This evening in Elk Grove. Population = 179,000. Two residents showed up. SacRT needs to come up with another community engagement strategy.
SacRT SR2T
Budget Committee
After presenting the Active Transportation Commission’s annual report to the P&PE Committee, councilmembers recommended the report go the Budget Committee for consideration to be included in the City of Sacramento’s budget. We were last on a packed agenda and butting up against a required closed session – so I skipped lines in my speech and talked really fast.
Final result: this report should now go to the entire City Council within the next couple of months. This is the closest ATC has ever gotten to having any of our recommendations funded. And yet … there is NO chance active transportation will get even the smallest slice of the pie due to a significant budget deficit. More cyclists and pedestrians are killed each year than are murdered. 30% of the budget goes to the police department and 0% is allocated to make our streets safer. Frustrating.
Flag football
Carson (out there somewhere):
Breakthrough Sacramento
I didn’t know about Breakthrough Sacramento until Patricia from SABA and I were asked to attend a cohort meeting to talk about advocating for active transportation. On their website, it says they provide “a year-round, tuition-free, college preparatory program for academically-motivated, ethnically diverse students from under-resourced schools in the Sacramento area.”
SacRT SR2T
Another community engagement evening in
Again, sparsely attended. Two blind residents provided valuable input.
This resident (the only other attendee) is a frequent user of bus and light rail. Every word was recorded.
Prepping for Greer
I have been working on curriculum for 4 bicycle safety lessons for all 5th and 4th graders and 2 pedestrian safety lessons for 3rd and 2nd graders at Greer Elementary. This Safe Routes to School grant was funded by CalTrans –> County of Sacramento –> SABA. We just received our official start date for the program so I began ordering supplies: helmets for about 220 kids (15 large brown boxes worth), jerseys and many other supplies, and hiring League Cycling Instructors. My living room was beginning to fill up.
All the helmets needed to be unpacked with packaging removed and discarded, then helmets repacked and box labeled.
Basketball
Another season draws to a close.
Thursday @ Merrilyn’s
Not @ Merrily’n. We tried something different this month – lunch at Tower Cafe. Fun, but I think we both prefer our usual get-togethers.
Basketball
After the Rancho Cordova meeting, it was a short drive to Avery’s basketball at St Ignatius.
SacRT SR2T
aka Sacramento Regional Transit Safe Routes to Transit. So .. Sac RT which operates the 3 light rail lines and all bus routes in Sacramento County got a grant to study the safety of people getting to its transit stops. SABA is a community engagement partner which means Deb and/or I need to attend a variety of public workshops in strategic locations. Tonight, Rancho Cordova.
There were high expectations for some of the 85,000 residents of Rancho Cordova to attend and provide feedback. It was well advertised. Ready to engage and get input, there were 8 “staff” people from 5 different agencies and a reporter from Channel 13. Unfortunately, only TWO members of the public attended: one city employee and Dan (being interviewed) who does not live in Rancho but frequently uses bus and light rail.
This community engagement was not a success. Just six more events like this to attend. I’m sure the next one will yield better results. Right?
arletelouise 