Newest articles on The Sacramento Press tagged as "linda tucker"

Police chief to be selected by month's end

2013-01-10T17:47:15Z

Sacramento will likely have a new police chief by month's end and the leading candidates for the position are about to be put through their paces by series of tests, exercises and interviews.

The candidates will go through a job skills and knowledge assessment next week, which is being conducted by a consultant – Bob Murray and Associates. Then they will go through a management exercise and short interview with a panel of community members representing each council district, according to City of Sacramento Spokeswoman Linda Tucker.

Based on scores from both processes, the candidates will be ranked, and those rankings will be forwarded to City Manager John Shirey, who will ultimately make the decision, Tucker said. The council has to approve his choice as well.

The city has been without a permanent police chief since the end of December, when Chief Rick Braziel retired. Dan Schiele has been the acting police chief in the interim, however he hasn't applied for the permanent police chief position, according to the city.

The city is not releasing the names of the four candidates because it is an internal human resources issue, Tucker said.

Councilman Steve Hansen, who represents District 4, said the new chief will need to focus on morale. The department has been resilient despite layoffs, he said, "but I think the officers need somebody who is going to be a stable leader and looking toward the long-term success of the department."

Hansen – who appointed Luis Sumpter, president of the Alkali/Mansion Flats Neighborhood Association, to the panel – said the person should also be an open communicator. "I hope it's someone who is good at engaging broad swaths of the community, and making decisions that are supported by more than just a narrow set of stakeholders."

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City ramps up repair schedule for copper theft damage

2012-04-12T01:54:17Z

A new streetlight repair and wire restoration project will allow streetlights to be fixed in 90 days instead of a year after having their copper wiring stolen, since the City Council gave the nod to spend $2 million on a wire restoration project Tuesday.

The City Council voted unanimously to allow funding for the project, which will provide the resources needed to complete repairs already scheduled, as well as put future repairs on a 90-day wait list.

The current backlog is a staggering 12-month wait for neighbors to have streetlights repaired, according to Department of Transportation spokeswoman Linda Tucker.

“The city has had more than 325 reported locations of stolen wire since 2010, and we have been able to repair about 175 of those,” Tucker said Tuesday.

The price for salvaged copper wire has risen throughout the United States, Tucker said, going from roughly $1.50 per pound in October 2008 to $3.30 per pound today.

Tucker said the typical copper thief nets about $240 from salvage from a single hit – but the repair bill for the city ranges from $1,200 to $1,800 per incident.

So far, the city has spent more than $1.2 million on repairs from metal theft. City staff estimates at least 9,000 of the city’s 40,000 streetlights – 22 percent – have been damaged from copper theft in the last two years.

City Traffic Engineer Hector Barron said that it typically takes two days to repair a streetlight, but with so many locations being damaged, city crews have been unable to keep up with the repair orders.

“In 2011, our goal was to repair each location within a three- to six-month timeframe,” Barron said. “But during certain weeks, we couldn’t keep up with new locations being reported. We made progress, but the reports kept outnumbering the repairs.”

Tucker said the city worked with an electrical contractor in late 2011 to help with the workload, but the number of repair locations continued to increase.

“We determined that we needed to immediately increase our resources to get the wait times down,” Tucker said.

“It’s important to note that our police department has given this (issue) a priority,” City Councilman Steve Cohn said. “Statistics show there is significantly less crime on streets with streetlights. It does make a big difference.”

The new project will be funded by $1 million from the Measure A half-cent sales tax and $1 million from the city’s risk management fund.

Typically, the risk management fund reimburses city departments for repairs and replacement parts due to things such as thefts, vandalism and fire, one claim at a time.

For this project, however, instead of processing each reimbursement claim individually, $1 million will be transferred to fund the streetlight repair project in advance to be more efficient, according to the staff report.

Of that $1 million, $495,000 will fund a construction contract supplement with CB Grant Electric, the electrical contractor that the city has been working with to shorten repair times.

The budget for repairing streetlights is primarily funded by a citywide landscaping and lighting fund, gas tax and various other special district and transportation-related funds, Tucker said, but those funds have been depleted for this fiscal year.

According to the staff report, the current labor force in the transportation maintenance department completes about 5,000 feet per day of copper wiring repairs.

In order to meet the goal of 90-day repair windows, they need to be able to replace 15,000 to 20,000 feet per day, Barron said.

Tucker said that approximately $2 million will be needed over the next year for streetlight repairs including copper wiring, trenching, conduit, locking pull-box lids, replacement parts and labor.

“This isn’t fun and games here. We recognize that,” City Councilwoman Sandy Sheedy said Tuesday. “There are a lot of places (affected) in my district and in the city, and we are fixing them as fast as we can – but with one truck and two people, it doesn’t work fast. This (project) is going to help us get things expedited.”

While repair times remain lengthy, Sheedy said the best thing residents can do to help is to remain diligent.

“The main thing we need to do is be cognizant of people working around the lights. An orange vest doesn’t always mean what you think it does,” Sheedy said. “If residents see something suspicious, call the police.”

With the additional funds approved for the project by the City Council, Barron said he expects the transition from a 12-month backlog to a 90-day wait time to be accomplished by the end of June.

Melissa Corker is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow her on Twitter @MelissaCorker.

Thriving Midtown produces problems with parking

2012-04-06T03:28:36Z

Picture yourself driving on a bustling, lit up street on a weekend evening in Midtown Sacramento. You’re out with friends, family, or on your way to meet a significant other. The reservations have been made, the movie time agreed on, and only one burning question remains: Where can I park?

In recent years, Sacramento transformed from simply a capital city with a small-town vibe, to an up-and-coming cultural hub. This transformation is most evident in the thriving Midtown district, where the most prominent businesses are bars and restaurants.

This rapid growth can be a cause for excitement, as well as a cause for dismay. The dismal and often frustrated, heated feelings seem to largely come from Sacramentans who live in Midtown.

According to Karen Jacques, founder and board member of the Midtown Neighborhood Association, the neighbors feel as though their quality of life has gone downhill since Midtown expanded and opened to new patrons, some of whom bring tension to the streets.

Jacques has been a Midtown resident since 1981 and has watched the changes that have taken place over the past two decades. She said that because parking is free on her block, after a certain hour many people going to bars will park in front of her house and return to their cars rowdy and loud late at night.

“Bar and restaurant owners haven’t had to be responsible for providing any kind of parking solution that works, and the result is that, as residents … we can’t park within any reasonable distance of the places that we live.”

Jacques went on to say that not being able to park near her home is a safety issue as well.

“I had the unpleasant necessity one night of outrunning a drunken man because I was forced to park, in that case, four blocks from where I live,” she said. “The residents who don’t have off-street parking are left with often no place to park. That’s an inconvenience at best, but it’s potentially dangerous at worst.”

Howard Chan, parking services manager for the city of Sacramento and treasurer for the Board of Directors for the California Public Parking Association, said he has been working with organizations such as the Neighborhood Advisory Group and the Midtown Business Association to develop a program to provide some protections for residential parking.

His plan would involve putting up large, temporary signs on residential streets during Second Saturday Art Walks and large special events designating the blocks as residential parking only. Residents would be identifiable by stickers given to them and placed on their cars.

Chan said he doesn’t think the problem is necessarily a lack of available parking in Midtown, but that the available parking is underutilized.

“Again, it’s not a function of not having enough parking, it’s that if you park in a neighborhood after a certain hour, there’s no charge. If you go through Midtown, even on a Second Saturday, you’ll find many off-street parking lots that sit half-empty. The fact is that (most) charge $5 to $10 for the night.”

