The City of Sacramento Transportation Department is considering a redesign of traffic lanes along Freeport Blvd between Sutterville Road and 4th Avenue. This part of the roadway is scheduled for resurfacing in 2013 and last August the city approved a Bike Lanes Project to study options for redesigning Freeport Blvd into a "complete street" as part of the resurfacing effort. From the National Complete Streets Coalition website: "...a complete streets policy ensures that transportation planners and engineers consistently design and operate the entire roadway with all users in mind - including bicyclists, public transportation vehicles and riders, and pedestrians of all ages and abilities."

  The southern stretch of Caselli Circle, reinvented as Creeks Edge in order to distance itself from the infamous now defunct Franklin Villa, ends at Franklin Boulevard. Directly across the street lies the driveway to a church parking lot. There is a traffic light at this intersection, but no left turn arrow for drivers. They have to wait and hope they can make the turn before the light changes. On the east side of Franklin, where there is only the driveway, There is a pedestrian walk/wait light for pedestrians who want to cross the driveway. The driveway is used very little except on weekends. Even then the traffic is light. Pedestrian traffic along this stretch of Franklin is very ligh

Q: I’m not a California resident, but while driving home to Oregon last week I received a speeding ticket in California, more than ten hours away from where I live. If I want to contest it, do I have to drive all the way back to the county where I received the ticket? Brett A: First of all, kudos for being proactive about an out-of-state traffic violation. Many people under the same circumstance will simply ignore the citations in hopes that they won’t "follow" them back to their respective resident states. In fact, there are a few different databases that monitor driving records and violations across participating states, and there’s a good chance your state of residence belongs to at l

When Jim Ferry (an East Sacramento resident) contacted his neighbors to address the impacts of Mercy Hospital using J Street as their primary loading dock, he got a lot of supportive response. The neighborhood is stressed by Mercy's inconsideration. Mr. Ferry has done an admirable job of documenting a fairly shocking misuse of the public way for a loading dock through his blog at http://mercygeneral.blogspot.com. More than any petition, Mr. Ferry's blog uses photos to show the truth. A picture truly is worth a thousand words. The loading situation on J Street is patently hazardous. There are frequently semi-tractor trucks parked in a seven foot wide space that impinge upon the west-bo

On Tuesday evening, the City Council will consider revising a local ordinance that will bring the city one step closer to seeing cars on K Street for the first time in more than 45 years. The revised ordinance will change a city code that has been in place since the early 1960s that defined the five blocks of K Street between Eighth to 12th streets as a “pedestrian mall,” closing it to vehicular traffic. “It was something that was happening in a lot of places back then,” said Denise Malvetti, department manager at the city’s Economic Development Department. “Cities were trying to replicate the suburban experience, and they created a lot of these pedestrian malls. It was a failed experime

Q. I’ve decided to contest a speeding ticket I received recently. How do I obtain all of the police records and evidence against me?   A. Before you contest your citation, you may want to consider submitting an “Informal Discovery Request” to the issuing agency. Under California Penal Code Sections 1054-1054.7, the prosecution in any criminal case (including infractions) is required to provide the defendant with copies of all written statements, reports, and logs regarding the case. This code section also applies to a copy of the engineering and traffic survey if your citation is a radar case [Cal. Penal Code § 1054.1(f)]. Fortunately, you can submit this request before you formally cha

When parents collect students at Sacred Heart, traffic comes to a stand still. It’s one of the worst traffic jams in East Sacramento and it’s caused by a school. Sacred Heart Parish School was relocated to the west side of 39th Street between J and H Streets in 2010. The school is new and has 310 students. The campus was developed as part of Mercy Hospital’s expansion currently under construction in East Sacramento. At three o’clock vehicles are often backed up all the way to J and sometimes to H Street, two major East Sacramento thoroughfares. The worst of the congestion only lasts for about 10 or 15 minutes during morning or afternoon student drop-off and pick-up. There is a school mo

Q: I received a citation in the mail for running a red light. My brother borrowed my truck and he was the driver pictured. What do I do? Bill A: Contact the agency that issued the citation. Do not send payment to the court because then the citation will be connected to your driving record. Once contacted the issuing agency will then contact the court with the corrected information. If you fail to contact the agency or do not appear on your assigned date, additional penalties will be added to your case and your driver’s license can be suspended. Below is the contact information for local agencies: California Highway Patrol, Red Light Camera Program 903 Enterprise Drive Sacramento, CA 95

Hello, My name is Keith and I was wondering where I would put in a complaint about police, highway, and sheriff officers that are violating protocol? This came to me when I was driving on Folsom Blvd and saw a Folsom Police officer sitting under the Metro light rail bridge with his lights off his bike and he was checking peoples speeds. Now the problem is not him checking speeds, but under the bridge was very dark and a driver could not see him until the last minute and this would be very harmful if a driver was in an accident and needed to utilize the shoulder at last possible second. Thank You, Keith Dear Keith, If you have a concern or complaint about an enforcement procedure or “pr

Dear Officer Michelle,  If you guys could patrol Mid town Sacramento more it would be nice. please patrol more down town like 20TH K street and J street people speed through there all the time it not safe to even walk across the streets. Thank you, tj2007 Dear tj2007, We get a lot of requests for the intersections of 21st and K Street, and 19th and H Streets. We do patrol those intersection and our Traffic Section goes out there on traffic projects frequently. You can speak to a traffic enforcement officer by calling 808-6128. You may have to leave a message, but they will call you back. I will also forward your message to one of the traffic sergeants. Thank you for your post. Offic

