Letter to City of Sac – ECOS support for Sustainable Transportation Planning Grant

On October 27, 2021, ECOS sent a letter to the City of Sacramento in support of its application for a Sustainable
Transportation Planning Grant for its 15-Minute Neighborhoods Plan.

Dear Mr. Chan,
The Environmental Council of Sacramento (ECOS) supports the City of Sacramento in its application for Sustainable Transportation Planning Grant for its 15-Minute Neighborhoods Plan.
We served on the Mayors’ Climate Change Commission’s Transportation Technical Advisory Committee. As you know, the prioritization of active transportation, then transit and shared mobility, and then zero-emission vehicles was unanimously adopted. This prioritization, coupled with housing around transit, would reduce GHG emissions, increase affordable housing with good local and regional access to shops and jobsites, improve air quality, and improve physical safety for pedestrians and cyclists.
Over half of Sacramento’s greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) are from the transportation sector. The City’s proposed 15-Minute Neighborhoods Plan will set the stage for increased transit use, walking and biking — travel modes that are essential to reduce GHG and meet our climate goals.
Sacramento’s topography is relatively flat and its neighborhoods are interconnected – these are two necessary but not sufficient preconditions for a large shift to walking and biking for daily errands and for job commutes. Neighborhood studies show that slowing driving is a big concern.
The City’s 15-Minute Neighborhoods Plan will calm the entire network of neighborhood streets to make comfortable places to walk, bike, and scoot. Calmer streets will encourage more trips by active transportation, helping the city to meet its goals around sustainability, speed reduction for cars and trucks, community health, and thriving local businesses. The City’s 15-minute Neighborhoods Plan will further the following:
• The City’s Climate Action Plan;
• The City’s commitment to equitable processes by engaging neighborhood communities about their needs;
• Economic vitality of our retail and restaurants within and next to neighborhoods;
• Affordable and efficient access to jobsites, parks, and schools.
Sincerely,
Ralph Propper
ECOS President

Click here to view the letter.

Caltrans Active Transportation Survey (July 16 deadline)

Do you live in any of the following counties: Butte, Colusa, El Dorado, Glenn, Nevada, Placer, Sacramento, Sierra, Sutter, Yolo, Yuba?

If so, please fill out this survey for Caltrans by July 16, 2021.

Your survey response will help Caltrans plan for biking and walking near you. Please click through the following screens to identify concerns that you believe need to be addressed to improve walking and biking on and along State Routes near you.

Take the survey

Photo by PNW Production from Pexels

Stockton Blvd Corridor Study: ECOS Comments

On April 3, 2021, the Environmental Council of Sacramento (ECOS) sent our comments on the Stockton Blvd Corridor Study Draft Final Report to Sacramento City Councilmembers.

Below is an excerpt from our letter.

ECOS submits this letter during the public comment period through April 4 for the subject report. We would like to express our support for the Stockton Boulevard Corridor Study.1 We appreciate the City’s focus on reallocating the Stockton Boulevard street space for walkers, bikers, transit riders, and motor vehicle drivers, as Stockton is a major arterial with a number of regional employment centers. The proposed streetscape changes will improve conditions for pedestrians and bicyclists, increase safety and mobility, and set the stage for infill development. Infill development along a major transit line is an important strategy to increase the region’s supply of affordable housing and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Click here to read the letter in full.

Sacramento Slow Streets

The City of Sacramento is implementing a pilot program, called “Slow & Active Streets,” to promote more bicycle and pedestrian use of neighborhood streets by restricting through vehicular travel. The pilot project ends April 30th, 2021 – when it’s barely gotten started.

If you agree that it should continue (and we do!), please send your comment(s) to the City.

Comment now

We hope the success of this slow streets pilot will encourage the City to start “slow streets” in other neighborhoods.

Learn more about it on the City of Sacramento’s website.

There was recently an article in the Sacramento City Express about it. Click here to read the article.

Here is a map.

Sac/Davis Bicycle Film Festival

Sacramento Area Bicycle Advocates (SABA) and BikeDavis are teaming up to host the Sac/Davis Bicycle Film Festival, from Feb 5 – 14. This will be a ‘virtual’ festival where people can stream a 1-hour, 45-min selection of short films from the comfort of their homes.

This year is the 20th edition of the Bicycle Film Festival. The program features short films from around the world that celebrate the bicycle culture in all its forms, and get people excited to ride their bikes, whether for exercise, recreation, transportation or adventures. You can watch the trailer here to get a sense. This upbeat program is just the kind of “pick-me-up” that people need to cheer up and go for a ride in these challenging times.

Some of the proceeds from the ticket sales will go to fund SABA’s advocacy work.

Fewer trees, more asthma. How Sacramento can improve its canopy and public health

By the Sacramento Bee Editorial Board
October 15, 2019
The Sacramento Bee

We often plant trees as a symbolic gesture. We plant them on Earth Day in honor of clean air and sustainability. We also plant trees to commemorate people and events.
But trees do more than provide shade and improve landscapes. They are also critical to public health.
In Sacramento, which the American Lung Association named fifth worst U.S. city for air quality and where temperatures increasingly reach triple-digit highs, we must take the importance of trees seriously.
https://www.sacbee.com/opinion/editorials/article236197713.html

Click here to read the full article.