Chan went on to say that his department is trying to encourage Midtown patrons and especially employees to use the East End Parking Garage on 17th and L streets, which offers a flat rate of $2 for parking on nights and weekends. By opening the garage up to employees of Midtown businesses, Chan said he hopes that on-street parking will open up.

Linda Tucker, spokeswoman for the city of Sacramento’s Department of Transportation, described the East End Parking Garage as Sacramento’s best-kept secret as far as parking goes. Tucker and Chan both said they want drivers who frequently visit Midtown to utilize the structure, which would be a benefit for all.

“(It’s) such a great deal. You’re not circulating around, looking for parking. Yet you pull in and there (are about) fifteen cars in there. With the exception of Second Saturday, it’s not being used to it’s full capacity.”

The East End Parking Garage is open to the public after 4:00 p.m. on weekdays and all day on the weekends.

It’s an ongoing effort to keep up with the moving target of fluctuating hot spots in the area, Chan said.

Jacques and Chan agreed that as far as an alternative to conventional driving and parking, Zipcar, the car-sharing company, has been a success and improves the situation in Midtown.

“In April of 2011 we worked out a deal with Zipcar for them to bring in a fleet of 10 vehicles. They’re located throughout the central city. There are a couple of locations in Midtown. Because of how successful it’s been, we’re looking at adding more locations and more vehicles,” said Chan

Jacques said she hopes that a dialogue discussing this issue more in depth will be opened between residents and city officials to come to a solution that is beneficial for all.

“Neighborhoods are only as strong as their weakest block,” Jacques added.

Task force takes on disabled parking placard fraud

2011-11-10T02:42:27Z

Abuse of disabled parking placards is no small problem in Sacramento, where a special task force is charged with tracking down offenders.

To help reduce the misuse of disabled placards, the Sacramento Task Force On Placard Abuse was formed in 1996.

According to Linda Tucker, spokeswoman for the Department of Transportation, the task force consists of specially trained parking enforcement officers who investigate complaints on disabled placard abuse and issue misdemeanor citations when necessary.

The city employs 50 parking enforcement officers, and two of those are full-time officers who go undercover to investigate the use of disabled parking placards in the city.

Tucker said the task force checks about 1,300 placards per year. So far this year, officers ended up confiscating 130 placards – about 10 or 11 per month.

There were 115 misdemeanor tickets issued during that same timeframe, Tucker said.

Being charged with a misdemeanor requires a court appearance, and the fine can be up to $3,500 or six months in jail, Tucker said.

“We take our enforcement of DP placard use seriously,” Tucker said. “There is a finite number of metered spaced and a lot more placards floating out there.”

According to the California Vehicle Code, getting a placard requires a signed statement by a doctor “substantiating the disability, unless the applicant’s disability is readily observable and uncontested.”

If a placard is lost or stolen, the owner can apply for a substitute placard without recertification of eligibility, according to the California Vehicle Code.

“We have people who steal our placards all the time,” Diana Derodeff, executive director of Inalliance said Wednesday. “People sell them, even.”

Derodeff said that, despite disabled placard abuses, it doesn’t seem to have an impact on the issuance of more placards.

“I’ve never heard of anyone not getting a placard because there’s too much abuse of the system,” Derodess said.

Some people intent on abusing the system find interesting ways to accomplish their goal, according to Officer Hatch, a parking enforcement officer for the city.

In a recent article for The Sacramento Press, writer Casey Kirk said Hatch “recalled one violator cutting the entire bottom portion off of a disabled placard, claiming it was issued to him that way.”

“Another instance that stood out (to Officer Hatch) was the placard-holder who extended his own permit, punching a hole in the current year and taping the punched out circle into the expired year,” Kirk wrote.

Derodeff said Inalliance transports many people with disabilities and when people abuse the disabled parking privilege, there isn’t room for those who need it.

Derodeff said that the biggest problem the Inalliance drivers face is people who park their cars either in handicapped spaces or in the spaces directly adjacent to the handicapped spaces.

Having disabled parking spaces more clearly marked – including all of the loading space needed – would be helpful, Derodeff said.

Derodeff said she thinks people who abuse disabled parking placards should be charged and fined.

City code states that anyone who illegally parks in a blue zone, puts a placard on a car to which it isn’t assigned, uses it without needing it or buys, sells or exchanges a permit is in violation of the law.

The state code has charges for additional violations, including unlawful use of permits or placards, parking unlawfully in a blue zone or blocking access to a disabled space.

“We are unique in that we are one of the few cities in California that charges violators with a misdemeanor for misusing a DP placard,” Tucker said.

Barbara Duncan, the director of communication for Disability Rights California, said reports of placard abuse are disturbing to hear because there are many people with legitimate need for the placards.

Duncan said that people tend to believe there is more fraud than actually exists because the majority of people who use disabled parking placards do not appear at first glance to need them.

“Many of them have invisible disabilities – back problems, heart problems and so forth. It’s not always obvious who is and who isn’t disabled.”

“People with disabilities worked very hard to get this benefit,” Duncan said. “We would like to see an effort to make sure that people who have legitimate needs for these placards can get them.”

According to the DMV, a disabled person with a parking placard is allowed to park for extended periods in on-street metered parking spaces, areas that require resident permits and on-street locations with posted timelimits as well as the regularly designated handicapped parking spots.

There are limitations to parking with a disabled parking placard or license plate, though.

Vehicles with disabled parking placards or plates may not park in the crosshatched pattern located next to a space displaying the wheelchair symbol, or next to red curbs (no stopping, standing or parking), or next to yellow curbs (commercial loading/unloading), or next to white curbs (passenger loading/unloading).

Privileges for free parking with disabled parking placards and license plates only apply to on-street parking, so a driver with a disabled parking placard parking in a public garage has to pay the garage’s set parking rate.

In residential areas, vehicles with disabled parking placards also have to abide by street cleaning restrictions.

Although the parking timeframe is extended for disabled parking, it does have a city-mandated final limit of 72 hours.

“The task force is a full program and a concentrated effort to reduce the abuse,” Tucker said.

Anyone can refer a tip about disabled parking abuse to parking enforcement officers, Tucker said.

“When people want to report something – anything at all, 24 hours a day – they only need to email 311@cityofsacramento.org,” Tucker said, “or, if they are within the city limits, just call 3-1-1. The complaint will make its way to parking and they will followup.”

Melissa Corker is a Staff Reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow her on Twitter @MelissaCorker.

Editorial Note: Corrections have been made to this story after it was published. The spelling of Diana Derodeff's name was corrected.

Open house event to discuss Riverfront, Old Sac connector

2011-08-16T01:18:37Z

A project designed to help reconnect downtown Sacramento to the riverfront and Old Sacramento is well under way, and the public is invited to learn more about it at an open house Wednesday.

The informational meeting will provide a project overview, details on key elements and the anticipated schedule and next steps, according to a recent press release from city’s Department of Transportation, which is co-sponsoring the open house with the project team.

“It’s been about three years since we’ve had a public meeting on the project,” said Linda Tucker, spokeswoman for the Department of Transportation. “Since that time, the economy has changed and the project has been scaled back to a more realistic project.”

Tucker said the public is invited to stop in anytime between 5 and 7 p.m. at the Tsakopoulos Library Galleria, and city staff and technical specialists will be on-hand to answer questions and provide more details about the project.

When the I-5 Riverfront Reconnection Project was in its initial vision stage, the City Council had considered creating a deck over the freeway to reconnect downtown to the riverfront.

A project review study found the decking idea was too expensive, so it was scrapped in favor of the current bridging project, according to the Department of Transportation website.

