Rancho Cordova City Hall

Council Chambers

2729 Prospect Park Drive

Rancho Cordova, California

City Council chambers

2729 Prospect Park Drive

Rancho Cordova, Ca 95670

JPA 02_26_10 Board Package

The last blog shared information about transportation issues facing our nation. However, we didn’t really delve into how funding decisions made by state and federal agencies affect our local transportation projects. There are big impacts, since local projects are predominantly funded from those larger “pots” of money.

A large portion of the funds for transportation projects comes from the federal government. The feds distribute those funds to state Departments of Transportation, which in turn disburse funds to local jurisdictions. That means individual States have a big say in which projects are funded and completed using federal money.

And that can lead to competition between state and local projects. Both states and local jurisdictions have their own transportation programs and both have claims to federal funds. But because there is never enough money to fund all of the projects that are planned, there are times when local projects don’t receive full funding. It is times like these, when money is tight at all levels, when local projects may suffer because State projects take precedence.

The Connector is in an interesting situation in terms of all of these funding decisions because it doesn’t really fall into a formal project “category.” As a large local capital project, it’s somewhat of an anomaly. There may be local projects that are a fraction of the size of the Connector, and state projects that are comparable in size, but there are almost no similar 35-mile local facilities.

Many large capital projects like the Connector are state projects that have a built-in force behind them, funding them and moving them forward. Because the Connector is a local project, it doesn’t have the high level of visibility that a state project would have with those making State funding decisions. That’s fine to a certain extent, since the majority of the initial project funding comes from local taxes, but presents challenges when we have to battle it out for higher-level funding. It means we have to be more creative to find the funding to complete the project—and that can be a very important challenge.

]]> http://connectorjpa.net/2009/07/local-impacts-of-state-and-federal-funding-decisions/feed/ 0 http://connectorjpa.net/2009/06/developing-alternative-connector-alignments/ http://connectorjpa.net/2009/06/developing-alternative-connector-alignments/#comments Mon, 15 Jun 2009 19:16:57 +0000 tomthedirector http://tomthedirector.wordpress.com/?p=77 ]]>

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. ]]> http://connectorjpa.net/2009/06/developing-alternative-connector-alignments/feed/ 0 http://connectorjpa.net/2009/05/how-the-connector-will-benefit-goods-movement/ http://connectorjpa.net/2009/05/how-the-connector-will-benefit-goods-movement/#comments Wed, 27 May 2009 16:58:37 +0000 tomthedirector http://tomthedirector.wordpress.com/?p=71 ]]>

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.

I’ve spoken broadly about the benefits the Connector can bring to the Sacramento region. Now I’d like to get into some of the specifics, focusing first on the need for personal movement and the benefits the Connector will bring in that arena.

It’s no secret that Americans love their cars—the mobility cars provide, the independence, the ability to transport almost anything or anyone we want to, at any time and to almost any location. You can drive to work, run an errand, take your child to a music lesson or sports practice, visit friends, take a trip…the possibilities are almost endless. It’s a freedom most people don’t want to give up.

And, more than likely, the car will continue to be the main mode of transportation for people in the future. Cars will be cleaner and more efficient, because new technologies will allow us to clean up greenhouse gas emissions from cars in the same manner we cleaned up tailpipe emissions.

Some people say current (and yet-to-be developed) technologies that allow people to work, chat with friends and shop from the comfort of home will change the way we use cars—meaning people will take fewer trips. While new technologies may reduce or eliminate some of the trips people use their cars for, it isn’t likely that cars will be eliminated outright. People will still have a desire to move about independently, on their schedule and cars fulfill that need.

Roadways act as the mechanism that accommodates behavior—in this case, the desire for personal movement. Regardless of what the future brings in terms of technology, people will still have a desire to move about, and that’s one thing the Connector will provide: another, and perhaps better, option for personal movement. More on other forms of movement in future posts.

