Sacramento Transportation

[TowerDistrict]

you should see how fast they're rebuilding the trussle that burned last week. i'd be surprised if it wasn't done in a couple weeks. i know it's a totally different kinda project, but there are three or four cranes out there, with flood lights on working round the clock.

[ltsmotorsport]

If ONLY RT could tap into UP's money. South line+DNA would be done by 2009.

[Web]

And maybe the busses would run past 930pm at night???

Light Rail to 1am doesnt do much when the bus connections are all over for the night at most connection points.

until busses run until midnight this will never be a big city in my eyes

[Grimnebulin]

Originally Posted by TowerDistrict

you should see how fast they're rebuilding the trussle that burned last week. i'd be surprised if it wasn't done in a couple weeks. i know it's a totally different kinda project, but there are three or four cranes out there, with flood lights on working round the clock.

From the things I hear, it seems that you're correct. Our insurance agent's husband is a higher manager for for Amtrak and she said to me today that UP was on track to reopen the trussle in 2 weeks.

[innov8]

Rail repairs ahead of schedule
Sacramento Business Journal
2:51 PM PDT Monday, March 26, 2007
http://sacramento.bizjournals.com/sa...l?surround=lfn

Railroad giant Union Pacific expects of one of two main tracks destroyed by a fast-moving fire on an almost century-old trestle to reopen Friday, according to the company's Web site late Monday.

Good weather has helped construction crews to make better-than-expected progress on one of the two main tracks, a critical link for cargo and passengers in the region. The second track could be completed by April 22.


The company had earlier planned to complete the repairs by April 1 and May 1, respectively.

The repairs are expected to top $30 million.

About 50 trains used the line daily before the March 15 fire, with a large majority being freight trains.

[downtownserg89]

i don't mean to sound impatient, but is there any word on the streetcars? like what's their status?

[ozone]

By Dana Howard, Anchor/Reporter for News10/KXTV
3/12/2007

Sacramento Expresses Desire for Streetcars

Call them trolleys or streetcars, they are quaint, nostalgic and about to make a big comeback.

The plan is to make the phrase "just hop on the street car" a household phrase in Sacramento in about four years.

Six months ago Regional Transit began looking at ways to bring in a $50 million fleet of new streetcars to run from midtown, across the river, into downtown and then onto West Sacramento. The focus will be on providing service to passengers where light rail and cars leave off.

God damn. When did they move Midtown? Nobody tells me anything. And the part about them being new is news to me.

"I don't want to take my car here downtown. There's just no parking, there is no parking here," says Terry Delgado. She works downtown and often uses light rail to run errands downtown.

And she says forget about getting on a bus. "Buses, you know you always have to worry about a schedule. You know they are really not frequent."

Mike Wiley of Regional Transit agrees buses are not the best choice for that kind of application. He says streetcars were a perfect fit for downtown Sacramento for four decades until they were torn out by a company called National City Lines.

"National City Lines was a company owned by General Motors and Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company and they introduced the competition which was buses." said Wiley. He adds the routes have not been determined but will likely extend from the 18th Street area in midtown and run back and forth between West Sacramento, stopping every few blocks and reaching locations light rail cannot.

Wiley says Portland, Oregon’s system is one to be modeled for what Sacramento has in mind.

I think stopping at 18th Street is a BIG mistake! It should go at least to 28th Street. Geesh can't these clowns ever get it right? Still 18th Street is better than no street. I can only guess that since 18th Street is the hub of all the new restaurants that it's probably the limit of many of the streetcar supporters knowledge of Midtown..or its likely that they wanted to stop it short of the UP tracks between 19th/20th for some unreasonable reason

[innov8]

From the March 23, 2007 Sacramento Union


http://www.sacunion.com/SacUnion.pdf

[ozone]

Train Riders Association of California (TRAC) may have some legitimate concerns and make some valid points but they still come across as know-it-alls who don't really know much about the K Street Mall. I ride light rail often and I'm on the K Street Mall at least 4 out 7 days a week. I think I understand the problem as much if not more than this UCD grad-lead 'train advocacy group' does. It's unfortunate that the issue of moving the station has been couched primarily as a measure to spur redevelopment of the 700 block because for me it's more about improving the LR system by clearing up some of the confusion that now exists. I don't really see how making people walk (god forbid) an extra one or two blocks would really hurt. It might seem counter intuitive but closing that station I believe will help the RT patrons.

[otnemarcaS]

Back-Seat Driver: RT chief dismayed at funds plan
By Tony Bizjak - Bee Staff Writer
Last Updated 6:20 am PDT Monday, April 2, 2007
Story appeared in METRO section, Page B1

Print | E-Mail | Comments

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is promoting California as an international leader in fighting global warming.

That means, among other things, reducing emissions from the millions of cars crawling around California.

Yet -- minus the fanfare -- Schwarzenegger also is proposing siphoning a billion dollars from the state's public transit agencies in this year's budget.

It's no surprise that transit officials are upset. They feel jilted. Doesn't the governor believe in mass transit, they ask?

