Three young women navigated the west sidewalk of 18th Street last Friday evening. The one in front says to her friends behind her, "Last time we were down here, I was thinking I might like to live here." The Friday night scene was crackling, with loud music filling the air and cars filling the streets. "Yeah," says her friend, "but you'd need a place with a driveway. There's actually a lot more of them than I thought." The third woman says, "You wouldn't have much of a back yard." The trio crossed 18th Street at Capitol and stopped to reclaim their car from the valet. The street parking or East End Parking Garage may have been closer to whichever business they were coming from, but the

The Sacramento Clean Tech Showcase keynote speaker Daniel Sperling is an internationally-renowned expert on transportation, energy and sustainability issues. In December he co-authored the book Two Billion Cars which projects that within 20 years the number of motor vehicles on the planet will double from its current total of one billion due primarily to growth in India and China. Sperling is a Professor of Engineering and Environmental Science & Policy at the University of California, Davis, and Founding Director of the university's Institute of Transportation Studies. He also serves on the California Air Resources Board, chairs the Future of Mobility Council of the Davos World Economic

Want to save money, reduce your time in traffic, improve air quality and get the chance to win a $50 gift certificate? This October is the time to give your car the day off and try a different way to get around. Pick any week in October to try an alternative to driving alone for any of your daily trips. Share the ride (carpool), take transit, telecommute, bike or walk. If you can make a change for any trip (errands, work or elsewhere) three days in a week, you could win a $50 gift certificate to a local bicycle shop, a local restaurant or for transit passes.. If you aren’t sure where to start, visit www.sacregion511.org for tips and tools for ridesharing, transit and bicycling. That’s al

California's air may start to look a little cleaner, thanks to the California Department of Transportation and its project partners. Caltrans's revolutionary "green locomotive" debuted Wednesday morning at the Amtrak Sacramento Valley station. Members of Caltrans and its project partners assembled within the train station at a press release to make statements regarding the new locomotive, considered a major step toward reducing California's carbon footprint. It is one of the 15 F59PHI model locomotives owned by Caltrans and operated by Amtrak that is now installed with a 710ECO Repower upgrade package. The package is said to consist of the latest microprocessor-controlled locomotive eng

Jonathan Smalley, an employee at City Bicycle Works, said he has been stopped three times within the past five months for riding his fixed-gear bike without brakes, but has managed to evade a citation each time by playing the "ignorance card." Of the people in Sacramento who ride brakeless, knowing that it's illegal, Smalley suggests some do it as a "f--- the cops" gesture, while others do it because "they know what they are doing." Smalley said he rides without brakes because he, too, "knows what he is doing." "It's a purely cosmetic thing for me," he said. "I like the minimal look." Wayne Sigmund, service manager at Mikes Bikes, said that by subtracting brakes from fixed gears -- bike

The amount of mopeds and scooters out on the roads these days in Sacramento, and really all over the U.S., has been steadily growing in the past few years. I would imagine that this is the most common they have been since the mid to late 70s. I have been watching it happen since about 2005 when I purchased the first moped I had ever even ridden. But even The Wall Street Journal is reporting about their increase in sales. The Wall Street Journal reports that “domestic sales of scooters have surged as budget- and environment-minded consumers look for relief from high pump prices and as more-appealing models come on the market.” Sales of scooters with engine sizes of 150CCs or less…have jump

Very soon, you will see barges loaded with containerized cargo sailing into the Port of West Sacramento. This movement of goods is called the “marine highway” and it will help bring hundreds of new jobs to the region while improving air quality and reducing highway congestion by taking more than 1 million truck trips off area roads. More than 100 business and civic leaders heard details of the “marine highway” outlined during the Northern California World Trade Center’s annual State of the Sea Ports event, held June 25 in West Sacramento. The company expecting to begin shipping containerized cargo from the Port of Oakland to West Sacramento and Stockton is Denver-based The Broe Group and

The Sacramento City Council voted Tuesday night to accept the recommendation of Sacramento’s Preservation Commission, rescinding a 2007 resolution to move the 1926 historic passenger depot and approving the “Don’t Move the Depot” alternative as part of the city’s Intermodal Transportation Facility Project. Last night’s decision marks the latest transformation of the Intermodal Transportation Facility Project, which has changed a number of times since 1999. The facility is intended to serve as a multi-use transportation hub, including access to car, city bus, intercity bus, light rail, commuter train or long-distance train. The project has been the subject of heated debate among local pol

This Thursday morning, I'll be hopping on my bike and heading to work at City Hall to kick off "Bike to Work Day." And the City of Sacramento will be out in force at the Capitol BikeFest at the West Steps of the Capitol from 11 to 1 p.m. too. To promote bike commuting, the city is offering bike racks to local businesses. The bike racks will be installed in the City right-of-way and become City property, owned and maintained by the Department of Transportation. Funds for the racks ares coming from the Measure A (half-cent sales tax) Bikeway Fund and  from downtown Transportation System Management funds that are earmarked for projects that decrease automotive trips. Later in the year, the

