Dubbed the "Emerald City" by Mayor Kevin Johnson, Sacramento is known as one of the most diverse metropolitan cities in Northern California, fostering an estimated population of 472,178, according to the latest Census data recorded in April 2010. Much like the capitol's reputation to host diversity, in terms of culture, as does our Regional Transit Light Rail system, carrying diverse subcultures as its precious cargo.     Currently, RT Light Rail offers three service lines that travel across the greater Sacramento region. The Gold Line, which services travelers between downtown and historic Folsom, the Blue Line, which services between Watt/I-80 to Meadowview and the more recently i

Traffic backed up early Friday morning near 12th Street following a vehicle vs. Regional Transit light rail train collision that ended without any injuries.   The incident occurred at the intersections of Sproule Avenue and Sunbeam Avenue around 8 a.m.  According to a witnesses nearby, the Subaru was on Sproule Avenue and the driver looked to his right. Another car then came down Sunbeam, and crossed N.12th St. As the Subaru moved, the light rail train broadsided it. A traffic light was destroyed during the collision. The morning commute was backed up until the accident scene was cleared. Editor’s note: The “News Digest” goes out every Tuesday morning and highlights our best stori

  A Sacramento RT light rail train and a vehicle occupied by one person collided near the intersection of 12th Street and D Street around 5 p.m. Saturday. No one was injured. A driver who witnessed the scene unfold said, "The car was coming out of the alley (from the east onto 12th Street) as the train was coming (heading north on 12th). I don't know, she (the driver) just must not have seen the train." The witness was traveling on 12th Street, which travels one-way in a southerly direction. The light rail train was traveling north at about 25 mph after making a scheduled stop in front of La Valentina Apartments, 429 12th St. It traveled approximately one block before the collision oc

A man died from the injurues he sustained after walking in front of an oncoming light rail train at the intersection of R and 14th Streets shortly after 6 p.m on Friday. The cars at the downtown intersection were stopped and the railroad crossing arms were down when the man walked south on the sidewalk on the east side of 14th Street, according to Sacramento Police Sergeant Doug Voska. As he approached the edge of the train tracks, the train operator spotted him and sounded the horn; however, the man continued, finally stopping and freezing in the middle of the tracks, "like a deer caught in the headlights," Voska said. The train then went into emergency breaking, but still hit the p

In what could only be initially described as an experiment, nearly 40 participants gathered at The Urban Hive on Tuesday evening for CivicMeet Sacramento, an event sponsored by civic startup Public Innovation. Breaking into a new space of civic co-creation, five teams developed innovative proposals to address unmet public needs in under 45 minutes. This proof of concept validates the model Public Innovation has adapted from Bay Area efforts such as Code for America and the San Francisco Urban Prototyping Festival, and given the green light to move forward with future projects. The five teams each designed a poster to describe their idea. Their innovations comprised: (1) Humanizing Homel

The Green Line light rail segment's slow start with relatively low ridership, is part of the plan, officials say. Regional Transit’s newest light rail segment has only seen about 150 riders a day, Tony Bizjak reported in Friday’s Sacramento Bee – a low number for a $44 million project that opened with great pomp and circumstance in June. However, Regional Transit Executive Director Michael Wiley disputes those numbers, saying the Green Line has actually been averaging closer to 300 riders per day – and it’s a number he said he’s comfortable with. “Our expectation wasn’t that we were going to achieve really high ridership numbers right off the bat,” Wiley said. “Our plan all along was to

Remember the hoopla when the Green Line was launched? Well, the fireworks have stopped and the speeches are done, and the project seems to have fizzled a bit. As Tony Bizjak reports in the Sacramento Bee, the line doesn’t go far and few people are riding it. As we reported when the Green Line was launched in June, the planned 12.8 mile-long Green Line route will eventually reach through Natomas and out to the airport. It will be years in the making, however, because future project funding is uncertain. The Green Line is funded by a combination of local, state and federal funds that include developer fees, sales tax revenues and federal grants, according to the Regional Transit website. T

Nearly 200 people lined the tracks of the newest light rail station Friday as the inaugural car of the Green Line arrived for a grand opening celebration. The Green Line is a 12.8-mile-long project that will eventually connect downtown Sacramento to South and North Natomas and the Sacramento International Airport. This first phase, which opensed Friday, is a 1.1-mile segment that extends from downtown at the H and Eighth streets station to the the Township 9 station at Seventh Street and Richards Boulevard in the River District. Here is a map of what the proposed route will look like when the Green Line is completed. The Township 9 station station is built on a site that was once the lo

District 5 youth leaders hosted a forum Thursday at Sacramento High School to discuss student concerns about bus transit issues, including frequency of key bus routes during student commute times and improved safety on buses and at bus stops. The students’ concerns stem from a proposed Regional Transit renewal plan which outlines recommended changes to bus and light rail service over the next five years. High school students in the Sacramento City Unified School District do not receive bus service from the district, so they must rely on private transportation, walking, or the Regional Transit system of buses and light rail, Sacramento City Unified School District Superintendent Jonathan

City Council members voted unanimously Tuesday to move forward with a plan to bring a modern, electric version of the single car “trolleys” to connect neighborhoods in the central city and make getting around town easier for residents, workers and visitors. Streetcars were a large part of the Sacramento cityscape between 1870 and 1947. “This plan is not only a transportation enhancement, it is a vital economic development tool that we want to introduce into the city of Sacramento,” Fedolia "Sparky" Harris, senior planner with the Department of Transportation, said Tuesday. Harris said that the purpose of the streetcar plan is to increase travel choices and mobility for short-range trips

