Active Transportation Commission Meeting - October 17, 2019: Highway Safety, Pedestrian Projects, and Envision Broadway Plan
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Active Transportation Commission Meeting – October 17, 2019
The Active Transportation Commission met on Thursday, October 17, 2019, at 6:00 PM in the City Council Chambers at 915 I Street, Sacramento. Commissioners present: Chair Cole, Garrow, Pollins, Haupt, Brassel, Heim, and Smith. Absent: Vice Chair Ward Waller, Berdugo, and Carpenter. The meeting included updates on highway safety improvement projects, pedestrian beacon and signal projects, and a recommendation to City Council to approve the Envision Broadway in Oak Park Plan.
Consent Calendar
- Approved the meeting minutes of August 15, 2019, and received and filed the Active Transportation Commission Log and the Commission Staff Report.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Dan Allison (District 4) requested a citywide program to daylight crosswalks (remove parking spaces near crosswalks for visibility), added parking on crosswalks as a separate category in the 311 app, urged the commission to request law enforcement address failure to yield to pedestrians, and raised safety concerns about the C3 construction project’s bicycle routing (shared sidewalk insufficient, missing southbound signage, pedestrians walking in a narrow lane next to traffic).
Discussion Items
- Highway Safety Improvement Projects (Item 4): Senior Engineer Adam Randolph presented on the Federal Highway Safety Improvement Program. Over 200 locations citywide are receiving improvements including 11 rapid‑flashing beacons with pedestrian islands, pedestrian countdown heads at downtown intersections, and ADA‑compliant curb ramps. Projects are data‑driven with a state‑calculated benefit‑cost ratio. Commissioners discussed the challenge of underreported collisions in underserved areas and the importance of Vision Zero corridors.
- Pedestrian Beacon and Signal Projects (Item 5): Randolph presented six locally funded or Community Development Block Grant (CDBG)‑funded projects: the Mayphong trail extension (completed), a flashing beacon at Tahoe Park, a hybrid beacon at Sacramento Children’s Home, crossing improvements at the Sim Center (flashing beacon and traffic signal), and a flashing beacon at Broadway and 58th Street. These projects target underserved areas and are expected to begin construction in early 2020.
- Envision Broadway in Oak Park Plan (Item 6): Leslie Mancebo and Adrian Angle presented the plan for Broadway from Franklin Boulevard to Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. Based on extensive community engagement (over 150 participants, including a demonstration project closing 2nd Avenue to vehicles), the preferred alternative includes a road diet (one lane each direction), buffered bike lanes, widened medians, dedicated left‑turn lanes, two new traffic signals, and closure of 2nd Avenue to through traffic. Collision data showed a hot spot at 2nd Avenue/34th Street/Broadway. No funding has been secured yet; the plan will be forwarded to City Council for adoption.
Key Outcomes
- The commission unanimously approved the consent calendar.
- The commission unanimously voted to forward a recommendation to City Council to approve the Envision Broadway in Oak Park Plan (moved by Commissioner Haupt, seconded by Commissioner Pollins).
- Staff reported submission of two Caltrans grant applications for Vision Zero corridors 6–10 and commercial corridor mobility plans, and the award of a Bird scooter permit (250 devices initially).
- Commissioner Garrow reported on the Old Sacramento waterfront plan, which includes a class I bike trail along the railroad right‑of‑way; Commissioner Haupt requested a future presentation on the project.
- The commission agreed to add a report on daylighting crosswalks to the Active Transportation Commission log, with a presentation from traffic engineering.
Meeting Transcript
Order. I can get the roll call. Sure, as soon as I can figure out how to mic meet. Oh, thank you, Efren. All right, let's roll call roll. Commissioner Jesse. Not here. Commissioner Garrow. Here. Commissioner Pollins. Present. Chair Cole. Present. Vice Chair Ward Waller, absent. Commissioner Berdugo. Absent. Commissioner Haupt. Here. Commissioner Carpenter is absent. Commissioner Brassel. Here. Commissioner Heim. Here. And Commissioner Smith. Here. Wonderful. We have a quorum. This meeting is broadcast live over the internet and will live forever in the annals of the internet. If you have a cell phone, please silence it. There are speaker slips located in the back. If you would like to speak, please fill one out and bring it up to staff here at the table. The speaker time limit is three minutes. And we also have a cordless microphone and assistive listening devices. Should anyone need them? Chair. Thank you. All righty. So approval of meeting minutes. We need to move to approve. Perfect. The Active Transportation Commission log. Any contributions? Questions? Comments? All right. Chair Cole, I think our city attorney would like to say something. Oh. Um we had a motion and a second, but no vote. No. Well, I started with the approval of the meeting minutes.
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