The current design – which includes bike and pedestrian improvements to Capitol Mall, a new gateway entrance into Old Sacramento and a new N Street bridge crossing I-5 – is in the environmental review stages now, and the public may review draft environmental impact reports until Aug. 31.

Of the estimated $38 million design and construction cost for the project, about $5 million comes from federal sources, another $1 million comes from local funding, and an additional $300,000 comes from a Caltrans community-planning grant, Tucker said.

Future financing for design and construction will be sought once the planning and environmental phase is completed. That funding is likely to come from a variety of public and private funding sources, according to the Department of Transportation website.

Ultimately, the goal of the I-5 Riverfront Reconnection Project is to ease the way for vehicles, bicycles and pedestrians to and from downtown Sacramento to the riverfront and Old Sacramento, according to the project website.

“It’ll be a much better gateway to that historic district when all is said and done,” Tucker said. “Once (we) improve the access, it opens up the riverfront area, and opportunities to spur development will start to take shape.”

According to the press release, the environmental document will be finalized and presented to the City Council for adoption in late September or early October.

After that, the city will move forward with the final engineering on the first phase of the project including the improvements to Capitol Mall, an added sidewalk along the south side of the O Street bridge, and a connection from Second Street on Capitol Mall to Old Sacramento.

Depending on available funding, construction for the first phase of improvements could begin as early as 2014.

The open house event will be held from 5-7 p.m. Wednesday at the Tsakopoulos Library Galleria, 828 I St.

To read the environmental document online, submit comments and learn more about the project, visit the project website.

Melissa Corker is a Staff Reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow her on Twitter @MelissaCorker.

Immense railyards project gets manager

2011-07-09T00:56:46Z

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 with efforts to make serious headway on financing an adjacent arena by next spring.

Halbakken got her civil engineering degree at Sacramento State. After college, she went to work with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and found working in the public sector suited her.

"I always knew I was going to be a public servant," said Halbakken, sitting in her City Hall office. "That was a huge appeal, knowing you could make the world better."

She’s worked for the city for 25 years.

Since 2004, she'd worked as operations manager for the city's Department of Transportation. In that post, Halbakken oversaw transportation policy development and planning. Key projects included co-managing development of a strategic plan for Sacramento River crossings and managing development of the central city parking plan.

She also played a key role in obtaining $225 million in local, state and federal funding for railyards infrastructure such as bridges, roads and railroad track relocation. The funding was gathered after the city and private railyards developer Thomas Enterprises developed the project's land use plan in 2006 and 2007. The money will finance work that will continue into 2015.

After Inland American Real Estate Trust took possession of most of the railyards site last fall, Halbakken led the transfer of ownership and agreements of the property, according to transportation department spokeswoman Linda Tucker.

In her new position, Halbakken has been loaned out to the City Manager's office to work on the railyards project full-time. She now oversees all aspects of the city's end in the enterprise, including planning, funding efforts and coordination with private developers.

Urban development experts recommended smaller-scale, market-driven development of the railyards in January.

The city needed to create the new post at this time because city staff must now work with Inland to revise plans for housing that must be built as a requirement of some of the funding already acquired.

Much has changed in the housing market since the land use plan was approved by the Sacramento City Council in December 2007. The start of housing construction hasn't been scheduled, but should be within five years, Halbakken said.

The new post was also created as an attempt to build a new sports and entertainment complex downtown is kicking into high gear at the mayor's office. Halbakken is overseeing coordination of plans for a future transit center with the developing plans for a Sacramento Kings arena.

The two facilities are expected to sit adjacent to each other on 33 acres of railyards land the city bought from Thomas Enterprises. She's working with a city-wide team to answer questions about how to ensure both facilities are high-quality, she added.

They're also looking at how to promote secondary development around the site, from downtown to the historic Southern Pacific Railroad central shops and the area to the east.

Halbakken is already working to keep current railyards infrastructure projects on schedule. Those include track relocation, which is phase 1 of transit center construction, and construction of bridges to extend Fifth and Sixth streets over the tracks north of H Street.

She's not directly involved, but the city is now gearing up for infrastructure work that will improve highway access to the site and nearby Township 9: a $10 million off-ramp and road expansion and improvement project at the Richards Boulevard interchange at Interstate 5 slated to start next week.

Off ramps will each gain another lane. Richards Boulevard will be expanded with two more lanes in the interchange. Other improvements will be made to Richards Boulevard, Jibboom Street and Bercut Drive, which will be extended into the railyards site.

Bike lanes, sidewalks and planter strips will be added to Jibboom Street and Bercut Drive. The work on the I-5/Richards to Railyards Access Improvements project is expected to be done in the fall of 2012 and will prepare the area for the first phase or two of railyards and Township 9 development.

Tucker said in 10 to 20 years, the intersection will be redesigned to accommodate more traffic.

Halbakken is also starting preliminary planning for other aspects of the railyards project that are at least five years away, such as the transit center's second phase – improvements to the adjacent historic Sacramento Valley Station train depot.

City officials are still trying to determine the impact California's new state budget may have on the railyards finance plan, Tucker added.

The budget may cause an $80 million funding gap for the railyards' planned $745 million in infrastructure if redevelopment agencies are no longer allowed to keep tax increments – the extra property tax revenue generated by development of the site, Halbakken said.

The Sacramento native worked as an engineer managing and designing facilities and high-level engineering projects with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers until joining the city’s Department of Public Works in 1986.

She said she feels lucky to work on a legacy project that will lay the groundwork for the growth of her hometown's central business district in years to come.

"I think this is really important to the city," she said. "One of the reasons I left the federal government was to work for the city where I was born and raised – and to give back."

Suzanne Hurt is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow her on Twitter @SuzanneHurt.

City Council supports safe routes to school

2011-06-16T03:03:03Z

The City Council authorized the transfer of $100,000 of the city’s transportation funds to help support the Robla Elementary Safe Schools Project at a City Council meeting Tuesday to ensure the safety of students using of pedestrian routes in the Robla Elementary District.

The $100,000 is coming from the city’s transportation funding for the Major Streets Improvement project to complete the design phase of the project and cover staff costs.

The Major Streets Improvement Project was implemented “to close gaps in the city’s circulation network, relieve congestion, improve safety and provide for the efficient movement of people, services, and goods,” according to a consent report from the city of Sacramento.

The Robla Elementary Safe Schools Project was given an initial $650,000 from a State Safe Routes to School (SRTS) grant to make school routes safer and accessible for the community as a whole.

Robla School District Superintendent Ruben Reyes said the school, which is located at the northern city limits, lacks much-needed crosswalks, sidewalks and pedestrian accessibility.

“Currently, many streets around our schools do not have sidewalks. Children and parents walking to school must walk in the street, and the situation has long caused concern,” Reyes said.

“This area is on a busy corner. Our district does provide busing, but many families live very close, and walking is more convenient,” he said.

Department of Transportation spokeswoman Linda Tucker said the engineering design phase, which has been under way for the past year, details the layout of the project area, the necessary improvements and any facilities or equipment needed to complete the task.

“(The) total project cost includes the engineering design, purchasing any necessary additional property to add sidewalks, contractors to install concrete sidewalks, curbs and gutters, street markings of the crosswalks, curb ramps, pavement access to trail and overhead flashers,” Tucker said.

The Robla Elementary School District will use the funds of the SRTS grant to add new pedestrian crosswalks at the Rio Linda Boulevard at the Pinedale and Santa Ana intersections, improving access to the Sacramento Northern Bike Trail, and redoing the sidewalk, gutters and curbs in front of the school, according to Tucker.

