On the evening of Thursday, May 31, WALKSacramento led a community walk on Mack Road and Center Parkway with the South Sacramento Christian Center Nightwalk team to review challenges to safe walking and bicycling along and across both streets. The walk was part of the HEAL Zone program for community health funded by Kaiser Permanente through the Health Education Council.
Starting at the intersection of Center Parkway and Mack Road, three groups of walkers headed down Mack Road, west toward Valley Hi Drive, east toward Franklin Boulevard, and south down Center Parkway. Photos and videos assisted the documentation. Both Mack Road and Center Parkway are four lane roads with high speed and long blocks. High density apartments line both roads and large shopping centers are found at the major intersections of Mack Road and Valley Hi/La Mancha and Franklin Boulevard, favored destinations for local residents. Many pedestrians were seen crossing mid-block during the evening walk to get to and from the apartments and shopping centers.
- Walk leader discusses Center Parkway here.
Key findings and recommendations:
- More safe ways to cross Mack Road and Center Parkway between existing traffic lights
- Upgrade, include repaint, bike lanes on Center Parkway and Mack Road
- Add a signalized crossing at Summersdale Avenue and Mack Road, west of Center Parkway.
- Prune the canopy along Mack Road west of Center Parkway which blocks the existing streets lights.
- Add additional lighting along Mack Road for safer walking and bicycling.
- The large intersection of Mack Road and Valley Hi/La Mancha needs to be reviewed, with signal timing adjusted to allow pedestrians more time to cross the street.
Next Steps:
WALKSacramento will work with Team Leaders from the Nightwalk program who participated on the May 31 walk to advocate for needed changes and improvements with the City of Sacramento.