Capitol Southeast Connector JPA » Rancho Cordova

Developing Alternative Connector Alignments

tomthedirector — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 19:16:57 +0000

Everyone knows that getting any project, much less a major infrastructure project, from the initial stages through to approval is an extensive and complicated task. As the Connector moves forward, I’d like to highlight a few aspects of the process.

We will soon be moving into the scoping process, in preparation for the development of an Environmental Impact Report and an Environmental Impact Statement. Part of the scoping process is determining the alternative alignments that should be studied. An alternative can be defined as any combination of project elements (number of lanes, transit options, etc.) along with an alignment we would propose to be studied and approved.

Any alternative needs to be a sustainable project-not in the sense of being “green” or environmentally friendly, but in having all of the necessary components that would be needed to define the project and what potential environmental impacts would be. That includes determining the physical footprint of the alternative, which would be used to determine the types of environmental resources that may, directly or indirectly, be in conflict with it. And that helps frame the discussion of the details that would be required in order for that alternative to be built.

Alternatives were initially developed when SACOG started planning the Connector in 2005-2006. There are currently four alignment/route alternatives, and more will likely be developed in the community involvement process. The goal now is to define one or a small number of overall alternatives. There is a wide range of people involved to develop and provide feedback on alternatives: stakeholders, the community, resource agencies, Caltrans, local boards, member jurisdictions, staff, fellow support service agencies like emergency districts, transportation elements like RT and Paratransit, as well as interest groups like bicycle advocacy groups.

This alternative development part of the process will continue most likely until the end of the year, when the JPA Board selects the alternatives to be studied in the environmental documents. I encourage you to get involved in the scoping meetings that will be held later this summer and fall. Check our web site over the next few months for details about those meetings.

How the Connector Will Benefit Goods Movement

tomthedirector — Wed, 27 May 2009 16:58:37 +0000

One of my recent entries focused on personal movement. This time, I’d like to share information about how the Connector can provide another form of freedom: goods movement.

Our society practically dictates a high standard of living. People want the best of everything, but they also want a bargain. There are many ways companies can provide us with goods at reasonable prices—use “lean” manufacturing, reduce advertising costs, and use efficient transportation to get goods into our hands.

Goods are frequently moved using trucks and large freight haulers, as one way to meet our expectations for availability of those goods at an affordable price. Once purchased from a store, we generally transport those goods in our cars. It’s difficult to go grocery shopping and then ride a bicycle with your bags. It would be nearly impossible to buy a refrigerator and take it on a bus or light rail. There will be trips where we head to the bakery on our bike to pick up a loaf of bread or attend special events using public transit, but we still rely on our cars (and the trucks and freight haulers) to regularly move the goods we need for our daily lives.

South Sacramento County currently has no facility to efficiently move goods from manufacturing to distribution to storefront. Sure, there are existing highways, arterial roads and neighborhood roads…but that means some truck traffic is mixing with school buses and local trips on roads that weren’t meant for that level of traffic.

The Connector will provide a needed link to make goods movement more efficient and (hopefully) cost-effective. By offering another option for local car travel, it will reduce congestion on freeways and improve the efficiency of truck-based transportation. The Connector will also allow people another option when purchasing something at the outlets in Folsom and driving home to Rancho Cordova, or reduce the delivery cost of an appliance or home accessory purchased in El Dorado Hills and delivered to Elk Grove. Regional movement of goods should be improved overall, and that benefits everyone.

The Connector in the Community

tomthedirector — Thu, 21 May 2009 21:16:33 +0000

The weather is heating up and so are we! The Connector team, which includes me, our engineering team, environmental team and public outreach team, has been getting out of the office and talking with various business and community groups over the past couple of months. We want to share information and answer questions so everyone who is interested in the project can participate in the process.

For instance, we’re hosting a series of community workshops in both the Sheldon/Wilton and El Dorado Hills communities. Our first meetings were held in April and May at the Katherine L. Albiani Middle School in Elk Grove and the Rolling Hills Middle School in El Dorado Hills. Meeting attendees were asked to think about two question topics and then participate in a group discussion:

- What do you like about your community today? What do you want to see preserved in your community?
- In general, how do you prefer to see the accommodation of regional growth, local growth and travel demand addressed in your community (e.g. expanding existing corridors, creating new corridors, enhancing alternatives modes, etc.)?