Many students in the community take the Northern Sacramento Bike Trail, which intersects with Rio Linda Boulevard and leads to Robla Elemenatry School.

Tucker said the safety of the students taking the Rio Linda Boulevard intersection route to get to school is the primary concern, especially in an area that has 10,000 - 12,000 cars going through at the posted 45 mph speed limit.

“The primary concern comes from the high-speed volume of motor vehicle traffic on both Rio Linda and Marysville boulevards,” Tucker said. “Coupled with the narrow roadway widths without curbs, gutters and sidewalks throughout the area, students walking and bicycling to school have a high degree of exposure to motor vehicles.”

Reyes said the city, who applied for the grant, has been working collaboratively with the Robla School District to make the safety of students a high priority.

He said the engineers often meet with Robla School District staff for input and suggestions in the design of the project.

Reyes said he sees this as a positive project in the community and is grateful to the city staff for their work in helping make traveling to school safer for the students in the community.

Not only will it be more safe, but Tucker said more alternatives and access will encourage more students and parents to walk or bike, which overall is better for their health and the environment.

“A sidewalk adjacent to the street is something many communities take for granted,” Reyes said.

“We are in a part of the city where many neighborhoods were built without sidewalks. This may have been allowable at some point, but now it is an unsafe situation that the city of Sacramento is working to remedy,” he added.

Tucker said final design will be completed by the end of June. The project as a whole is set to be completed at the end of October.

Why did I get a parking ticket? New photo ticketing technology has the answer.

2011-05-20T23:38:08Z

Parking enforcement officers will now be taking pictures of parking infractions to answer the common question, “why did I get a ticket?” according to the city’s Department of Transportation spokeswoman Linda Tucker.

“We get a lot of calls every day and inquiries in our office, as well as people coming down to City Hall asking about why they got a ticket and wondering how they can contest the ticket,” Tucker said.

“We wanted to address those questions and concerns and be able to put that information online.”

The handheld ticketing device that the 50 state-employed parking enforcement officers currently use are also capable of taking pictures. With the help of a third party vendor in charge of the database of citations and internal IT support, the Department of Transportation was able to implement this new technology, and it won’t cost the city a penny.

“Putting a new computer service online is going to be a win-win for the city which is financially strapped right now and has fewer people to answer phone calls and inquiries,” Tucker said.

“Basically this allows those citizens and the revenue staff to make better use of everyone’s time by being able to access these options online,” she added.

Tucker said the officers will simply take a picture of the vehicle and license plate. If the ticket is for an expired meter, they will take a picture of the car in violation next to the expired meter. If the violation was for a pay-and-display sticker, the officer will take a picture of the car with the expired sticker and a timestamp will appear on the picture taken by a parking enforcement officer.

Mike Moore, 54, said he hasn’t had a parking ticket in years. His past tickets have been because expired time or not having paid a parking meter.

“I don’t have to park downtown very often, so I don’t have to deal with it that much.” Moore said. “I think it may be a little bit of an infringement on your privacy, but it’s definitely a deterrent for parking tickets though.”

The photos will be uploaded to www.sacpark.org by a staff member within 24 - 36 hours of when the ticket was issued. Those ticketed will be asked to enter their citation number and vehicle identification number. All necessary forms for payment options and ticket contesting can also be found on the website. No one else will be able to access the photo except the driver ticketed.

Twelve percent of the 225,000 tickets that are issued each year are contested, which equates to over 20,000 tickets, according to Tucker. And over 20,000 phone calls.

“We’ve always gone by the rule of thumb that we give the driver the benefit of the doubt, especially if the driver has not had a parking ticket ever in the city of Sacramento,” Tucker said.

“I would expect that if people see the picture that they would choose to go ahead, pay it, and be done with it.”

Xiong Her, 34, said he has never had a parking ticket, and he often relies on his monthly parking pass to insure that he does not get a ticket. He feels that the new ticketing policy is a good idea for the city.

“I think that’s a fine idea because there’s a lot of people that know they’re guilty and try to fight the charges just because.” Her said. “I think there’s going to be a lot more tickets. You can’t really disprove the photos.”

Tucker said she hopes that this will not only lower the amount of phone calls, ticket contesting, and time, but also lower the amount of tickets in general. Sacramento is one of 10 California cities to implement this new ticketing technology.

“I think it’s important for people to know that it’s not going to cost the city anything to implement this,” Tucker said. “It’s practically, with the exception of staff time, a no-cost upgrade to a service that I think will prove to be valuable for drivers to have, and convenient.”

Parking enforcement officers began using the new photo ticketing technology May 17th, according to Tucker. For more information about parking and the new ticketing procedure visit www.sacpark.org.

Cars on K project drives forward

2011-04-21T01:07:23Z

City staffers are moving forward on the project to bring cars to K Street, saying Wednesday that the street will see its final days as a pedestrian mall in the fall.

Nader Kamal, a senior projects manager for the city, said the street may be ready for cars by November. People will be able to drive between Eighth and 12th streets once the project is complete.

Cars have been barred from K Street since the 1960s, when the city turned it into a pedestrian mall.

“It seemed to be the trend at that time,” city Transportation Department spokeswoman Linda Tucker said, referring to pedestrian malls.

Thursday, the Law and Legislation Committee — composed of four City Council members – will examine updates to an ordinance on pedestrian malls. The ordinance updates, which would allow cars on K Street, are technical changes. The updates will need to be approved later by the full City Council. The City Council decided last year to dedicate $2.7 million to prepare K Street for cars.

Kamal said construction on K is scheduled to begin in July. The construction work will include installing a new traffic signal at 11th and K streets, changing the existing traffic signals on the street and putting in stripes for two-way lanes.

City officials and the downtown business community have said that cars on K will help attract customers to shops on that street.

The increased traffic from cars “will create just a little more visibility on K Street,” said Denise Malvetti, a senior project manager for the city.

Vehicles will also make people feel safer on K Street because the cars will bring activity to the street, she said.

But Sacramento resident Linda Moss, 63, had a different view of cars on that street. “It’s pollution,” she said, while walking from K Street to a bus stop Wednesday.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Alkali Flat could get historic street lights

2011-03-04T06:57:11Z

Alkali Flat may get new streetlights, which city officials say will make the area more pedestrian-friendly.

“The project will replace the masthead lights that are intended to illuminate the roadway with 220 historic-looking acorn-style streetlights you see around downtown that are intended to better illuminate the sidewalk,” Sacramento Department of Transportation spokeswoman Linda Tucker said in an e-mail.

Lighting was something area residents have wanted for a long time, according to City Councilwoman Angelique Ashby, whose district includes the neighborhood.

“Much longer than I have been here, the Alkali Flat community has advocated for lighting,” said Ashby, who took office last November. “They wanted historic lighting because it’s the oldest neighborhood in the city.”

The project is still in its infancy, not having passed the design phase, Tucker said.

Due to that, it is too early to say when construction will begin or how much the costs will be.

The design phase is estimated to cost about $130,000 and is being funded by the Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency, Tucker said. The process is expected to be complete in four to six weeks, after which it will go to the City Council for approval.

“Construction could conceivably start mid- to late summer and wrap up early next year,” Tucker said.

Alkali Flat is currently seeing construction of the La Valentina affordable housing project as the city attempts to take an area notorious for drugs and other crime and transform it.

Isaac Ehrlich, whose law firm lies at 12th and D streets in Alkali Flat, said streetlights are a waste of time and money.

“You can’t walk down here in the daytime,” he said. “The thought that it’s going to encourage nighttime promenading down here is absurd.”