Sacramento Regional Transit, which runs buses and light rail in Sacramento, loses big in the governor's budget proposal.

"Horrendous," is the word RT General Manager Beverly Scott used last week, testifying at the Capitol.

RT stands to lose out on $14 million, she said. That's 10 percent of the annual budget for an agency that perpetually sees itself as cash-poor.

Transit advocates are lobbying the Legislature to thwart the governor's plan. They've also wondered aloud about the governor's true feelings on mass transit.

Last week, they got a glimpse -- and it wasn't all warm and fuzzy.

A Schwarzenegger representative tried, during a budget hearing, to assuage transit advocates, but moments later seemed to dismiss bus and light-rail systems as not really part of the mainstream commute.

"The governor does like transit," said Mark Hill of the Department of Finance. "He has a belief in it" and wants to see ridership increase.

But the state has a major budget deficit, Hill said. It needs to pluck money from somewhere to fill the gap. If it doesn't take money from transit, he warned, "less palatable measures would be likely to be considered."

Playing defense, administration officials point out they aren't setting any precedent here.

The money in question is "spillover" gas taxes, a bit of a windfall that becomes available when gas prices are up. Although the money is earmarked for transit, it has been diverted in the past for other needs.

Hill then issued what may be considered a rebuke or a challenge to transit officials: "At this point, only 2 to 3 percent of all travel in this state is (on) transit," he said.

The administration needs to spend money where it "really works," he said.

Assemblyman Mike Feuer, D-West Hollywood, didn't like the sound of that. Taking money from transit doesn't help it succeed, he argued.

He reminded the governor's representatives that poorer people often rely on transit. Those people, Feuer argued, have "very little voice in rooms like this one."

The statewide transit ridership percentages offered by the administration obscure transit's real impact in urban areas.

Thirty-seven percent of people daily between San Francisco and the east Bay make their trip on transit. If they didn't, driving over the Bay Bridge would be a three-hour nightmare, planners there say.

In Sacramento, 13 percent of commuters into downtown arrive on transit.

Administration officials have pointed out that the scenario isn't all bad for transit agencies. There is some new money available next year for them from the transportation bond measure approved by state voters last November.

Transit advocates counter that when voters approved Prop. 1B, the transportation infrastructure bonds, they didn't intend that money to be used as a substitute for diverted funds.

"Never in my wildest dreams," said RT's Scott, "did I think when I voted we'd wind up looking at a bait-and-switch."

[ozone]

I'm not surprised by this. My question is where is Fargo? Why the hell isn't she and other mayors all over the place making a big stink? You know if our so-called leaders sit around too dumbfounded to do anything ..then nothing is what we'll have.

[Web]

Originally Posted by otnemarcaS

Back-Seat Driver: RT chief dismayed at funds plan


"Never in my wildest dreams," said RT's Scott, "did I think when I voted we'd wind up looking at a bait-and-switch."

Arnold sold a lot of people down the river on this........

Barely 500 million of this money is for "repairing" roads......thats like 100 miles at most.....there are 50,000 miles in Ca

This Prop was a feel good look what we can do thing.......we need a continuous source of funds not BONDS for everything.

But Arnold has deceived on most of his statements....blow up the boxes? only if they arent his.......
Not take lobby money........HIGHEST intake of all time last election and against a lightweight

[greenmidtown]

Originally Posted by otnemarcaS

Back-Seat Driver: RT chief dismayed at funds plan

"The governor does like transit," said Mark Hill of the Department of Finance. "He has a belief in it" and wants to see ridership increase.

Hill then issued what may be considered a rebuke or a challenge to transit officials: "At this point, only 2 to 3 percent of all travel in this state is (on) transit," he said.

The administration needs to spend money where it "really works," he said.

Thirty-seven percent of people daily between San Francisco and the east Bay make their trip on transit. If they didn't, driving over the Bay Bridge would be a three-hour nightmare, planners there say.

In Sacramento, 13 percent of commuters into downtown arrive on transit.

of course. adding more lanes has done wonders to improve traffic in major cities . if you ever wondered why other states hate us you now have your answer. we talk about global warming, using less oil, and renewing urban areas then turn around and build 7-lane freeways to accomodate our SUV's and cut funding to mass transit. this state seriously needs to get its act together. forward thinking has to start now.

[BrianSac]

Originally Posted by greenmidtown

of course. adding more lanes has done wonders to improve traffic in major cities . if you ever wondered why other states hate us you now have your answer. we talk about global warming, using less oil, and renewing urban areas then turn around and build 7-lane freeways to accomodate our SUV's and cut funding to mass transit. this state seriously needs to get its act together. forward thinking has to start now.

greenmidtown,
You might be happy to know I am one of the 13%. I take light rail, and at one point rode my bike to work everyday when I lived in midtown.

