What’s New
Sacramento Draft Plan Makes Great Strides — Adoption Expected in April
Thanks to all of you who submitted comments and signed ClimatePlan’s comment letter (pdf) on Sacramento’s draft Metropolitan Transportation Plan and Sustainable Communities Strategy. The draft plan has a number of impressive strengths:
The plan dramatically increases the portion of jobs and housing near high quality transit, by around 150% and 200% respectively.
This MTP has 12.5% less funding than its predecessor, but through careful spending still makes great accomplishments: bike lanes increase by 77%; transit service nearly doubles; and transit frequencies improve to 10-15 minute frequencies on many key corridors.
Congestion declines for the first time in any of its MTPs, by 7%, a dramatic turnaround from the worsening congestion planned for in 2002 (58%) and 2008 (22%).
The Sacramento Area Council of Governments has done impressive work so far, but in the spirit of strengthening a good plan, our comment letter offers a number of suggestions on ways to bring even more improvements to the Sacramento region. You can download our comment letter here, and click here to access all the comments that SACOG received.
Workshop Materials: Embedding Health and Equity in Sacramento’s Regional Transportation Plan
On December 13th, a coalition of statewide and local advocates organized a workshop to discuss health and equity in the region’s Draft MTP/SCS. Nearly 60 participants heard from local experts about the strengths and areas for improvement in the plan, and discussed ways in which advocates could provide input to make the plan even better.
Workshop materials and presentations can be found here.
Regional Overview
• The six-county Sacramento region is currently home to more than 2 million residents, and is expected to grow to more than 3.3 million by 2035.
• It’s estimated that Sacramento motorists spend 36 hours a year sitting in traffic. Building communities with transportation options and where jobs, shopping, and other services are located close to homes could save Sacramentans time and money.
• Through its innovative Blueprint Project, the Sacramento region has already developed a vision for growth that is expected to help achieve the objectives of SB 375.
• Sacramento’s Metropolitan Planning Organization, SACOG, is the first to begin using a cutting-edge “activity-based” travel model, which allows fine-grained analysis of land use and transportation decisions.
When will the first Sustainable Communities Strategy be adopted? What are some other key milestones?
• A Draft Metropolitan Transportation Plan/Sustainable Communities Strategy was released on November 18th. The comment period has now closed, and you can read ClimatePlan’s sign-on comment letter here. You can view all the public comments received by SACOG here. The plan has a number of impressive strengths; it exceeds the 2020 GHG reduction target and achieves the target for 2035 – the highest in the state.
• SACOG plans to adopt the MTP/SCS in April 2012.
What are the SB 375 GHG reduction targets?
• 2020: 7% per capita reduction from 2005 level
• 2035:16% per capita reduction from 2005 level
To get involved and learn more, see the websites of partner groups below. Contact ClimatePlan for help getting connected.
Quick Fact
SACOG estimates that the Sacramento region’s taxpayers will save at least $16 billion on infrastructure costs by implementing the Blueprint and focusing most new growth in existing communities. (source: Sacramento Area Council of Governments)
Regional Resources
Vision California: Sacramento Regional Results
By Calthorpe Associates, October 2010
This analysis assesses the economic, energy, health, and land impacts of different ways to accommodate Sacramento’s expected growth. Scenarios were developed to reflect a range of land use choices, from a business-as-usual future based on past trends to more compact options, including those represented by the regional Blueprint plan.
Vision CA-SacDownload the Regional Results Summary
SACOG’s Metropolitan Transportation Plan
Find information on the development of the MTP as well as the Sustainable Communities Strategy component.
Link to MTP website
SACOG’s Blueprint Project
This site provides detail on the Blueprint Project which was completed in 2008 and was a great step towards achieving the goals of SB 375.
Link to Blueprint website
SACOG’s Rural-Urban Connections Strategy
In the same way that Blueprint Project is an economic development strategy for urban areas, the RUCS project is an economic and environmental sustainability strategy for the Sacramento region’s rural areas.
Link to RUCS website
Sacramento County’s Greenhouse Gas Inventory June 2009
This GHG inventory provides an important base of knowledge for regional planning and developing strategies for GHG reduction.
Download the inventory presentation
Click here for ClimatePlan’s complete Resource Library
What They’re Saying
“Senate Bill 375 and the Sustainable Communities Strategy in Sacramento gives us the opportunity to talk about how our region should grow. The bill is a real tool to make the region more sustainable and to make sure that future growth benefits all of our residents, not just the wealthy.” — Shamus Roller, Sacramento Housing Alliance
Partners in the Region
American Lung Association in California
California League of Conservation Voters
Coalition on Regional Equity (CORE)
Environmental Council of Sacramento (ECOS)
Greenwise Sacramento
Housing CA
Local Government Commission
Planning and Conservation League
Sacramento Area Bicycle Advocates (SABA)
Sacramento Housing Alliance
Sacramento Sustainability Forum
TransForm
WALKSacramento