There are a couple of ways to approach a crosswalk in Sacramento's inner city: With trepidation, resignation or fearlessness. The last is probably the best, but it's also dangerous. You step into a downtown/Midtown street and your life is in your hands. Rather, in someone else's hands: Those hands gripping the steering wheels of the cars bearing down on you. And while you can claim all day long that pedestrians have the right of way in California - especially in a marked crosswalk - you don't want to be declaring said truth from a hospital bed. Fortunately, you have allies, and they're a little bit crafty: The Sacramento Police Department will be conducting an undercover operation aimed

The 26.2 mile course of Sunday's California International Marathon ends at the Capitol, which means that most of it takes place outside of the downtown/Midtown Grid. But if you're planning on being out and about on Sunday morning, be aware that a number of streets will be closed in the usually-quiet central city. Particularly between about 8 a.m. and noon, Grid streets will be problematic. If you live in the Grid, walk or bike. With approximately 14,000 runners expected to participate, the area around the Capitol is likely to be crawling with cars and pedestrians. Organizers just released the mile-by-mile lowdown on road closures, by intersection. Here are the closures that will effect t

Located between a low-income housing project and an old industrial zone south of Broadway, Jedediah Smith Elementary and Arthur A. Benjamin Health Professions High School, both on McClatchy Way, attract few passers-by. Before and after school, however, a swarm of students descend upon the street, which badly strains the neighborhood's infrastructure and places the children's lives at risk. Jean Caruthers has frequently witnessed the street's poor condition. For over two years she has walked her three grandchildren to school along McClatchy Way, and has watched children jaywalk and cars drive by unsafely. "Kids walk out, looking at their shoes, and cars go by very fast," she said. After

It was quite the blustery day in Sacramento as winds reached over 50 mph and more than 3 inches of rain fell, according to Fox 40 News meteorologist Kristina Werner. Trees and branches fell in streets, on houses, on cars and power lines went out intermittently through the central city. Streets turned into ponds, traffic slowed making commutes much longer than usual and I-5 was a flooded mess near the boat section despite the recent work by Caltrans. It seemed there wasn't one corner of the city that the storm didn't touch. Businesses such as Temple and Lucky Lefty's (shown below) felt the effects of the storm. It's hard to believe many of us were just wearing flip flops, skirts, short

Here are some photos of the effects of the storm from community members who were out witnessing the damage.   This was taken at Q and 16th streets by Michael Gelber. These two photos were taken on I Street and 30th. Ed Fogle of Maverick Photography took these as part of a live stream. More photos can be seen at sacmav.com The next photos are from Southbound I-5 near the J Street exit in the boat section. These photos were also taken by Ed Fogle of Maverick Photography. If you have photos of the storm, we'd love to see you post them on our site. If you have any questions on how to upload your photos, contact journalism@sacramentopress.com. Stay safe and dry!

As civil liberties advocates and city officials debate the city’s plans to implement a new surveillance system, three security cameras are already operating on Del Paso Boulevard. Joann Cummins, district director for City Councilwoman Sandy Sheedy, said the Del Paso Boulevard cameras will be useful for recording evidence to prosecute a couple of liquor stores that are allegedly creating a public nuisance. The Sacramento Press reported in a July 8 story that the local American Civil Liberties Union has raised objections to new cameras that may be installed on K Street and at other locations, arguing that they do not decrease crime. The city plans to buy 32 security cameras, four mobile su

If you were traveling north bound on highway 99 around 1:30 p.m. and got stuck in some major traffic Saturday afternoon, this incident may have been the cause. Firefighters, CHP and tow truck driver get ready to move a rolled over vehicle off the side of the road. Details are not available yet about this incident that took place Saturday afternoon, shutting down all but one lane on highway 99 north between Fruitridge and Florin. Rather than flipping the vehicle back over on it's wheels, the wrecked car was winched and slid right on to the flatbed tow truck. Details for this incident are not yet available. An update will be posted as soon as more details are flushed out.

One week after a truck wrecked the front of a historic midtown building, some residents and business owners are saying they'd like a traffic signal for what they say is a dangerous intersection. Several people sitting at Harry's Cafe, a popular sidewalk cafe next door to the damaged building, narrowly escaped serious injury when an Icee truck and an SUV collided at 16th and U Streets and ran up onto the sidewalk. Locals say last Tuesday's accident was one of many that have threatened people visiting businesses or on foot on the busy one-way street. "It's dangerous. I really want to see the city put a stoplight right there," said the cafe's owner, Harry Luong, 53. However, police acciden

  A lane closure will be in effect on Q street between 6th and 7th streets beginning April 7 and lasting until April 26, according to a press release from the Sacramento Department of Transportation. The closures will remain in effect 24 hours a day until work is completed on street and sidewalk improvements. The press release stated that the improvements were related to an unnamed state construction project. According to the press release, the traffic patterns of morning commutes in the area may be affected by the closures. Inquiries were made to the City in the hopes of identifying the project, but as of press time no calls were returned.

 A new traffic signal was erected this morning at 10th and H street. This is the first stage of a project that will convert 10th street, currently one-way running north, to two-way traffic between E and I streets. 9th street is also included in this conversion, changing from a one-way running south to two-way between E and H streets. Bike lanes and parking spaces will also added on either side of the street for both 9th and 10th. One benefit of the change will be increased access to the underground parking garage below City Hall. The conversion is scheduled for this Sat., Feb. 21 and the roads will be open to two-way traffic by Mon., Feb. 23. There will be no closure to traffic during the