Did you miss the ECOS Transportation Team Kickoff meeting on January 18, 2023? Get a grasp of the conversation led by Team Lead Sam Rice by viewing his Powerpoint, here (PDF).
Tag Archives: Transportation Choices
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?
Measure A, Not OK
November 1, 2022
Measure A is a 40-year half-cent sales tax increase that would cost Sacramento County taxpayers $8.5 billion — while failing to deliver on its basic promises. It was written by special interests, for special interests.
What are the problems with Measure A? Check out the Measure A, Not Ok website at https://measureanotok.org/.
You can watch their videos on Youtube at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCauvi5dp1idaph1cISHBZmQ.
Here are their social media accounts.
Twitter: https://twitter.com/MeasureANotOK
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/measureanotok
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/measureanotok/
California Air Resources Board letter on Measure A
On October 10, 2022, the California Air Resources Board sent a letter to the Sacramento Transportation Authority regarding Measure A.
Below is an excerpt.
We write to share information regarding the impacts that several projects slated for funding under this measure, and the project portfolio as a whole, will have on climate change and air quality. As an oversight agency, including for the Senate Bill 375 program (Steinberg, Stats. 2008, ch. 728), and based on CARB staff’s analysis of the measure, we need to make you aware that if Measure A is approved, the region may face serious compliance challenges with State emissions reductions requirements.
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