Ehrlich said that despite the construction, the area is still blighted with numerous empty storefronts.

“Lights – who needs them?” he asked. “We have more pressing issues down here at nighttime. A light will let them show you the quality of their crack (cocaine).”

He said he would rather see a public restroom to alleviate urination and defecation in the street by homeless people.

Ashby, however, said a restroom would require ongoing operations and maintenance costs, which are not possible with the funds available.

“That’s part of a larger (homelessness) issue in the city,” she said. “Alkali Flat is heavily impacted by that.”

Ashby added that in three community forums she held between last June and last November, Alkali Flat residents asked for two things above all others: lighting and heightened police presence, specifically bicycle and foot patrols.

“That’s something I want to work toward,” she said.

In the meantime, the lights are a step toward improving the neighborhood she said she is looking forward to making.

“I’m really excited about being able to help them get this,” she said. “I’m hopeful that the lights will give some safety and improve the appearance of the area.”

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

City economic workshop, public welcome

2011-01-25T01:29:19Z

The Sacramento City Council will gather Tuesday afternoon to brainstorm ways City Hall can help the city’s financial recovery.

Joann Cummins, district director for City Councilwoman Sandy Sheedy, said Interim City Manager Gus Vina has worked on the economic recovery plan that will be outlined at Tuesday’s workshop.

“It’s basically a blueprint for getting Sacramento on the road to recovery,” Cummins said.

Council members will gather for the economic recovery workshop at 2 p.m. at the Sacramento Library Galleria, located at 828 I St. The meeting is open to the public.

City spokeswoman Linda Tucker said Vina’s economic recovery plan includes goals for economic recovery and prosperity; handling the city’s assets; livability in the city; public safety; and attaining a sound budget and keeping it that way.

Vina said earlier this month that he aimed to connect the City Council’s priorities with the economic recovery workshop.

Council members discussed their priorities at a meeting earlier this month. Some of the priorities that council members expressed were jobs, city services and the city’s budget.

The City Council will hold its regular Tuesday night City Council meeting starting at 6 p.m. at City Hall, 915 I St.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Fifth and Sixth street bridges nearing completion

2010-12-03T01:11:27Z

The two city-funded bridges under construction in the railyards are scheduled to be completed next month.

The bridges will make Fifth and Sixth streets continuous where they are currently cut off by the railyards just east of the Amtrak station downtown.

“The bridges will be for both vehicle traffic and pedestrians,” said Linda Tucker, spokeswoman for the Sacramento Department of Transportation.

The transition of much of the railyards property from Thomas Enterprises to Inland American Real Estate Trust, Inc. following Thomas Enterprises’ defaulting on loans will not affect the bridge construction, since they are on city-owned land, according to Tucker.

When it comes to the track realignment necessary for trains to be able to pass under the bridges, there are still some possible kinks to work out.

“We are continuing to work out with Inland the transfer of agreements,” Tucker said. “My understanding is that we will be doing some joint announcements in a couple of weeks just to update the community on what’s been worked out.”

The $9 million bridge project is fully funded, as is the estimated $50 million track realignment.

The track realignment project will be opened for bidding in January, Tucker said.

“We are looking forward to moving ahead,” she said. “It’s been a bit exhausting going through the transition, and I think everyone – City Hall as well as the community – is looking forward to seeing more work going on out there.”

The blue square on the map above shows the Fifth and Sixth street bridges. The red square is intersection of F and Seventh streets for reference.

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Cracks in the system

2010-09-16T23:08:41Z

Marshall Park neighborhood resident Alfred Alvarez was notified by the city of Sacramento’s Department of Transportation that he would be required to make repairs to sidewalks bordering two of his lots on F and 28th streets.

Since 2005, Alvarez and city inspectors have disagreed about what can be labelled as a defective or hazardous sidewalk.

Alvarez’ sidewalks have been assessed as needing repairs costing nearly $10,000, which under Sacramento’s city code would require him, the owner, to pay for the cost of all repairs as well as administrative and inspection costs required by the city. In response to these estimates, Alvarez stated that repairs would be made “over my dead body.”

This issue goes back to December 2005, when Alvarez was given his first notice to repair his sidewalks. He repaired them himself by grinding down uneven spots and resurfaced them for the sake of visual continuity. However, after reinspection, the city deemed his repairs unsuitable and required that complete removal of defective squares in his sidewalks would be necessary.

Department of Transportation spokeswoman Linda Tucker said sidewalk repairs are made on a complaint basis and are done to protect the public as well as the homeowner.

“It’s a liability issue to the homeowner,” Tucker said.

In attempt to resolve issues with Alvarez, Tucker said the city has met with him “multiple times over the last five years.”

Alvarez’ said his refusal to repair his sidewalks is not based on a lack of concern for the general public. Rather, he is bothered by the way in which the city requires many residents to pay for the costs of these repairs on credit.

“When I have the money to repair the sidewalks, I’ll complete them in the correct manner,” Alvarez said.

In some cases, homeowners have liens put on their properties in order to ensure repayment of services provided by the city.

“Citizens should not be demanded to pay for things on credit,” Alvarez said. “That’s what got us in this financial crisis in the first place.”

In an e-mailed response, Tucker stated that the city has “about 1,800 sidewalk repair jobs every year.” And of those jobs, only “five to eight bills per year go to a lien against the property.”

Tucker also said owners’ properties go to a lien when, after meeting with them personally, they remain resistant to make payments that will work things out.

Alvarez said he thought the 2005 issue had been dropped until new notices were placed on his door, even after he had repaired the sidewalks up to standards he thought would be code-worthy.

“Everything is cosmetic,” Alvarez said as he assessed the conditions of newly replaced sidewalks in his neighborhood, some of which already show signs of cracking and deterioration.

Tucker said that out of the thousands of repairs made every year, the best way to make sure the job is done correctly, and to code, is to hire a city contractor to do the work.

“We typically give homeowners 60, sometimes 90 days, before we start work,” Tucker said.

In Alvarez’ case, he was given his first notice five years ago and has yet to meet the requirements of the city. His delay in making city-approved repairs comes in part because of his difference in opinion of what the city’s priorities should be.

“It’s more important that the city fixes sidewalks where children and senior citizens walk, like around Marshall School and senior care homes,” Alvarez said.

Under city code, if Alvarez fails to make the repairs required by the notice or fails to respond and execute the agreement, the city will make the required repairs, and the cost would be a lien on the lot or lots of the owner fronting the defective sidewalk.

Tucker expressed the city’s desire to see the issue peacefully resolved.

Alvarez, on the other hand, remains determined to make a statement and said he hopes his protest will cause bureaucratic changes to be made in the city.

“I’m only fighting cosmetic and safety issues,” Alvarez said. “There should be a distinct division.”

City Council passes Local 39 contract

2010-09-08T02:54:57Z

The Sacramento City Council approved a two-year labor contract with city union Stationary Engineers Local 39 that saved about 80 positions. Since the city came up about $1.2 million short in its negotiations with Local 39, council members decided Tuesday night to move that amount from a parking fund to the general fund.

The city’s transportation department spokeswoman, Linda Tucker, explained in an e-mail last week that the city’s parking fund is designed to pay for new parking garages.

“Given the downturn in development and no urgent need to build new garages, we are using about $1.2 million one-time dollars from the fund to cover the gap between what the city expected to receive in wage concessions to balance the budget and what was ultimately agreed to by Local 39,” Tucker wrote.

The two-year contract deal with Local 39 saves the city about $7.6 million in general fund dollars, according to a Sept. 7 report that Human Resources Director Geri Hamby addressed to the City Council.

