Sacramento votes to use eminent domain on properties for Pocket-area bike trail

Image credit: https://www.ebikeshed.com/

The Sacramento City Council has finally started the process of eminent domain to acquire recreation easements necessary to complete the Sacramento River Parkway.

Learn more about it in this May 22, 2019 article from The Sacramento Bee. Within that article is a reference to $210,000 that comes from a settlement agreement with Caltrans.

In 2013, ECOS obtained a commitment from Caltrans to the parkway in our lawsuit demanding mitigation for planned carpool and bus lanes on I-5. Caltrans was not obligated to pay the settlement until it was ready to award a construction contract. I believe the City of Sacramento now has those funds and is able to use them to take this critical step toward the Parkway’s completion.

We are excited to see this success in which ECOS played a role! The Friends of the Sacramento River Parkway has sent ECOS a note of thanks in light of the new vote taken by Sacramento City Council on this, which we greatly appreciate.

Unfortunately, Friends of the Sacramento River Parkway says that although voting for resolutions of necessity to start eminent domain proceedings in the Pocket, Councilmember Steve Hansen made it clear at this week’s meeting he will continue to oppose the completion of the Parkway in the “Little Pocket” area. He also convinced the city recently to seriously impede public access to the levee and to Chicory Bend Park in the Little Pocket.

Contact the Friends of the Sacramento River Parkway for ways you can get involved.

MTP/SCS EIR Scoping Comments from ECOS

On May 25, 2019, ECOS submitted a letter outlining our comments and concerns about the Metropolitan Transportation Plan/Sustainable Communities Strategy (MTP/SCS) 2020 update, managed by the Sacramento Area Council of Governments (SACOG).

The Metropolitan Transportation Plan/Sustainable Communities Strategy (MTP/SCS) for the Sacramento region pro-actively links land use, air quality, and transportation needs. The current 2016 MTP/SCS was adopted in February 2016. The MTP/SCS is federally required to be updated every four years. The next MTP/SCS is required to be adopted by February 2020.

Click here to view the letter.

Wildfires, climate change making it harder to breathe in Sacramento, report says

By Mila Jasper
April 24, 2019
The Sacramento Bee

The air is terrible in Sacramento, and climate change is baking the problem in, according to a report released Wednesday by the American Lung Association.
For the second year in a row, Sacramento was named fifth in a list of worst major U.S. cities for ozone pollution in the Lung Association’s annual State of the Air report. Sacramento also moved up from 19th to 15th in the nation for particle pollution days, scoring an F for both categories.

Click here to read the full article.

Sacramento Region Highway CapCity Projects

On October 3, 2018, the Environmental Council of Sacramento (ECOS) sent the following letter to the California Department of Transportation regarding the Sacramento Region Highway CapCity Projects.

Dear Director Benipal:
The Environmental Council of Sacramento (ECOS) is concerned that planned freeway expansions in the Sacramento region will induce major increases in vehicle volumes, contravening the spirit and intent of state legislation such as SB 375. We are most concerned about the CapCity (SR 51) expansion (including possible widening of the American River bridge), and also concerned about the planned I-5 HOV lanes between Sacramento and Elk Grove, and the proposed widening of I-80 between Sacramento and Davis.
We appreciate the CapCity project team’s continued engagement with ECOS and its willingness to discuss the project’s progression. However, ECOS would like to expand this conversation into a broader discussion about regional transportation challenges and priorities. We are willing to work with Caltrans staff to coordinate discussions with other regional agencies and stakeholders with the aim of considering potential alternatives to address these challenges.
Following are some reasons why this conversation is timely: CARB’s greenhouse gas scoping plan shows that we must reduce VMT by 15% to meet 2050 goals for GHG emissions. Guidelines for SB 743 specify that the principal criterion in evaluating transportation projects is now VMT reduction, as opposed to congestion relief. Based on these Guidelines, Caltrans will need to consider induced travel demand from future expansion projects, such as caused by land use impacts. The Sacramento Transportation Authority is planning a tax measure for the 2020 ballot. SACOG is developing its draft preferred scenario the 2020 MTP/SCS. Finally, the fate of SB 1 hinges on the outcome of Proposition 6 in November.
The proposed CapCity expansion is emblematic of multiple other prospective projects in the region, and raises questions about historic approaches to longstanding problems as well as approaches to future challenges the region faces. We acknowledge that the challenges involved are significant, and that a rethinking of potential solutions also has great hurdles. We believe that the convergence of challenges and opportunities we face warrants an exploration of additional tools to increase travel-mode options, support infill housing and economic needs, and reduce VMT with increased transit operations and emerging strategies such as congestion pricing and shared mobility.
We would all benefit from a broadly based conversation regarding alternative solutions for regional mobility before major public funds are committed to significant increases in highway capacity. We hope that you will consider cooperating in such a discussion with ECOS, and we are sharing this letter with other organizations and government bodies that we hope to include in this conversation as well. We look forward to discussing possible meeting times and locations.
Sincerely,
Ralph Propper
ECOS President