[enigma99a]

Airport plans leap across I-5
Expansion would add parking lot, shuttle service over freeway.
By Tony Bizjak - Bee Staff Writer
Last Updated 12:14 am PDT Friday, April 6, 2007
Story appeared in MAIN NEWS section, Page A14

Sacramento International Airport, increasingly crowded and in need of new facilities, is planning a historic leap over Interstate 5 to build a massive new parking lot.

Officials say the 13,800-space lot and a new car rental complex will kick-start a $1 billion airport expansion to keep up with Sacramento growth and compete with Bay Area airports for Northern California fliers.

"We looked at our options and decided we needed to go south of I-5," said Rob Leonard, assistant director of Sacramento County airports. "It makes sense."

Leonard said the airport will lose a significant amount of parking in its core area as early as next year when new terminal construction begins.

Leapfrogging the freeway, he said, will compensate for those losses and help position the airport for an expected 40 percent growth to 14 million passengers annually by 2020.

The county, which operates the airport, owns the 209-acre site and most of the adjoining land south of the airport between I-5 and the Sacramento River.

Shuttle buses would ferry people over the freeway to terminals, and officials say they expect the ride to take only marginally longer than shuttles serving current closer-in lots.

Over the long run, airport officials envision a second airport hotel on the south side of the freeway, as well as offices and other commercial ventures.

Building the parking lots may not be automatic or easy.

Because the airport is in the environmentally sensitive Natomas basin, the county must put together a plan -- requiring federal and state regulatory approval -- to address potential environmental effects of the project.

Home to nearly two dozen endangered species, the area is a longtime battleground among environmentalists, regulators and developers.

State regulators this week warned that the environmental review process could take more time than airport officials plan.

For their part, airport officials say they hope to get started on the parking lot this year so they can move full speed next year on the centerpiece of their new master plan -- a three-story, glass-walled central terminal, which they hope to open in 2011.

The terminal will replace the outdated 40-year-old Terminal B complex, which will be razed.

Leonard said airport planners expect to have to eliminate part of the hourly and daily lots for Terminal B, as many as 3,000 parking spaces, for construction.

Airport users still will be able to use the multistory parking garage next to Terminal A, and other existing surface parking lots on-site, he said.

Also planned as part of the multiyear expansion are a second parking garage, a high-rise hotel attached to the new terminal, a tram to take passengers to a new concourse, and eventually a third runway.

Terminal A will continue to function as a separate terminal. Long term, however, all airport ticketing and baggage service will be handled in the new central terminal. Terminal A would become a satellite boarding area linked to the main terminal by a tram.

Airport officials have penciled in a site for a light-rail train station at the new terminal to help ease the airport parking crunch.

However, Sacramento Regional Transit officials say it doesn't appear they will be able to extend light rail to the airport until sometime after 2020.

The plan to leapfrog the freeway has prompted a number of environmental concerns.

State environmental officials say they will permit the expansion after the airport provides an acceptable habitat conservation plan for any affected endangered species in the Natomas basin.

"We are having discussions with them on how to address concerns in the basin," said state Fish and Game environmental scientist Jenny Marr. "We hope to work with them to satisfy the airport's needs and to protect species."

In a recently released draft environmental impact report, airport officials propose setting aside an equal amount of land nearby to be conserved permanently as open space and wildlife habitat.

Some environmentalists and biologists familiar with the Natomas basin, however, say they are not sure the county can truly compensate for the land use south of the freeway.

Biologist Jim Estep, who monitors Swainson's hawks, said even though open-space land must be set aside for every new development, he isn't sure wildlife will survive long term in the basin if development continues.

Area residents expressed concerns about additional traffic.

Kevin McRae of the Garden Highway homeowners group said the Garden Highway, a thin road perched atop a levee south of I-5, is not suitable for heavier traffic the expansion might cause. "It is already dangerous," he said.

Airport officials, however, say the main access to the planned new site would be from Airport Boulevard at I-5.

The airport's 20-year master plan for expansion is expected to be financed by fees paid by airport users, including passengers and airlines, officials said.

[ozone]

The Airport That Ate Natomas

[Grimnebulin]

Originally Posted by ozone

The Airport That Ate Natomas

[enigma99a]

haha yeah. Sprawlport.

[Phillip]

I was in Fresno yesterday and snapped this pic of Fresno's downtown trolley.

Fresno has two trolley routes now---the Downtown Circulator Trolley which drives a loop around Downtown all day, and a new Midday Trolley which runs from 11:30-2:00pm M-F. The Midday Trolley shuttles workers between Downtown office buildings and restaurants and runs every 10 minutes. Both trolleys are free. I don't know how busy they are. I shot this pic about 6pm, so this trolley was empty and probably on its way back to the garage.

Could a lunchtime trolley work in Sacramento? Is there a need for it?





A press release about Fresno's Midday Trolley:

http://www.fresno.gov/News/PressRele...leyService.htm

[innov8]

^ We actually already have trolley's that look just like this and are gold... and go from
downtown to midtown and back again... the problem is no one rides them.
They should at least list the price on the outside so people can figure out
if it's worth jumping on the thing for a few block, that's what stops me.