now

February 23, 2022

SACOG Honors Blueprint Legacy in the 2024 Long-Range Transportation Plan

How the Blueprint transformed transportation and land-use planning for good

The creation of the Sacramento Region Blueprint was a revolutionary undertaking and compelled a critical assessment of the relationship between transportation and land use in the region. The strategy, completed almost 20 years ago, set the precedent for how metropolitan planning organizations engage in regional design. SACOG has chosen to carry on the innovative strategy’s legacy through the Metropolitan Transportation Plan/Sustainable Communities Strategy (MTP/SCS).

ECOS was key to original Blueprint, as mentioned in this article.

Local environmental groups filed a lawsuit and demanded more from SACOG and its members.

Keep reading at https://www.sacog.org/news/sacog-honors-blueprint-legacy-2024-long-range-transportation-plan.

Sacramento Mayor proposes new funding for affordable housing, infrastructure

February 22, 2022

While speaking at the State of Downtown, Mayor Steinberg announced the possibility of creating a downtown-wide Enhanced Infrastructure Finance District (EIFD). An EIFD is an economic incentive that encourages businesses to invest in our City, allowing Sacramento to invest a percentage of the increased property value back into the central city. This tool is one way to fund our infrastructure, climate, and housing needs.

For a slightly abridged version of the mayor’s speech and a recording of the speech as it was given, please visit: https://engagesac.org/blog-civic-engagement/2022/2/22/mayor-proposes-new-funding-for-affordable-housing-infrastructure-in-state-of-the-downtown-speech.

Want to help improve transportation in Sacramento?

Do you walk, bike or roll using a wheelchair or mobility scooter? Or if you don’t, do you have thoughts on how to make transportation more effective?
Would you like to help improve our sidewalks, bikeways, crosswalks and access to transit?

If the answer is yes, here’s your opportunity to help.

The City of Sacramento is looking for community members to apply to be part of one of the three Sacramento Active Streets community planning teams.

The three planning teams will focus on North Sacramento, Fruitridge/Broadway and South Sacramento areas.

“Each plan will identify locations to improve walking, biking, and access to transit – like sidewalks, crosswalks, bike lanes and more,” said Leslie Mancebo, the City’s transportation planner. “A critical part of the planning process will be community engagement, and we are currently putting together these community planning teams to serve as local experts/advisors throughout the process.”

The City’s Active Streets plans are designed to improve safety and comfort for walking, biking, rolling and accessing transit.

Members of the community planning teams will advise City staff throughout the process to ensure that community voices and priorities are heard. As a member of a community planning Ttam, selected participants will be responsible for:

Attending up to seven approximately one-hour meetings between March 2022 and June 2023
Suggesting opportunities for community engagement events (e.g., farmers markets, school resource fairs, etc.)
Helping spread the word about the plans and about ways to get involved
Advising City staff to ensure voices of all residents are captured in the plan
Each planning team member will receive a $75 gift card for each meeting attended.

Those interested in applying can do so on the City’s website. Applications close March 4.

Spread the word about pollinator-friendly parks

We’re excited to share the release of Pollinator-Friendly Parks: Enhancing Our Communities by Supporting Native Pollinators in Our Parks and Other Public Spaces.

Pollinator-Friendly Parks provides helpful information about how parks and other greenspaces in towns and cities can provide the maximum benefit for pollinators and other insects. In addition to introductory chapters about the diversity and natural history of native bees, the handbook offers detailed information on how to:

create flower-rich habitat,
provide places for nesting and egg laying,
reduce the use of pesticides in parks and greenspaces, and
engage park patrons and community members in your conservation work.

Appendices provide regional lists of recommended pollinator-friendly plants and additional sources of information for further exploration of the topics covered in these guidelines.

Biden is offering billions for transportation. Here’s how Sacramento can get its share

February 17, 2022 | By the Sacramento Bee Editorial Board | The Sacramento Bee

The need for a significant change in how we move around the area has never been greater. Transportation accounts for 56% of the city of Sacramento’s carbon emissions, making it a major contributor in the region’s upsetting consistency in earning the American Lung Association’s recognition as one of the most polluted areas in the country. The smoke we inhale each fire season is a downstream result of climate change caused partly by our overreliance on cars. Long-term exposure to smoke and vehicle pollution poses an increased risk of mortality, especially for lower-income communities.