Local 39 has 1,600 full-time city employee members who work in a range of fields including the solid waste division, code enforcement and animal care, according to Joan Bryant, director of public employees for the union.

Employees represented by the union can only be laid off in fiscal year 2010/2011 if the City Council determines that a fiscal emergency is taking place in the Utilities Department, Bryant said.

As part of the contract, Local 39 employees will take furlough days in fiscal year 2011 that amount to 88 hours per employee. In the 2012 fiscal year, the employees must be furloughed for 96 hours.

The contract also blocks employee raises for two years, according to Interim City Manager Gus Vina.

Photo by Brandon Darnell

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Union members pass contract to save at least 80 jobs

2010-08-31T01:10:13Z

At least 80 city employee jobs were saved after the members of the city union Stationary Engineers Local 39 approved a contract with city officials.

City employees passed the contract earlier this month, according to an Aug. 23 e-mail that Interim City Manager Gus Vina sent to city staff and the City Council. Local 39 leaders and city officials negotiated a deal Aug. 6, but the union’s members had not voted on the contract at that time.

The union represents 1,600 full-time city workers, according to Joan Bryant, director of public employees for Local 39. These city employees hold jobs in several areas that include code enforcement, animal care and the solid waste division.

The contract includes a monthly furlough day throughout the two-year period, according to Transportation Department spokeswoman Linda Tucker.

Every employee covered by the contract will have 40 hours of personal leave each year for two years, according to Bryant.

Local 39 employees can only be laid off in fiscal year 2011 if the City Council finds that the Utilities Department is facing a fiscal emergency, Bryant said.

Vina said the contract also puts employees’ salaries on hold for two years.

The City Council is expected to formally approve the contract’s terms on Sept. 7.

Photo by Brandon Darnell.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Streetcar plan explained

2010-07-30T21:32:24Z

A study to map out a streetcar route linking Sacramento to West Sacramento is expected to start this fall, according to city Transportation Department spokeswoman Linda Tucker.

More than $400,000 in funding has been set aside for the study -- $310,000 from federal grant funds obtained earlier this year and $90,000 from local transportation funds, said Azadeh Doherty, a principal planner in the department.

The current plan for the streetcar includes a path in West Sacramento, but does not lay out a route in Sacramento. Under the most recent plan, the streetcar would run from West Sacramento City Hall, across Tower Bridge and stop in Old Sacramento at the foot of the bridge.

The city will consider ideas for a route in Sacramento in the upcoming study.

Tucker provided more detail about the study Wednesday in an e-mail to The Sacramento Press.

The Sacramento Press: Who will conduct this study?

Tucker: The City will conduct the study to explore the best route to serve the most riders on the Sacramento side of the river.

City staff from (the) Department of Transportation and the Economic Development department will co-manage the project with the help of a consultant team. We will post a Request for Qualifications for a consultant sometime in August/September. The study should get going this fall.

SP: Will the public and stakeholders be able to influence this study?

Tucker: Absolutely, there will be opportunities for public input through public meetings and a stakeholder advisory group of Sacramento stakeholders and residents. Key stakeholders are Sacramento Area Council of Governments (SACOG), developers, business owners and advocacy groups such as the Downtown Sacramento Partnership, Chambers of Commerce on both sides of the river, Regional Transit (which will operate the streetcar), public transit riders, bicycle and walking advocates and Old Sacramento, to name a few.

We’re looking forward to getting started to have the public and experts weigh in. The study will be a companion to our previous studies: the Bikeway Master Plan, Parking Master Plan, Pedestrian Master Plan, General Plan, Regional Transit Master Plan, Township 9 and Railyards.

Once the streetcar study is completed, we will be able to do a comprehensive downtown circulation study next summer that will integrate all that was documented during these other studies completed in recent years.

SP: How will Caltrans be involved in the study?

Tucker: They are a stakeholder as they own the Tower Bridge, which will be the streetcar crossing. However, we do not expect they would have an inordinate amount of involvement merely because the funds passed through them from SACOG to us.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Streetcar hits roadblock

2010-07-13T03:29:57Z

Plans to set up a streetcar to connect the cities of Sacramento and West Sacramento have hit a roadblock. At the same time, the streetcar project is still on the agenda of both cities.

The federal transportation department bypassed the Sacramento/West Sacramento streetcar project last week when it chose projects for federal grant funding.

Instead, the federal government decided to award funding to cities in Texas, Illinois, Missouri, North Carolina and Ohio, according to a press release from the U.S. Department of Transportation.

West Sacramento Mayor Christopher Cabaldon said on Monday that he would like the project to compete for federal funds again if President Barack Obama’s Administration offers another grant program.

“We’re going to get it done,” Cabaldon said, expressing optimism about the project’s future. “It’s one of those things that’s kind of captured the imagination in the urban core.”

Meanwhile, Sacramento City Councilman Steve Cohn said the streetcar will not be running anytime in the near future. One of the weaknesses of the streetcar plan rebuffed by the federal government was that it didn’t have a route for the city of Sacramento, Cohn said. Under the old funding plan, the streetcar would have connected part of West Sacramento to Old Sacramento, but would not have gone further than that.

The city of Sacramento has not yet planned Sacramento’s streetcar route. Cohn said the city needs to spend time to decide where the route will go.

While there isn’t money available right now to put the streetcar on the street, there is funding for planning, according to city Transportation Department spokeswoman Linda Tucker.

Funding for streetcar planning will be on the City Council’s July 27 agenda, she said.

A pot of $310,000 in federal funds and $90,000 in local dollars is available for streetcar planning, she noted.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Midtown's residential parking permits to be mailed out by Friday

2010-06-01T23:49:06Z

The City of Sacramento's Parking Division and Revenue Division would like to share an update about expired residential parking permits.

The City is in the process of renewing over 700 residential parking permits for the "K" parking area in Midtown. The current permits expired on May 31. Renewal permits are expected to be mailed out by Friday, June 4.

Residents should continue to display their current permit until they receive the renewed permit. Specifically in the K residential parking area (designated by signage and located in Midtown), parking citations will not be issued for expired permits until after June 20, to allow enough time for permits to be received and displayed. If residents have not received a renewed "K" permit by June 14, they should contact the City's Revenue Division at (916) 808-8555.

Linda Tucker is the Public Information Officer for the City of Sacramento, Department of Transportation.

K Street Mall ready for bicyclists

2010-04-15T04:40:47Z

From now on, Doug Koleada will be a law-abiding citizen when he rides his bicycle on the K Street Mall.

The city of Sacramento has installed new signs on K Street that list rules for bike riding. Cycling can now commence legally on the Mall from Seventh to 13th Streets and in the tunnel between Second and Fourth Streets.

Koleada was riding his bike near the Westfield Downtown Plaza Wednesday afternoon. He readily admitted to biking on K Street in the evenings; his nighttime rides will now be perfectly legal.

The Pyramid Alehouse Brewery employee said he knew about the city’s former ban on bicycling on K Street Mall, so he didn’t bike there when police officers were in sight.

Koleada also didn’t bike when children were walking on the Mall. “If some idiot’s speeding on their bike, it could lead to an ugly accident (with a child),” he said.

The new signs were ready for the public Wednesday, according to Linda Tucker, spokeswoman for the city’s Department of Transportation.

Tucker noted that cyclists will still need to walk their bikes through the Westfield Downtown Plaza.

The City Council unanimously voted on Nov. 24 to let bicyclists ride on K Street Mall. Installing the signage was the last step in the city's process of legalizing bikes on the Mall.

