Caltrans ready to expand Yolo Causeway, seeks public’s input

By Max Resnick

June 06, 2018

The Sacramento Bee 

Caltrans will begin the process of seeking public input on a proposal to improve traffic congestion on Interstate 80 between Solano and Sacramento counties.

The state’s transportation department wants to extend an existing carpool lane at the edge of Solano County through Yolo County and into Sacramento County

. . . 

The Environmental Council of Sacramento, a nonprofit whose mission, according to its website, is “to achieve regional and community sustainability and a healthy environment for existing and future residents,” opposes the idea.

The council believes it will actually worsen the traffic situation along the stretch of highway.

. . . 

“I like the idea of the bike path,” said Diane Swann, member of Bike Davis. “I don’t care about another HOV lane. I think that you widen the road, you get more cars.”

. . . 

Among the topics that could be discussed is whether to turn the lane into a toll lane.

Click here to read the full article.


To learn more about some of the problems caused by widening freeways, please read about our recent lawsuit against Caltrans for their plans to widen Highway 50 with High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lanes by clicking here

Share your thoughts! SacRT Forward Virtual Community Workshop

SacRT Forward will rethink the purpose and design of Sacramento Regional Transit’s entire transit network by exploring wholesale changes to the network, including a “blank slate” look at how to position transit competitively long-term in the Sacramento region.

We need to hear from you. Your input will help inform the project team about which key choices to make about the future of the SacRT transit network.

Join the conversation – Responses will be collected through May 15, 2018. There will be additional opportunities to provide input on the SacRT Forward Network Plan throughout this year. Get started below!

Click here to submit your input!

Clean ride: Would California’s new electric ridesharing bill kill public transit?

By Michael Mott

March 1, 2018

Sacramento News and Review

As Uber and Lyft outrun public transit, more carbon dioxide and greenhouse gases get pumped into the air. It’s part of a wider commuting trend that is giving the capital region the eighth-worst air quality in the country, according to the American Lung Association. One state senator is convinced it’s time to turn ride-hailing services fully electric.

Sen. Nancy Skinner, a Berkeley Democrat, introduced legislation that sets a target for companies like Uber and Lyft to replace their fleets with clean-burning vehicles over the next 10 years. The bill would try to accomplish this by setting aside $300 million from the Clean Vehicle Rebate Program.

Click here to read the article

A Tesla Semi was spotted on I-80 near Sacramento. Why that might not be an anomaly

By Michael McGough 

March 2, 2018

The Sacramento Bee

Driverless cars may be on California city streets for testing as early as April, but semi-autonomous cars are already driving on our highways.

And, apparently, so too are semi-autonomous trucks. A Tesla Semi, still technically a prototype vehicle, was recently seen driving on Interstate 80 in the Sacramento area, as documented by a YouTube video uploaded by another driver.

Click here to read the full article

Driverless cars are expected on California streets in April. What does it mean for you?

By Tony Bizjak

February 27, 2018

The Sacramento Bee

A moment that once belonged only in sci-fi novels is now a month away in California.

Starting in early April, auto manufacturers and technology companies will be free to put cars onto California city streets for testing with no one at the wheel – and in fact no one even in the car.

The Department of Motor Vehicles received legal approval Monday to publish the ground rules – and will begin issuing permits in a month.

Click here to read the full article

Action Alert: Help hold the line on urban sprawl

Once again, the Sacramento LAFCo (the Local Area Formation Commission) is considering adding 1,158 acres of farmland to Elk Grove’s potential urbanization south of the present Elk Grove city limit and beyond the County’s Urban Services Boundary (USB). A public hearing will be held before voting on whether to allow the City of Elk Grove to grow onto farmland south of Sacramento County’s Urban Services Boundary. A vote of approval will contradict regional water, transportation, wildlife conservation and climate action strategies. Help hold the line on urban sprawl.

Step 1: Send an email

Please send your thoughts by February 7, 2018 to the LAFCo Commissioners that an expanded Sphere of Influence (SOI) for Elk Grove is wrong. You can do this by simply emailing commissionclerk[at]saclafco[dot]org. Be sure to include your name and address. Key issues to write about are below. (please copy swainsonshawk[at]sbcglobal[dot]net)

Step 2: Attend the Hearing

Come to the hearing in Sacramento on February 7th, 2018 at 5:30 pm at the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors building at 700 H Street, Sacramento, 95814. Speak, or simply attend, to show your concern about Elk Grove’s latest attempts to sprawl.

Background

In 1993, the Sacramento County adopted an Urban Services Boundary (USB) to protect farmland against sprawl development and to ensure orderly growth. The developer of Kammerer/Highway 99 SOIA wants LAFCo to authorize 1158 acres beyond the USB, despite thousands of undeveloped acres of vacant land inside the USB and City of Elk Grove. Orderly development requires developing available land inside the USB before paving over more farmland.

What is Your Hot Button?

Protection of Farmland?

The Sacramento County Farm Bureau has opposed approval of this project because of the loss of farmland and other impacts on agriculture that would result. The EIR finds the approval of Kammerer/99 SOIA would have significant and unavoidable (can’t mitigate for) impacts on farmland. See http://www.swainsonshawk.org/Images/Significantunavoidable.pdf for a list of the 14 different significant impacts that can’t be mitigated.

Endangered Wildlife?

The EIR for this proposal finds significant, unavoidable and unmitigatable impacts on wildlife if this project is approved. An approval will signal that decision-makers will sacrifice the success of the South Sacramento County Habitat Conservation Plan, intended to mitigate for the loss of wildlife habitat inside the USB.

Water Supply for the Future?

The Sacramento County Water Agency has stated that all available water has been allocated for existing and future development within the USB. The Sacramento County General Plan states that more development is presently planned in the County than can be served by water supply. Yet this proposal will either further drain the groundwater supply already depleted in the South area, or take water intended for other projects, long ago entitled. The EIR states that depletion of groundwater supplies is a significant and unavoidable impact of an approval of this proposal.

Climate Change?

Our Climate Action Plan depends on sticking with the adopted Metropolitan Transportation Plan (SACOG’s MTP) and its strategy for curbing vehicle trips. The MTP assumes Elk Grove stays within its current boundaries until at least 2036. SACOG has told LAFCo that the Kammerer/99 proposal is outside the MTP footprint.

Urban Sprawl?

The proposal is the very definition of urban sprawl –approving farmland for urban use while adequate land supply already exists within the urban area for expected growth. LAFCos are mandated to curb urban sprawl and protect farmland by saying no to premature expansion of cities. Tell LAFCo to do its job and say NO to the Kammerer Road/Highway 99 Sphere of Infuence.

Smart Transportation?

The proposed east-west Southeast Connector is planned to allow east-west traffic (particularly trucks) to bypass the Sacramento urban area by linking highways I-5, 99, and 50 south of the urban area. Allowing Elk Grove to strip-develop along this roadway will take away the intended transportation efficiency.

Thank you to the Friends of the Swainson’s Hawk for putting together this summary. 

More Information

Facebook Event Page for Feb 7 Hearing

Final Environmental Impact Report, November 2017

ECOS Comments to LAFCo, September 11, 2017

LAFCo Report, February 7, 2018

Disparate Interests Pan Elk Grove’s Expansion Plans at Sacramento LAFCo Meeting, December 18, 2017 – Elk Grove News.net