[creamcityleo79]

Looks like we have some like-minded folks manning the editorial column of the Bee!

Editorial: Caltrans vs. downtown
Does battle loom over busy Interstate 5?Published 12:00 am PST Monday, March 5, 2007
Story appeared in EDITORIALS section, Page B4

Interstate 5 is the primary artery of the West as it connects San Diego with Seattle. Its crushing truck traffic is partially the result of free trade with China, which sends its goods in cargo containers to California ports.

Everyone on the interstate has a different reason for being there. Some are on long hauls from San Diego to Seattle, some on daily commutes to cities along the route or even to the Bay area via connector highways.

So it's a little peculiar that the state transportation agency, Caltrans, seems to have gotten disproportionately interested in the redevelopment under way in downtown Sacramento, worried about its impact on the interstate. Hmm. Should we stop redevelopment down in Los Angeles as well?

The local project is known as 500 Capitol Mall. The careful reader may remember this office project as the one that proposed to put a miniature Greek Parthenon structure at the top of the tower. The Parthenon got nixed in the approval process. What the Sacramento City Council approved the other day was a more standard 24-story office building.

The approval process was slowed, however, by late concerns by Caltrans. "Interstate 5 is already at capacity," official Jody Jones explained. The agency wants to coordinate with the city on plans to add more high-rises downtown and to redevelop the dormant railyards.

Coordination is fine. And frankly, so is Caltrans' commenting on large new development projects that have real impacts on the regional roadway system that the local government is trying its darndest to overlook. But this office project is within walking distance of light rail, the train depot, numerous bus lines and a growing stock of downtown housing. Nonetheless, the developer of 500 Capitol Mall, Tsakopoulos Investments, agreed to pay $75,000 to Caltrans to help install metering lights on the interstate from I Street.

But if Caltrans somehow thinks it is doing the region's transportation system a favor by worrying about rejuvenation downtown, it should think again. Nothing could be worse for traffic and air quality than delaying downtown redevelopment.

The more this region builds homes closer to jobs, the less commuters will rely on freeways. Adding thousands of residences and new office space in the downtown will do more to help I-5 than to hurt it.

If the alternative is to build the housing in Yuba and Placer counties, and have all those folks drive to downtown, will Caltrans be worried about that, too? Where is Caltrans in that debate up in Yolo County about building a brand new commuter city in Dunnigan (on I-5 as well)? Or the debate about Elk Grove's look at expanding southward? And don't forget about Stockton.

Given the challenges of the real estate marketplace, limited redevelopment funds and a quirky set of landowners, rejuvenating downtown Sacramento will be tricky as it is. If downtown doesn't live up to its full potential, I-5 will be far more of a long-distance commuting nightmare than if downtown succeeds. Caltrans should be challenging large office and housing projects that are too dependent on the automobile and instead championing growth within urban, high-transit areas.