ECOS statement on Measure B

Date: April 28, 2016

To: Governing Board, Sacramento Transportation Authority

From: John Deeter, co-chair, ECOS Transportation, Air Quality & Climate Change Committee

Re: Comments on proposed Measure B

The proposal for allocating Measure B revenues up for discussion today contains improvements over Options 1 and 2 presented at the April 14th Board meeting, but the Environmental Council of Sacramento believes that it still allocates far too much for new road construction and far too little for transit. Moreover, we are troubled about the lack of public involvement in drafting this measure, without a full public discussion regarding the division of revenue, the tax rate, alternative sources of funding, and the appropriateness of using sales tax revenue to build roads.

A fundamental question implicit in the current discussion of an additional county-wide transportation tax is whether Sacramento County is committed to a robust transit system or is content with continuing to accept a much smaller system persistently hobbled by inadequate public financial support. Measure B if passed would immediately provide Regional Transit with an additional $25 million per year, which would be barely sufficient to restore services that were cut eight years ago provided this allocation were used solely for this purpose. But RT has other needs as well, such as replacement or overhaul of worn-out vehicles, conversion of light rail to low floor vehicles, and slow, steady expansion of the existing skeletal bus and rail network. To achieve these goals, RT needs at least $50 million per year or a quarter-cent sales tax dedicated exclusively to its programs.

ECOS might be able to support Measure B even if it included some funding for roads, provided this money was limited to less than 40% of the total and was used primarily for road maintenance (“fix-it-first”), additional sidewalks, and more bike lanes. But the proposal currently under consideration is weighted in the opposite direction: expanding road capacity instead of promoting alternative modes of transportation, and carrying with it all the well-known negative externalities such as air pollution, global warming, and unnecessarily expensive supporting infrastructure.

We urge the STA Board to reformulate Measure B to provide better funding for transit and other non-automobile modes of transportation.

CEQA & Land Use Training April 16

Dear Sacramento Valley residents and citizens,

Here is an affordable educational opportunity to get some CEQA (California Environmental Quality Act) & Land Use training next weekend, April 16th, 2016! The Sacramento Valley Section of the American Planning Association is pleased to announce a Planning Commission Training Workshop, which includes CEQA and Land Use topics and is open to the public within the Sacramento Valley!

The Workshop will be held on:
Saturday, April 16, 2016, 9:00 am to 3:00 pm
West Sacramento Community Center (1075 West Capitol Avenue, West Sacramento)
Cost $25 [registration cost covers coffee and light breakfast in the morning, lunch and afternoon cookies]

ECOS is in serious need of volunteers with knowledge in these areas. Don’t miss this opportunity to increase your own valuable environmental expertise, and feel free to share this invitation with your networks!

Agenda

Flyer: http://files.ctctcdn.com/ab56286d401/12e349a3-ce3b-49c6-b26c-baf1fcfe0c06.pdf

Proposed condo tower has midtown looking skyward

March 20, 2016

By Ryan Lillis

The Sacramento Bee

A 13-story condo tower called Yamanee is being proposed for 25th and J streets in midtown Sacramento.

Most of the letters arriving to the City are supportive of the dense, vertical housing. Those who are in opposition point out the problems in giving the OK for Yamanee to be built higher (178 feet) than the 65-foot height limit in midtown.

On Monday, April 11, ECOS will begin looking at the Yamanee Project at our Land Use Committee Meeting.

Monday April 11th, 2016, 6:00 – 7:30 pm
Mogavero Architects, 2012 K Street, Sacramento, CA

The ECOS Land Use committee will begin evaluating a 178-foot tower at 25th and J called Yamanee, which would be the tallest residential building in midtown. William Burg with Preservation Sacramento will give a presentation. The proponents of the project have been invited to present, as well.

Read the complete agenda for the April 11th ECOS Land Use committee meeting by clicking on the image below or here.

Mayoral candidates pledge to make walking, cycling a more viable option

March 3, 2016

By Daniel Weintraub

Special to The Bee

The next mayor of Sacramento will have a chance to make the city truly “world class” – not by subsidizing more professional sports teams or building taller office towers, but by making the city a vibrant place that people can navigate without having to use a car.

A modern city hoping to draw economic, cultural and social vitality from people on its streets must place a priority on making those streets safe and easy to use for everyone, not just motorists.

ECOS to RT re Fare Increases

In response to Sacramento Regional Transit District’s proposal to increase ticket fares ECOS has released the following statement:

For many years, ECOS has supported transit (Sacramento Regional Transit in particular) as an essential alternative to the over reliance on automobiles for transportation in the Sacramento region. We are therefore very concerned about the proposed fare increase that was presented at the January 25, 2016 RT Board meeting, since increased fares will invariably decrease ridership. The current fare increase disproportionately impacts transit dependent riders — including seniors, the disabled, and people on low income — many of whom live in already underserved areas.

Occasional fare increases are probably inevitable just to stay in step with general cost inflation. But it would be wise to proceed in small steps, at roughly five percent increments. At the same time, RT must strive to implement reforms already under discussion, such as reinstituting transfers, better enforcing fare payment, and restoring as much service as possible, in order to restore ridership to prerecession levels. To provide a minimally acceptable level of transit service in Sacramento County will require increased public funding. Transit got shortchanged in the last Measure A, and future transportation measures will need to provide a much higher level of financial support for transit.

Wilton Rancheria Casino – A Look at Proposed Sites

February 29, 2016

The Environmental Council of Sacramento has submitted a comment letter on our behalf as well as on the behalf of Habitat 2020, Sierra Club Sacramento Group and Save Our Sandhill Cranes regarding the Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the proposed Wilton Rancheria Casino Project.

Read the letter by clicking here or on the image below.