The speed limit for bicyclists on the K Street Mall is 10 miles per hour.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Agencies plan RR track mitigation

2009-09-17T01:07:56Z

Concerns about historic Southern Pacific railroad shops and other archaeological resources delayed the environmental review process for the future regional transportation center proposed for the Railyards.

A complicated review process also caused delays as federal, state and city planners worked out plans to mitigate environmental and other impacts expected from the future depot, which will connect with the historic Sacramento Valley Station.

Under the National Environmental Protection Act, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) conducted a review of the city's proposal to prevent or offset impacts to wildlife, air and water quality, historic buildings, building occupants and train passengers during construction and operation of the new depot and relocated train tracks. The environmental assessment was approved Aug. 31.

Federal agencies conducted concurrent reviews of the environmental assessment, so the process took less time than it would have in the past, according to the FHWA. The process took more than a year, compared to the average three to five years a linear review usually takes.

Still, the number of agencies involved, the lack of experience some agencies have with environmental reviews and the fact that conducting concurrent environmental reviews is a new procedure postponed a decision the city expected months ago, said Ellie Buford, the city's principal planner for the environmental review of Sacramento's intermodal facility.

"Last-minute" concerns arose over potential impacts to the built environment's historic properties, archaeological resources which are listed or eligible to be listed with the National Register of Historic Places, she said.

Those properties are the Central Shops Historic District, which dates back as far as 1868; the Sixth Street levee, built from 1852 to 1880; the Sacramento Southern Pacific Railroad Station District, built in 1925; and the Southern Pacific Railroad Depot, a national landmark now known as Sacramento Valley Station, built in 1925.

The train tracks will be moved closer to the Central Shops. The future depot will be located between the Central Shops and the Sacramento Valley Station.

The agencies involved want to make sure the four historic properties are protected, according to the FHWA. In the last stage of the review process, a document was added that spells out additional ways these resources will be protected.

According to the new document, known as the Intermodal Built Environment Treatment Plan, the city must assess the current condition of historic properties and monitor the foundation of the historic central railroad shops during construction and operation of the train tracks and depot for vibration and stability. The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) must determine the protective measures required for each phase of the intermodal project.

A detection of harmful vibrations could lead to a stop in construction and the need to use alternative construction methods, as well as reinforce the buildings, Buford said.

The worst-scenario is that vibrational impacts from driving pilings into the ground and other construction could cause the shops to fall down, said Deputy State Historic Preservation Officer Stephen Mikesell, who has been heavily involved in the environmental review on behalf of the California Office of Historic Preservation.

While that is "highly unlikely," the possibility has led to the need for monitoring, he said.

Geotechnical studies indicated that no structural damage would occur from the construction or operation of the tracks, Buford said.

The state Office of Historic Preservation signed off on the environmental assessment with full confidence, Mikesell said.

"I feel pretty good that the resources are pretty well-protected," he said. "We're confident the city is prepared to do the right thing."

The document spells out the city's right to enter the Central Shops, which are privately owned by Railyards developer Thomas Enterprises, to conduct the monitoring. That agreement had to be worked out in recognition of the public-private partnership which is simultaneously developing the Railyards and adjacent depot, which is integral to design plans for the Railyards.

In addition, the document requires the city to hire a qualified consultant to prepare historic structure reports for each of the properties, in accordance with Historic American Building Survey/Historic American Engineering Record standards.

If the finding must be registered with the Library of Congress, the FHWA must ensure the Caltrans contacts the National Park Service (NPS) to determine the documentation needed for each resource, according to the document. Then, Caltrans must get NPS approval of at least documentary photographs before any construction can begin that would impact a historic property.

Otherwise, appropriate documentation must be determined by the California State Parks Office of Historic Preservation and Caltrans. The document also requires the city to prepare archival copies of the documentation for federal or state repositories.

The Sixth Street levee is important because it represents three distinct episodes in levee construction, which document residents' struggle with decades of flooding by the American and Sacramento rivers. The levee preserves the technological responses used at the time and may contain artifacts. Settlers built the levee, one of the city's first, using anything they had. Specialists will have to go through a section of it to see if pottery or any other archaeologically valuable items were used, Buford said.

The Native American Heritage Commission told the city its Sacred Lands File contains no record of native American cultural resources in the project area. Four native Americans and a group representing native Americans didn't respond to the city's requests for information about whether the site was believed to contain artifacts or significance.

In the document, standard mitigation measures were outlined to protect the endangered Swainson’s hawk and Valley Elderberry Longhorn beetle, as well as bats and purple martins identified as species of concern, or their habitat.

Elderberry bushes provide critical habitat for the beetle. Three elderberry bushes within 20 feet of existing tracks must be moved to a nature preserve or mitigation bank to prevent disturbance from heavy construction equipment. The other bush, which is more than 20 feet from the site of the future tracks, can be fenced.

A survey will be conducted to determine if Swainson's hawks are nesting in trees during their February to September breeding season. If so, heavy construction equipment won't be used within 2,000 yards, according to Buford.

Purple martins have been nesting under a ramp from the I Street bridge. Biologists have recommended planting pine trees to offset the loss of disturbed nesting space under the ramp, erecting permanent perching wires to offset other utility wires that are coming down and other measures that would protect nesting materials and flight. Biologists also may build bird houses for the species, she said.

Biologists must update information about bats, which include the pallid and Pacific Western big-eared bats. Intermittent roosting but no nesting was observed under I-5 and the I Street ramp. Mitigation measures will be determined based on what a new study finds, she said.

Photos by David Watts Barton. Suzanne Hurt is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

New depot gets environmental OK

2009-09-16T02:49:20Z

Sacramento's future regional transportation center has gotten a green light to move on to its final design phase after clearing a federal environmental hurdle, months later than expected.

The U.S. Department of Transportation's Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) on Friday confirmed the city's proposed "intermodal facility" has made it through the federal environmental review process required due to federal funding for the project. Approval was delayed due to the complicated review process and concerns about the impact on historic Southern Pacific railroad shops and other historic properties.

Federal transportation officials, along with other federal and state agency staff, have determined the new depot will not have significant impact on the environment as long as proposed mitigation measures are followed.

The FHWA signed off on the project's environmental assessment by issuing a "finding of no significant impact," or FONSI, for the first two phases of the transportation center, an expansion of the historic Sacramento Valley Station into the 244-acre Railyards development site. The FHWA actually signed off on the FONSI Aug. 31 and then notified the city of Sacramento, the lead agency on the project.

This environmental approval allows the city to submit construction authorizations for phases 1 and 2 to the California Department of Transportation by Dec. 1. Meeting that deadline ensures the project will still get $20 million in stimulus funding for the $56 million track relocation.

"It's a very important milestone for our project," said Hinda Chandler, project manager and a senior architect with the city's Department of Transportation.

Construction of Railyards infrastructure is expected to start within a month after the California Department of Housing and Community Development agreed to begin doling out $47 million in Prop. 1C money awarded in June 2008 to Railyards developer Thomas Enterprises. Following a six-week hiatus, the company will begin building the bridge at Fifth and H streets to extend Fifth Street into the Railyards.

The environmental approval allows the city to get easements and permits for utility relocation and to initiate final design work, in order to show by Dec. 1 that the city is ready to begin construction. The city had expected to get FHWA's approval on the environmental review process months ago, according to Chandler and Linda Tucker, spokesperson for the city's transportation department.

While construction had initially been anticipated for this fall, the delay put off construction for Phase 1 — track relocation — until March 2010, due to the lengthy bidding process that must now be held. Construction of Phase 2 — $30 million in expansions and improvements to the existing depot at Fifth and I streets — is expected to begin once track relocation is complete.

