Calendar Highlights
Date:
1 Anne Seeley Birthday Walk to Capitol Rose Garden
2 SACOG Transportation Committee
6 SACOG Pedestrian Safety Webinar – Pedestrians and Transit
9 Strategic Highway Safety Plan Challenge Area 8 Planning Workshop
13 Sacramento County Planning Commission
14 Elk Grove USD Safe Routes Task Force
22 WALKSacramento monthly meeting: Ten Best of 2010 & Introduction of new executive director, Teri Duarte
Creating Walkable Communities
Complete Streets Coalition committee reviewed Complete Streets policy and implementation in El Dorado County provided by Lindell Price, local El Dorado County advocate. The discussion led to the development of a summary of resources, issues and contacts for use by the Safe Routes for All campaign in this county. The committee also reviewed updates on the funding challenges active transportation faces in the incoming Congress.
WALKSacramento, with SABA and others testified to SACOG’s Transportation Committee in support of the adoption of the most ambitious scenario favoring a regional Complete Streets network in reporting out the next steps in the MTP update. WALKSacramento outlined the Coalition’s strategy of garnering and listening to local advocates and residents to emphasize the broad regional support for active transportation and transit.
Safe Routes to School
WALKSacramento attended the first CA Safe Routes Regional Forum, organized by the Technical Safe Routes Assistance Resource Center (Active Communities, CA Dept of Health) to network with Safe Routes-funded programs (such as Sacramento’s Five E’s project) and discuss policy and process with Caltrans district staff. The meeting provided valuable information on setting up our local school districts to apply for Safe Routes program staff in the next call for grant applications, expected sometime in spring 2011.
WALKSacramento reviewed potential schools for assessment for spring 2010 for both County and Citrus Heights/San Juan USD. Staff also met with the Elk Grove USD’s Safe Routes Task Force to discuss potential sites for 2011 walk/bike assessments.
Land Use and Development Review
WALKSacramento staff testified in support of the County planning staff recommendations for the College Oak Church project at the December 13 meeting of the Sacramento County Planning Commission. The commission unanimously voted to approve the project with the condition to construct a detached public sidewalk along both project parcels on the west side of College Oaks Boulevard across from American River College. This action will begin to implement recommendation of the Los Rios Transportation Connections Plan to provide sidewalks along College Oak Drive. The 2008 Los Rios plan was developed by WALKSacramento in partnership with the County of Sacramento Department of Transportation with a grant from Caltrans.
Recommended to the City of Sacramento to provide that a lot line adjustment within the Broadway Triangle project to increase “eyes on the street” – making it safer to walk along that section of street; to the Federal Rail Administration in support of the Docks Area Rail Relocation grant application was provided to the City; and to the Sacramento Tree Foundation on their Draft Model Urban Forest Ordinance urging stronger provisions for street tree canopy to encourage walking and bicycling and stronger provisions for creating and maintaining tree canopy on commercial parking lots.
Outreach
Extensive updates were made to the WALKSacramento Website; including Safe Routes walk/bike assessments, technical assistance toolkit and conference presentations, and development project review comment letters dating back to 2006.