At 8 a.m. today, the historic Union Pacific steam locomotive 844 will move through Sacramento in route to Oakland where it will be on display. The Steamer has been in Roseville at the UP Yard for the past couple of days. Saturday, UP844, along with other UP locomotive memorables were on display for general public and Sunday they were held for a private showing accessed only by UP friends and family. If you are looking for good photo ops to catch old UP844 puffing down the tracks, it will roll out of Roseville and will be highly visible through the wetlands near CalExpo, You should also be able to see the puffer rolling through the downtown Amtrak station and over the "I Street" bridge.

A lot! Eager readers expecting a slam on Regional Transit – read on – you might be surprised. That’s another story to be written by someone with an opposing point of view, of which I’m sure there are many. In two years of consistently riding Regional Transit, the complaints I’ve heard run the gamut. What hasn’t been heard – why nine times out of ten, I ditch my car in favor of Regional Transit? When I started riding the bus, I received numerous offers of rides along with groans of pity when I mentioned I’d be bussing over. To this day, I’ve not yet managed to convince my friends that riding the bus is fun! It’s not just a cost factor – it’s everything from a sense of community to the chan

As everyone who reads the news or watches TV knows, California’s budget process has been a disaster. This is not too surprising considering the state of the economy, the fact that it takes a two-thirds majority to pass the budget, and the inability of the Democrats and Republicans to work together on anything. But what was surprising was that a recent transportation lawsuit won by Sacramento neighborhood and environmental groups was unexpectedly caught up in the middle of it. In June of 2007, Neighbors Advocating Sustainable Transportation (a coalition of Sacramento neighborhood and community groups, and the Environmental Council of Sacramento (ECOS)) filed a lawsuit over Caltrans’ inadeq

Sacramento is a city with limited transit options and lots of freeways, a city at the absolute downstream end of freeway rivers flooded with vehicles. Light rail only serves some portions of the city, and farther out along the light rail lines, many neighborhoods are not connected to stations, forcing residents to drive downtown.   Buses are few and far between. There aren’t enough bicycle routes. Pedestrians take their lives in their hands when they cross the street, even if crossing on a green light with a walk sign. Freeways and streets grow more congested every year and, at least in the Central City, parking grows ever more expensive and difficult to find.   Air pollution is getting

Fears that the U.S. Senate would gut the stimulus money for transit in the "American Recovery and Reinvestment Act" appear to have been unfounded. The Senate is preparing to vote on bill that essentially maintains the House-passed funding levels. The Senate final vote is expected by Tuesday, with the House and Senate conference starting soon after. According to the American Public Transportation Association, "Transit funding is expected to remain at $8.4 billion and high-speed passenger rail funding will remain at $2 billion. Transportation programs in the Senate bill are funded as follows: * $8.4 billion, urban and rural transit formula; * $27 billion, highway formula; * $5.5 billion, i

Greetings from City Hall. I've been on the job for about two weeks now. Fortunately I was able to hit the ground running with the help of a 100+ community members that were part of my transition team. They included the director of the 40 Acres Art Gallery, the director of Regional Transit, faith leaders, and bicycle advocates. As you may know, my campaign slogan was "A City That Works for Everyone," and we've started out exactly that way. One of the first products of the transition team's work is a policy paper on transportation, which you can view on my website, www.kevinjohnsonformayor.com. Its focus is to reduce traffic congestion and promote mass transit. I'd welcome your feedback. (

 As of October 2008, there were 182 crimes reported for the year.  These statistics are for the transit system, which also includes bus travel. Crimes include everything from assault, robbery, auto theft and vandalism to petty theft and trespassing. In an average month, there is far less crime reported for someone riding the light rail than reported crime in Downtown Sacramento. The Sacramento PD offers a crime mapping tool where you can obtain a detailed report of all crimes during a specified period for either a particular neighborhood or intersection. In the month of October, 2008, 100 incidents were reported in the downtown area. With 17,000 residents in the downtown area, this make

Our office, The Sacramento Press office, is located at 431 I Street right next to the Sacramento Valley Station. We share a parking lot with the train station. Parking at this location is not a pleasant experience. The lot serves as parking for our building, the train station and often times the Sacramento Federal Court house. Most days I choose not to drive to work, firstly because I prefer to use the very convenient light rail option, but secondly because the parking situation is so terrible. By 10 a.m., the lot is almost certainly full and the few remaining spots are almost always 2 hour spots, not suitable for those hoping to park and ride the train. After finally finding a spot mo