The final meeting of the year. This month at Historic City Hall.

I was invited to attend a meeting on Friday morning at

There were huge concerns regarding the safety of students who walk and bicycle to school because of so many cars clogging Freeport Blvd at the start and end of the school day. SacPD, Regional Transit, the school principal, City of Sacramento staff, Deb Banks/SABA, Councilmember Rick Jennings + two staff members, Jeannie Ward-Waller, and me-Chair, ATC. We explored solutions and next steps. But the best part ..

Before the meeting started as people were still arriving and we were informally introducing ourselves to each other, one the the City staff said “I watch you once a month.” Huh? Dave, the Chief Traffic Engineer watches the monthly videotaped ATC meetings. Then he added, “.. and I know Justin.” Really? Justin works for the City, he and Dave know each other and communicate on various projects. Then, the lady on my left says, “I know Justin too.” Ursula from parking enforcement also works with Justin at times. LOL – small world.

The third Thursday of the month. The photo that will be a part of our 2024 Annual Report to the City Council early next year:

5:25 pm Thursday, five minutes to go. Only two members of the public attended tonight. To my left – Jennifer Donlon Wyant, Transportation Planning Manager for the City of Sacramento – but everyone refers to her as JDW. To my right, this evening’s representative from the City Clerk’s office. My point of view:

In the past six months, there have been three bicyclist or pedestrian fatalities in N Natomas. The most recent was a 63-year-old man at the corner of Banfield and Club Center.

Councilmember Lisa Kaplan organized this morning’s press conference. Below: the extended family of the victim, me, Councilmember Lisa Kaplan, Councilmember Eric Guerra, Slow Down Sacramento founder and Vice Chair of the Active Transportation Commission. In the background ATC Commissioner Don Gibson, SABA Executive Director Deb Banks, Jibe’s Mellissa Meng.

I spoke as Chair of the Active Transportation Commission.

My 2-minute contribution ended up on the cutting room floor for the local evening news, although a couple of friends spotted me in the background.

About 40 people met in front of City Hall at 5:00.

SABA friends – Tyler, Pierson, Rob, Deb:

Thank you Brenda for coming with me. We drove to the end point, then rode to City Hall.

Known by everyone as JDW – Jennifer Donlon Wyant, Active Transportation Specialist for the Department of Public Works, City of Sacramento – got the event rolling.

We stopped periodically to see improvements being made by the City to make bicycling safer.

A quick-build project at Broadway & Martin Luther King Blvd. Vertical delineators to channel traffic, slow things down, and make the crossing safer for pedestrians and bicyclists.

The end point, Oak Park Brewing Co:

Thursday evening, I went to Councilmember Lisa Kaplan’s Community Conversations as District 1’s Active Transportation Commissioner. All but one of the Commissioners attended.

We each had a table and supplies to gather feedback. I did a bit of advertising for May is Bike Month.

People kept meandering in for the next 30 minutes until the room was quite full.

Speaking is Councilmember Lisa Kaplan. To her right, the Chief of Police and someone from the Department of Finance to explain how the City is dealing with a budget deficit.

Hurray for feedback. Comments asked for improved bus service, safety improvements for pedestrians and cyclists and a bicycle-pedestrian bridge over I-5 connecting the west side of N Natomas to the east side between Del Paso Rd and Arena Blvd. Locally we call it the Snowy Egret Bridge. Now that the idea has been officially floated by CLK (who has already talked about this project with our US Congressman Ami Bera), we are now a mere 10-24 years away from completion. If everything moves along at a reasonable pace, I will get to ride over Snowy Egret bike/ped bridge some time between ages 85 and 99.

Tuesday evening, I arrived early for the 5:00 City Council meeting. Everyone who attends passes through security.

The Girl Scouts were first up for a special presentation followed by a photo op:

Our item was pulled from the consent agenda to allow for more robust public comment. There were 43 online comments and about 10 people who made in-person comments. There were a few disruptions by a rather large loud group – who wanted the City Council to pass a resolution advocating for a ceasefire in Gaza. At one point a 15-minute recess was called which helped to calm things down. The ATC report and Councilmember comments were almost complete when things really erupted and the Council meeting was abruptly adjourned.

The above picture was taken early on in the meeting. After that, I didn’t feel comfortable taking more photos. Increasing numbers of police began to arrive. A protest was growing outside the building. Yes, time to adjourn and go home. After 3 hours, our item almost passed, but not quite.