Tag Archives: Transportation

ECOS letter in advance of Sac City Council transportation workshop

Posted on by

On February 7, 2022, the Environmental Council submitted a letter to the City of Sacramento in regards to their transportation workshop, scheduled for February 8, 2022.

The Council has acknowledged the need to address the impacts of climate change by declaring a climate emergency in December 2019. However, we are far from meeting the City’s carbon neutrality goal – we need plans and funding. The City is making progress on building electrification, but the most important sector for meeting our climate neutrality goal is transportation, which accounts for over half of our greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

Click here to read the letter in full.

Photo by Bruno Thethe from Pexels

New Federal Leadership on Planning Emphasis Areas (PEAs)

Posted on by

January 5, 2022

This week, FTA and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) issued updated Planning Emphasis Areas (PEAs). In the letter announcing the revised PEAs, FTA Administrator Nuria Fernandez and the FHWA Deputy Administrator Stephanie Pollack are asking FTA and FHWA field offices to work with their metropolitan planning organizations, state Departments of Transportation, transit agencies, and federal land management agencies to incorporate these PEAs into their Unified Planning Work Programs and State Planning and Research Work Programs.

Several of these emphasis areas focus on the Biden-Harris Administration’s goals of advancing equity and environmental justice in transportation planning, which will help achieve greenhouse gas reduction goals and increase resilience to extreme weather events resulting from climate change. These efforts will better support regional and local governments as they plan for future transportation needs in their communities. There is considerable flexibility in how metropolitan planning organizations and State DOTs can incorporate the PEAs into the transportation planning process. Recognizing the variability and timing of transportation planning processes, FTA and FHWA encourage these PEAs to be incorporated as programs are updated.

Learn About the California Mobility Center Dec 9

Posted on by

Please join ECOS’ Transportation, Air Quality & Climate Change (TAQCC) Committee for its regular monthly meeting, on Thursday, December 9th. Details about joining this meeting using “Zoom” are provided below.

Our featured speaker will be Mark Rawson, Chief Operating Officer of the California Mobility Center, which was officially launched in March 2021. CMC is a nonprofit, public-private business acceleration hub that aspires to become a leading global innovation and commercialization center and to set the pace in electric mobility. Its headquarters will be located at The Hub: Sacramento State Research Park, located southeast of Sac State on the other side of Highway 50, and its Board includes representatives from Sac State, SMUD, Microsoft, UC Davis, and other prominent organizations.

The balance of the meeting will be devoted to updates on other active issues: the proposed citizens intiiatve to put a Sacramento County transportation tax on the November 2022 ballot, Sacramento County and City Climate Action Plans, Sacramento City Transportation Priorities Plan, the proposed expansion of the CapCity bridge over the American River, and other topics you may raise.

Note: This is the final meeting of TAQCC as presently constituted, since it will be folded into a new Climate Change Committee in the restructuring of ECOS committees. The initial meeting of the Climate Change Comittee will be the first Thursday in January, the same time and date previously scheduled for TAQCC.

When: Thursday, December 9th, 2021 at 6 pm
Where: Videoconference, hosted by Zoom
Link to join TAQCC Meeting: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85805612058
To phone in: 1-669 900 6833, Meeting ID: 858 0561 2058

A new transportation sales tax? Come learn more Nov 4

Posted on by

The principal topic for ECOS’s Transportation, Air Quality and Climate Change Committee (TAQCC) meeting this Thursday, Nov. 4th will be will be an effort led by the Sacramento business community to put a transportation sales tax measure on the November 2022 ballot using a citizens initiative process. We understand that this measure would be very similar to Measure A+ prepared by the Sacramento Transportation Authority (STA) in 2020 but withdrawn before the election, and would require only a simple majority for passage. Roger Dickinson and Steve Cohn will provide us with details about this initiative.

Link to join this Zoom Meeting: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85805612058
To phone in: 669 900 6833, Meeting ID: 858 0561 2058

Click here for the agenda.

In addition, Susan Herre (ECOS President-Elect) will present a proposed reorganization of ECOS committees, with the goal of making ECOS a more effective organization.

Image from https://www.publicdomainpictures.net/en/view-image.php?image=382425&picture=clouds-sky-blue-cumulus

Local Transition to Zero Emission Vehicles – Join Us Oct 7

Posted on by

ECOS TAQCC Committee, Thursday Oct. 7th

Please join ECOS’ Transportation, Air Quality & Climate Change (TAQCC) Committee for its regular monthly meeting, on Thursday, October 7th. Details about joining this meeting using “Zoom” are provided below.

A four-agency partnership in the Sacramento Area is moving forward on a transition to zero emission vehicles (ZEVs) in the region, based on the need to improve air quality, reduce greenhouse gases, abate exposure to toxics, adapt to a warming planet, and promote efficient mobility. The four agencies have been working together to create a regional ZEV Deployment Strategy to help address these environmental concerns especially in under-resourced communities. Raef Porter (Program Manager, Sacramento Metropolitan Air Quality Management District) will describe this nearly $1 billion initiative, and Jofil Borja from Sacramento Regional Transit will provide details about SacRT’s program to convert its bus fleet to ZEVs — a major component of the ZEV deployment strategy. The other two members of the partnership are SACOG and SMUD.

The balance of the meeting will be devoted to updates on other active issues, such as deployment of neighborhood air quality monitors, Sacramento County Climate Action Plan, Climate Emergency Declarations, the proposed expansion of the CapCity bridge over the American River, and other topics raised by attendees.

When: Thursday, October 7th, 2021 at 6 pm
Where: Videoconference, hosted by Zoom
Link to join TAQCC Meeting: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85805612058
To phone in: 1-669 900 6833, Meeting ID: 858 0561 2058

City of Sac Transportation Priorities Plan – Learn More Sept 9

Posted on by

The City of Sacramento Transportation Priorities Plan, currently being developed, will prioritize the City’s future transportation investments. Join ECOS this Thursday, September 9 at 6pm to hear from Jennifer Donlon Wyant. Transportation Planning Manager, for the City of Sacramento about this plan.

Click here for the agenda and how to join the meeting.

Image from https://www.rawpixel.com/image/432091/high-speed-train-passing