The City will reduce electricity use by more than 50 percent in its parking garages by replacing the existing lighting with new light-emitting diodes known as LEDs. The lighting retrofit is expected to save the City more than $1.1 million over 11 years. The new fixtures are being installed at five of the eight public parking garages owned by the City. Making use of a federal Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant (EECBG) from the U.S. Department of Energy that acts as a revolving loan program, SMUD incentives totaling $181,000 and a $289,000 rebate from the Energy Technology Assistance Program (ETAP)* allowed the City to afford the $1.3 million up-front cost of converting to the hi

New Sacramento Railyards Project Manager Fran Lee Halbakken said she became a civil engineer because she loves solving problems. Halbakken is now tackling challenges with one of the city's and country's largest redevelopment projects after starting in her new role June 27. At nearly 240 acres of combined private and city land, the railyards project is so big it will virtually double the size of the central business district. The key position was created at a critical stage of the massive undertaking. The private portion of the site has a new owner and the projects’ housing plan must be revised in light of the recession. Also, plans for a new regional transit center must be coordinated wi

There’s a lot more to Sacramento City Treasurer Russ Fehr than you might think. Yes, he knows all about municipal finances and wears a suit at City Council meetings. But he also plays guitar in a rock band with fellow city employees. Fehr, age 58, is one of six members of The Newz Makers, a city-employee band that started rocking in 2006.  For band gigs, Fehr exchanges his suit for casual garb and goes by the stage name “Luke.” He loves Tom Petty and the Rolling Stones, and was a member of a Sacramento group that was the precursor to the Rutabaga Boogie Band. Fehr’s band mates are Joe Valenzuela, a police captain; Jim Berg, an information technology supervisor; Tom Moore from Human Reso

Local agencies will host a community workshop Thursday on the R Street Market Plaza, whose construction is expected to be delayed. The $3.8 million plaza project is a bit behind, with construction not expected to start until at least 2012. No funding has been secured for the plaza's construction from 16th to 18th streets, said project manager Zuhair Amawi, an associate civil engineer with the city's transportation department. The two-block plaza is being designed as a centerpiece for the R Street Corridor Project, an effort to turn a 27-block stretch of historic R Street into a thriving mixed-use neighborhood. The public project is intended to spur private development — creating more bus

Parking was the subject Wednesday at the Urban Design Alliance's Design Dialogue, an event that occurs every fourth Wednesday and features a different topic each time. Howard Chan, parking services manager for the Sacramento Department of Transportation, led a discussion about downtown parking, which also included an update about the Central City Parking Master Plan that the City Council adopted in 2006. "We don't really have a parking problem," he said. Chan noted that there are usually enough parking spaces throughout downtown, although not all of the spaces are used efficiently. While the congestion usually lies near the Capitol at the peak time between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., he said, sp

The city of Sacramento is about to ask the state of California to make good on its promise to award at least $20 million for railroad track relocation so work can start by May. Unable to sell as many bonds as expected, the state has not disbursed $20 million in trade corridor funds that was awarded last year under state Proposition 1B. Next week, the city will ask the California Transportation Commission to borrow $25 million against the bond money, said Linda Tucker, spokesperson for the city's Department of Transportation. "We've got to get this going," she said Friday, when the city announced it had met a Dec. 1 deadline for another $20 million in federal stimulus funding. The city a

$49.50. That’s the price of a parking ticket in Sacramento for parking in a permit-only area. Tickets have gone up locally because of state fees on parking tickets, among other reasons, according to the city’s Department of Transportation. Tickets are also being distributed more often in certain parts of town because the city is ramping up enforcement hours in residential areas designated for permit-holders, according to department spokeswoman Linda Tucker. Tucker explained that city parking tickets have increased because of state fees. The state fees add $9.50 to every parking ticket distributed in Sacramento. “The city of Sacramento raised selected parking fines ... effective July 1,

NEWS RELEASE Date: April 30, 2009 Contact: Linda K. Tucker ltucker@cityofsacramento.org (916) 808-7523 The City of Sacramento Department of Transportation is constructing the City’s first “Green Street” on Dixieanne Avenue, between Evergreen Street and the Swanston Light Rail Station. The project is sponsored by District 2 Councilmember Sandy Sheedy and the Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency. Councilmember Sheedy brought the idea to her district after seeing Green Streets in the older neighborhoods of Portland. “It not only looks good, it’s environmentally sound and will do wonders for this neighborhood,” Sheedy said. Dixieanne Avenue is the gateway to the neighborhood and lig