The expansion is expected to equip Sacramento to meet regional transportation needs for freight trains, service operators and passengers until at least 2025.

Sacramento Valley Station sits on a major national trade route called the Central Corridor, whose western junction is the high-volume Port of Oakland. The volume of imports and exports handled by the port via Sacramento has outgrown the 1925 station's current track setup, where freight and passenger trains share three tracks.

This has created a bottleneck for freight trains. As freight rail tonnage is expected to double by 2025, the situation would only get worse, and the Port of Oakland would be unable to handle growing trade.

Building tracks devoted to freight is expected to eliminate the bottleneck and enable a higher volume of freight trains to move more quickly through Sacramento, Tucker said.

In addition, Sacramento's station has not been able to keep up with the increasing number of train passengers. The station is already California's second-busiest train depot and the seventh busiest in the country, with 1.5 million train users each year and a roughly estimated 200,000 others using light rail, taxis, and local and Amtrak buses.

Cities are finding that downtown train stations are easier to access than airports outside cities. Train travel is becoming more popular after a decline that lasted 50 years, Chandler said.

Ridership is especially growing between Sacramento and the Bay Area. Expanding the transportation center to include a bigger, modern terminal and more space for trains, buses and other transportation is expected to draw up to 7.5 million users by 2025, and as many as 15 million if high-speed rail is added, Chandler said.

The station has eight Amtrak bus bays. The new regional center is expected to include 24 local bus bays and 11 for Amtrak and Greyhound buses, plus room for high-speed rail if needed.

In June, the Sacramento City Council voted against its 2007 decision to move the existing station 300 feet north, next to relocated train tracks. Councilmembers changed their minds after discovering an unnecessary station relocation would make the city ineligible to get federal funding for up to 80 percent of the project.

A California Environmental Quality Act review was conducted previously. Under the National Environmental Protection Act, an environmental review must be conducted by the lead federal agency when a project is getting federal funding. The new transportation center will get money from federal highway, transit and railroad programs through the U.S. Department of Transportation.

The FHWA and other agencies have been carefully reviewing the city’s proposal for more than a year. The other agencies include the California Department of Transportation, the state Office of Historic Preservation, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), the Federal Transit Administration and their state equivalents.

"It's a pretty good-sized project," said FHWA spokesperson Doug Hecox. "It's something we (took) great pains to be careful about."

The agencies worked quickly to make sure the project wouldn't lose the stimulus funding in what FRA spokesperson Warren Flatau described as "choreographed bureaucratic collaboration."

"Everyone (was) committed to doing this in record time," he said.

To expedite the project, the agencies conducted concurrent reviews — a relatively new practice. Until two or three years ago, federal environmental reviews took an average of three to five years, and sometimes up to eight, while each agency took its turn reviewing the environmental assessment document, according to the FHWA.

An environmental review for Phase 3, estimated to cost $252 million, must be done at a later date because the design for that phase is still only conceptual, Chandler said.

That phase could involve major renovation of the historic station building. Phase 3 isn't funded and may not happen for many years, said Deputy State Historic Preservation Officer Stephen Mikesell, who has been heavily involved in the environmental review on behalf of the California Office of Historic Preservation.

A combination of federal, state and local funding is being used to finance the entire project. Last year, the project was awarded another $20 million in trade corridor funds under state Proposition 1B to fund track construction that will eliminate the bottleneck.

The city expects the state to issue bonds and award that funding within six months. If the state is no longer able to provide that funding, the city is confident the funds can be found elsehwere, Tucker said.

The city applied for $6 million more for Phase 1 in August, and on Tuesday, expects to submit an application for $30 million more, mostly for Phase 2.

An engineering consultant is designing the relocation of freight and passenger tracks, which will be moved north by 300 feet at the closest point and 500 feet at the farthest. The tracks will be straightened to allow long platforms and thus, longer trains.

Tracks will no longer be shared upon completion of this project. Four passenger tracks, two passenger platforms and at least two freight tracks will be built. The new configuration should increase passenger safety while no longer requiring freight trains to slow down as much. The tracks and new, longer platforms will allow more and longer trains, Tucker said.

Relocation of the tracks should take about a year. Tracks and signals will then be tested for three to four months. The new tracks are expected to be operating by mid-2011, Chandler said.

The historic rail station became a government facility in 2006, when the city bought that and nine acres of land from Thomas Enterprises. Amtrak leased the station from Union Pacific prior to the developer's purchase of the site.

The city is in arbitration with Thomas Enterprises as the two sides try to agree on the value and price for another 24 acres that the city has an option to buy, Chandler said. Negotiations aren't holding up track relocation.

The existing station will continue to be used as the depot during construction of the first two phases. Improvements to the historic station will include restoring an entrance at Fourth and I streets, which will highlight the station's architecture and allow passengers to enter from the front.

Once the larger facility is built to the north across the tracks, the historic depot will be used as a gateway to the new depot and as one location for baggage and ticketing.

"We feel it'll be a seamless blend of old and new," Chandler said.

However, the long-term use of the existing depot hasn't been settled. That could continue to be used as part of the depot or for an unrelated purpose, Mikesell said.

Photos by Eric Whalen. Suzanne Hurt is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Sac parking rates and fines rise

2009-08-13T03:46:10Z

$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, 2008, by a modest $5, first time in at least three years,” Tucker said. “But this year, we had to increase penalties by $9.50 to pass through the fees already collected by Sacramento County and the state for the court system. We do not keep any of this portion of the fee.”

“I know to the citizens it means more money, and it’s out of the pocket,” Tucker said.

I had a recent personal experience with the city’s nighttime parking enforcement. I don't consider myself much of a scofflaw. But last Friday night, I parked on Dolores Way in East Sacramento at 10 p.m. in an area with a sign that banned parking at any time except with a permit. I parked long enough to purchase and eat a frozen yogurt at Big Spoon on J Street.

I didn’t think anyone would be enforcing parking violations at 10 p.m. on a Friday night. I was wrong. When I returned to my car, I was greeted with a $49.50 ticket.

I might have been caught earlier — the city was previously enforcing parking violations from 6 a.m. to midnight — but my hefty ticket proves that the city is working late nights in residential areas.

Residents asked the city for the beefed-up enforcement, Tucker said. In response, the city is now enforcing parking violations in residential areas from 6 a.m. to 2:30 a.m. Wednesday through Sunday.

“We are helping by enforcing near bar areas, restaurant areas and near the hospitals to increase turnover,” she said.

The city has also stepped-up daily and monthly parking rates at some locations for various reasons. Tucker points out that the raised rates are in effect at the Sacramento Valley Station, as well as City Hall Garage and Lot X adjacent to Crocker Art Museum. “Of the total 15 city-owned garages and seven parking lots, we’ve raised rates at two, in addition to the depot lots,” she said.

The new Citizen Hotel changed things at the downtown parking garage nearby. “City Hall Garage’s monthly rate went from $155 to $185 in January as a result of supply and demand after the new Citizen Hotel opened,” Tucker said.

Daily rates at Lot X climbed to $10 from $8. The rate increase intends to “open up more lots for short-term parkers,” Tucker said.

At the Sacramento Valley Station, daily rates at the central lot have risen. “We estimated when we took over the parking lot in December 2006, that in three years we would be at the point where we would need to raise rates,” Tucker said. “When garages and lots get to a certain level of occupancy, we need to consider raising the rates to promote turnover. The daily rate at the main, most convenient lot at the depot needed to be raised to $9 from $6.50 effective Aug. 1.”

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.