As we’re talking more about what the Connector means to the region and the benefits it offers, it occurs to me I haven’t really touched upon the project’s history. As with any major infrastructure or construction project, the Connector has undergone a multi-year process to arrive at its current status. I think it makes sense to share some highlights of that process and history.

The Capital SouthEast Connector was originally known as (and is still legally known as) the Elk Grove-Rancho Cordova-El Dorado Hills Connector. A roadway to bypass downtown Sacramento and provide greater mobility in the region has been discussed for more than 30 years, but the idea gained greater momentum over the past few years.

The Connector was a key project included in the 2004 Measure A Transportation Sales Tax Extension in Sacramento County. The measure passed with 75 percent of voters in support—an overwhelming vote of support to improve transportation options in the region. The Connector is also an element of the Metropolitan Transportation Plan for 2035.

The Sacramento Area Council of Governments (SACOG) shaped the Connector in the initial stages and helped the jurisdictions involved develop a concept plan for the project. SACOG also helped form the Joint Powers Authority (JPA) that is now leading the project forward.

The SACOG process involved a good deal of community engagement and involved many groups in the initial planning stages, including California Alliance for Jobs, Environmental Council of Sacramento (ECOS), Paratransit, Sacramento County Department of Airports (for Mather), South County Citizens for Responsible Growth and various community councils.

Efforts to engage and involve the community continue today. There are many upcoming opportunities to learn more about the Connector and provide input. We are hosting community meetings in El Dorado Hills and Sheldon this month, and scoping meetings are planned for the late spring/early summer. Dates and locations for all upcoming meetings will be posted on our web site, at www.connectorjpa.net.

You’ll be hearing from us a lot this year—through the blog, web site, meetings, mailings and one-on-one interaction. I encourage you to participate in the process.

]]> http://connectorjpa.net/2009/04/a-brief-history-of-the-connector/feed/ 0 http://connectorjpa.net/2009/04/what-is-a-sustainable-roadway/ http://connectorjpa.net/2009/04/what-is-a-sustainable-roadway/#comments Tue, 07 Apr 2009 21:53:48 +0000 tomthedirector http://tomthedirector.wordpress.com/?p=26 ]]>

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.

]]> http://connectorjpa.net/2009/04/what-is-a-sustainable-roadway/feed/ 1 http://connectorjpa.net/2009/04/the-challenges-and-opportunities-of-the-connector/ http://connectorjpa.net/2009/04/the-challenges-and-opportunities-of-the-connector/#comments Wed, 01 Apr 2009 21:58:10 +0000 admin http://connectorjpa.net/?p=609 Any large infrastructure project like the Connector presents both challenges and opportunities. One of the keys to a successful project is determining how to address the challenges and make the most of the opportunities.

Sometimes bringing the challenges and opportunities together is just a matter of using some imagination. On the Watt Avenue Improvement Project I led for the Sacramento County Department of Transportation, bike paths presented a challenge. Instead of trying to constrain the paths to fit the design, we thought about what the paths could be. Because of that extra effort and imagination, the paths became one of the most prominent and best features of the redesigned bridge.

The Connector presents a unique set of challenges and an exciting set of opportunities. It’s no easy task to bring together five jurisdictions, each with their own vision of the project, and come to a consensus on what’s best for everyone. We may find that there is no solution that meets the specific needs of each of those entities, which means we need to look at the greater good of the community.

The opportunity that comes with this challenge is that we can show how we as a region can join together and make the project, which is a concept at this point, a reality. I am occasionally teased for saying this, but I firmly believe the Connector is more than a transportation project – it can change the face of Sacramento and change the way people view Sacramento. We can make the Connector a signature project for our region. It won’t be as iconic as the Gateway Arch in St. Louis or the Golden Gate Bridge, but we may be able to say we did something that hadn’t been done before: we built a roadway project that is broadly recognized as a milestone, a real asset to mobility of the area, and a demonstration of our regional community’s ability to come together and serve a common purpose.

More to come in future entries.