We compiled lists of the responses and posted them on the Connector web site (www.connectorjpa.net). Responses ranged from preserving quiet and preserving a rural quality of life to encouraging transit options and separating local traffic from through traffic. We’ve held a second meeting for Sheldon/Wilton and have the second El Dorado Hills meeting scheduled in June. Check the calendar on the web site for more details.

We’ve also presented to the Leadership Groups at both the Elk Grove and Rancho Cordova Chambers of Commerce; to Bicycle Advocates of Rancho Cordova; to the Lincoln Village Neighborhood Association; to regional business leaders; and to large landowners in Rancho Cordova and El Dorado Hills. And we participated in the Fab 50 showcase event to share information with the business community located along the Highway 50 Corridor.

Thanks to everyone who has and who will participate in the Connector process. We’ll be out in the community more this summer and fall, with more opportunities for people to provide input into the process through scoping meetings. Contact us at info@connectorjpa.net if you’re interested in a presentation for your group.

What is a Sustainable Roadway?

tomthedirector — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 21:53:48 +0000

Most people hear “sustainable” and “roadway” and think there’s no way the two go together – how is it possible to build a sustainable roadway? Sustainable roadways are a newer concept and a developing field of engineering and construction that has resulted from a general agreement that roadways by themselves, as traffic facilitators, are greenhouse gas generators.

Now, that’s not to say that the Connector will be a roadway that does not produce greenhouse gas: that would be nearly impossible with current technologies. But there are many things we can do when designing and building the Connector to be sustainable.

We would like to build the Connector as a green transportation corridor. We do that by respecting the environment and doing what we can to be as recyclable and sustainable as possible. We may use all recycled materials; use cool pavement design (pavement that reflects heat instead of absorbing it, as most pavement does); use porous pavement that actually absorbs water and waste products from engines and filters the runoff before it enters the groundwater; set up solar stations to store power to use at night to generate the light for off-ramps, overcrossings, information signs and traffic signs; and even include “critter crossings” so we don’t impact the migration paths of animals.

We are planning to make the Connector friendly for multiple modes of transportation, from bicycling to transit to equestrian. We hope the design, when it is approved, will make people feel that including other travel options wasn’t an afterthought but was integral to the overall viability and mission of the roadway – because that is genuinely our goal. We have the opportunity, because we are looking at different modes of travel from the beginning, to have different multi-modal elements in different areas of the alignment. It doesn’t have to be “one size fits all,” but can be flexible based on what people would like to see in a certain area.

The list of sustainable elements we can use is growing, and President Obama’s desire to “go green” with infrastructure projects will no doubt lead to more research and development. I’m looking forward to helping develop new, creative approaches that will enable us to build a sustainable roadway in our region.

Welcome

admin — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 22:22:36 +0000

Welcome to a first for me – a foray into the world of blogging! I’m hoping this will prove an effective way to share information and yes, my own perspectives, as the Connector project progresses.

You may already know about the Capital SouthEast Connector, which will link the communities of Elk Grove, Rancho Cordova, Folsom and El Dorado Hills. The process is just getting started and I personally am very excited. The Sacramento region has the opportunity to be on the cutting edge of transportation and to create an iconic project that will be the envy of communities across the country. We have the opportunity to be innovative in the development of the Connector and not build “just another roadway.”

This effort requires a vision that sees many years into the future and is not discouraged by current economic woes. One of our goals is to create a new way to develop transportation projects, and to be mindful of benefits beyond mobility – additional open space, preservation of natural resources, continuous multi-modal paths, and new technology/ITS (intelligent transportation system) aspects.

We are working hard to get smarter about today’s key issues – creative financing, environmental stewardship, economic sustainability, greenhouse gas reduction, and more – and we are asking ourselves if there is a way the project can benefit those areas. We’d like the Connector to be a balanced asset to community. We want to be as innovative as we can be with the technology available; be sensitive to the groups involved; address the needs of business; and use our best and smartest team members to generate good ideas to put into the mix. And, of course, we want to gather input from experts and the community to help shape the finished project.

So let’s start the discussion. We’ll be out in the community in the coming months, talking with people about the project and gathering feedback, and this blog will be another forum to share information. Check back for weekly updates, and thanks for reading!