Tag Archives: Transportation Access

ECOS Support for Sacramento Regional Transit’s TIRCP Cycle 6 Grant Application

On February 1, 2023, ECOS submitted a letter of support for Sacramento Regional Transit’s TIRCP Cycle 6 Grant Application.

On behalf of the Environmental Council of Sacramento (ECOS) I am pleased to provide this letter in enthusiastic support of Sacramento Regional Transit District’s (SacRT) application for the 2023 Cycle 6 TIRCP Grant for their Increasing Ridership Through System Enhancement (IRTSE) program.

This three-part project will increase ridership, reduce green-house gas emissions, and add light rail service to a new affordable housing project in Sacramento’s River District. Together, these system enhancements are an important step in a series of efforts to modernize the transit system that serves nearly 1.6 million people in California’s Capital County.

Click here to read the letter in full.

ECOS Support for Stockton Boulevard Multimodal Partnership Project

On January 27, 2023, ECOS submitted a letter of support for the Stockton Boulevard Multimodal Partnership Project.

We applaud the collaboration by the City of Sacramento, County of Sacramento, and SacRT to undertake this project. It will transform Stockton into a pedestrian and bicycle friendly multimodal corridor with bus rapid transit (BRT). The grant funding will enable the completion of the environmental clearance and design and ready the project to compete for additional federal and state funding.

Click here to view the letter.

ECOS Climate Committee Meeting 1/19

Thursday, January 19th, 2023 – 6:00pm-7:30pm

Zoom link: ECOS ZOOM 6656164155 or call: 1 669 900 6833, Mtg ID: 665 616 4155

6:00 Welcome from Ralph Propper, Climate Committee Chair, and Susan Herre, President of BoD

6:10 Featuring: Meg Cederoth, Director of Planning and Sustainability, CA High Speed Rail Authority; Annika Ragsdale, formerly Climate Analyst for CA HSR, currently Lead Resilience Consultant for WSP

  • Overview of the California High-Speed Rail program and current construction activities
  • CA HSR’s Award-winning Sustainability Program: greenhouse gas mitigation and tracking, construction requirements, criteria air pollutant reductions, habitat conservation, and climate adaptation

6:40 Transportation Team Discussion, continued from previous night’s meeting

  • Continue discussion of “green” transportation for Sacramento region. What changes will be needed to meet the State’s climate goals by 2030, 2050? Is it greater than we are imagining?
  • How to make this new transportation team come to life. Where will it focus its energies?

This meeting is open to everyone interested in addressing one of our region’s most pressing challenges.

Essay: Sacramento voters rejected Measure A’s giveaways and political patronage for a reason

ECOS Board Member Brad Banan wrote the following article published in the Sacramento News and Review on November 18, 2022.

By standard political measures, a proposed Sacramento County transportation tax should have won approval in this month’s election. Supporters had a truckload of campaign cash and the backing of the political establishment, among other things.

They spent more than $4 million on Measure A. Opponents spent less than $7,000.

And yet, just like voters nationwide rejected the narrative of an impending “red wave,” so it appears that local voters bucked conventional wisdom and nixed Measure A. As of Nov. 15, 54 percent of voters were opposed to the measure, leading by a margin of 22,000 votes. The measure would have added a half percent to the county’s sales tax for 40 years, raising it to 9.25 percent in Sacramento.

So why did the transportation tax fail?

Click here to keep reading.

Sacramento Transportation Authority Meeting Nov 10

Update: these two items of interest are postponed until November 10, 2022.

The STA Governing Board Meeting Agenda Packet for October 13, 2022 at 1:30 pm: https://www.sacta.org/calendar/bl7btgymcz858x5

Item 9 discusses a strategy for using Measure A Smart Growth Incentive Program (SGIP) funds as a local match for the 2022-2023 SACOG Community Design Grant Program. The SACOG Community Design Grant Program focuses in on infill development and reducing VMT.

Item 10 provides a draft work plan for implementation of the Citizens’ Initiative should it pass in November. The draft work plan discusses among other things the need for policy development in the following areas:

  • Federal Air Quality, Metropolitan Transportation Plan and GHG Reduction Targets (Program Wide Policy)
  • Geographic and Social Equity (Program Wide Policy)
  • Complete Streets