It’s as if the ghosts of all those who have traveled through these halls before us can still be heard... I find myself yet again walking through empty rooms that echo not only my footsteps, but the seeming sounds of the past The Sacramento Valley Station finds itself as a hub of transportation for the Sacramento area. Currently serving as an intermodal complex, the facility includes Amtrak, light rail, regional bus services and taxi amenities. The public portions of the building are those that many are familiar with such as the main hall, or passenger waiting area, where customers purchase tickets or pass through to the facilities outside to the north. Outside are the bus berths, passeng

The new cameras that were installed at several Sacramento light rail stations in May have helped prevent crimes and improve passenger safety, according to Doug Voska, a Sergeant with the Sacramento Police Department. “People want to feel safe when they ride transit,” said Voska, who has a contract position with RT. “If they don’t feel safe, they’re not gonna do it.” Because the cameras were primarily funded by the federal Department of Homeland Security, their main focus must be on terrorism prevention. But according to Voska, this has many crossover benefits when it comes to crime prevention and passenger safety. “Even without a uniformed police officer, somebody is keeping an eye on t

Residents will get a chance to see the design of a planned pedestrian and bicycle bridge over the railroad between Curtis Park and Land Park Wednesday night. The city’s project team will give a construction update at the Sierra 2 Center for the Arts and Community, 2791 24th St., at 6 p.m. 6:30 p.m . Wednesday The bridge is designed to give pedestrians and cyclists safe access over the railroad tracks from the light rail stop at Sacramento City College near the intersection of 24th Street and Sutterville Road. “Currently, pedestrians and bicyclists must use Sutterville Road to travel between Curtis Park and the light rail station,” according to a Department of Transportation newsletter.

The 4th Annual Sacramento Homeless Connect event will take place this Saturday, May 21 at Sacramento City College from 10:00 am-3:00 pm. It is hosted by Sacramento Steps Forward, with support from presenting sponsor The Salvation Army. Speakers at the event include Assemblymember Roger Dickinson, Mayor Kevin Johnson and Supervisor Phil Serna. Over 1,000 homeless guests are expected; additionally the event hosts 500 community volunteers and over 60 different service providers. Project Homeless Connect is a national Best Practice model for bringing services directly to homeless folks. Started in San Francisco, it now occurs in over 150 communities across the country. Homeless Connect events

The Sacramento Police Department is almost done installing 13 new surveillance cameras at various public places in the city including at Seventh and K streets and at the Alkali Flat light rail station downtown. The department used a $600,000 federal Homeland Security grant to purchase the 13 new security cameras, three mobile surveillance trailers and tools to preserve surveillance images. Additionally, the department can now use more than 60 Regional Transit security cameras because it spent some of the grant money to link its surveillance system with Regional Transit’s system. Installation of the cameras, which started in February, will be complete by Friday, said Sacramento Police Dep

Sacramento light rail riders will soon have real-time information on train schedules and delays as a new electronic sign program is implemented. In an effort to improve its communication with riders, Sacramento Regional Transit is installing 36 signs at 22 stations in the first phase of a project that will eventually see signs at all stations, said Alane Masui, Sacramento Regional Transit spokeswoman. “They need the information so they can make the decision that best fits their needs,” she said. Signs will inform riders about train delays and scheduling issues, Masui said, adding that the information is currently posted to the website,  but transit officials wanted to make the informati

The Sacramento Planning Commission gave the green light to plans to re-zone parts of North Sacramento to attract future development. The commission made a recommendation, Thursday night, to the City Council to vote on plans that will allow for more commercial development near a Regional Transit line. City staff formally refer to the plans as the Northeast Line Implementation Plan. Areas near a light rail line that has stations at Globe Avenue and Del Paso Blvd, and at Arden Way and Del Paso Blvd, are the focus of the proposals. The city’s plans also cite areas around Royal Oaks Drive and Arden Way. The City Council is expected to vote on the plans next month. The commissioners approved

Developers are promising to bring new life to a blighted section of Alkali Flat following the groundbreaking ceremony Thursday for 81 units of affordable housing adjacent to the Alkali Flat/La Valentina light rail station. The site on the corner of 12th and D streets has been vacant for more than 20 years and previously housed an auto repair shop. The new construction will include 63 apartments and 18 townhouses, the latter being the first “Net Zero” site designed for Sacramento, meaning all energy consumed on the site will be produced there. “We’re here to bring, I think, the most contemporary, most cutting-edge design that we could bring to one of the oldest residential neighborhoods

New Sacramento City Councilwoman Angelique Ashby hosted a driving tour of North and South Natomas and the Gardenland/Northgate neighborhood for The Sacramento Press on Monday. Throughout the tour, Ashby commented on a range of issues affecting Natomas, including plans for a new basketball arena and her views on the city’s low-income housing ordinance. Ashby’s district includes the downtown Railyards and Natomas — two spots discussed in recent months as potential homes for a new arena. As she drove by Arco Arena, she said she wants to ensure that site in Natomas is factored into any development plans for a new sports and entertainment complex. “But if the consensus is that if an arena bes

The good news is more and more people at Sacramento State are using alternative transportation and parking as they should. The bad news is revenue from parking citations has been down, and that may lead to changes to the university’s Hornet Shuttle program. The University of Transportation and Parking Services, or UTAPS, held an open forum this afternoon regarding proposed Hornet Shuttle route changes for Spring and Fall 2011. The Hornet Shuttle program began in 1989 with shuttle routes running off campus Monday – Friday from 7am to 7pm during the Fall and Spring semesters. The current fleet of six buses, all running on compressed natural gas, make 18 to 24 runs combined among three rout