The Future of Transportation in Sacramento

California Groundbreakers

**This discussion was recorded on April 8, 2019** Sacramento is getting attention nationwide for its alt-transportation methods, which focus on smarter, safer and more efficient ways of getting people from A to B, while reducing carbon emissions and traffic congestion in a big way. But it’s not always a smooth ride. There are multiple complaints about how Jump bikes are blocking sidewalks, and Jump scooters are not that safe for their drivers or the people they run into. The City is putting new fees, rules and restrictions in place that Jump says is expensive and prohibitive to expanding its services. The Downtown Riverfront Streetcar Project is in jeopardy, with project bids for construction way higher than expected, and far beyond the project budget. And can Sacramento Regional Transit ever get anyone to ride its light rail? The future of transportation in Sacramento is off to a great start, but how will these bumps in the road affect it? And how will we — as users, taxpayers and voters — affect and be affected by these new modes of transportation? We’re talking about it down in the basement of Ruhstaller in downtown Sacramento with the people who are in charge of taking us where we want to go, but differently. PANELISTS * Jennifer Donlon Wyant, active transportation program specialist for the City of Sacramento * Jessica Gonzalez, director of marketing and communications for Sacramento Regional Transit * Jennifer Venema, sustainability manager for the City of Sacramento PODCAST PLAY-BY-PLAY * 0 to 4:45 minutes - Intro to California Groundbreakers * 4:45 min - Panelists introduce themselves and tell us the best "ride" they've ever had * 8:40 min - Jump bikes and scooters are just the start: details about the "Vision Zero" project * 10:30 min - "Electrifying" efforts: Sacramento's new focus on electric cars and shuttles * 13:35 min - Sacramento Regional Transit's major rehaul of its bus routes, and its new shuttles * 15:50 min - Sacramento as a transit laboratory: what efforts have tested well so far, and which needs more work? * 24:10 min - What's going on with the Sacramento Riverfront Streetcar Project: will construction start this year as planned? * 26:15 min - Why the City is imposing new fees, rules and regulations on "shared rideables" like Jump bikes and scooters * 31:40 min - Improving pedestrian safety and protecting walkers from aggressive drivers * 33:40 min - The new ordinance for cracking down on improperly-parked bikes/scooters * 38:25 min - How Sacramento's transportation orgs are working on Electrify America -- and how Volkswagen and its "Dieselgate" scandal play a role * 43 min - What's the role of suburbs in this new future of transportation? And how about the private sector? * 53:15 min - Efforts to teach people on how to ride these bikes and scooters properly * 57:55 min - What are the efforts to partner with cities outside Sacramento, like Roseville and Elk Grove? * 1 hr, 1:35 min - Any plans for a multi-use "crossover" pass that works for all the transit methods? * 1 hr, 5:30 min - How do public-private partnerships work in this area, and how are they contracted and monitored? * 1 hr, 9:20 min - With all these tech-savvy transit options, how do you make them accessible to underserved communities with digital divides? * 1 hr, 13:50 min - How all these new transit methods could impact Sacramento's urban planning efforts in the future