Click here to read the full letter in PDF.

Give Caltrans input on their latest freeway-widening plans

Give Caltrans input on their latest freeway-widening plans!

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

Project would extend carpool lane from Solano County to Sacramento County

Remember: Several studies have shown that freeway expansion leads to increased vehicle miles traveled (VMT) (“induced demand”) and encourages sprawl, thereby exacerbating the region’s traffic and air quality woes, and increasing greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to climate change. (excerpt from ECOS Press Release on our lawsuit filed against Caltrans re Highway 50, based on the same premise).

Bottom line? Adding lanes is expensive and doesn’t alleviate congestion after all.

Please attend one of Caltrans’ workshops as they seek public input abpout widening the I-80 freeway:

Thursday, June 14, from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at the West Sacramento Civic Center Galleria at 1110 West Capitol Ave. in West Sacramento
Thursday, June 21, from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at Sacramento City Hall at 915 I St. in Sacramento

News coverage

Caltrans shares plans to fix Yolo Causeway bottleneck
By Brian Hickey, KCRA
Updated: 9:03 AM PDT Jun 6, 2018
http://www.kcra.com/article/caltrans-shares-plans-to-fix-yolo-causeway-bottleneck/21096174

Caltrans seeks public input for expanding Yolo Causeway
By Max Resnick, KCRA
Updated: 6:14 PM PDT Jun 6, 2018
http://www.kcra.com/article/caltrans-seeks-public-input-for-expanding-yolo-causeway/21102465

Residents sound off about proposed changes to Yolo Causeway
By Brandi Cummings, KCRA
Updated: 11:36 PM PDT Jun 6, 2018
http://www.kcra.com/article/residents-sound-off-about-proposed-changes-to-yolo-causeway/21147806

Caltrans ready to expand Yolo Causeway, seeks public’s input*
By Max Resnik and Brandi Cummings, KCRA
Updated: 11:45 PM PDT Jun 6, 2018
http://www.kcra.com/article/caltrans-ready-to-expand-yolo-causeway-seeks-publics-input/21101820

*ECOS is mentioned in the fourth (and most recent) article

Suit filed to block step toward annexation of land by Elk Grove

June 5, 2018

By Ben van der Meer

The Sacramento Business Journal

A coalition of environmental groups has filed suit to block a step that the city of Elk Grove must take before it can annex more than 1,100 acres to the south.

The plaintiffs, led by the Environmental Council of Sacramento, filed suit in Sacramento County Superior Court alleging that an environmental impact report for the move doesn’t adequately address impacts on water, loss of farmland and at-risk species such as the sandhill crane and Swainson’s hawk.

The suit also claims that the Sacramento Local Agency Formation Commission went against its stated policies to discourage sprawl when it approved a sphere-of-influence amendment for Elk Grove earlier this year.

. . .

Click here to read the full article.