Active Transportation Commission Special Meeting - July 30, 2020
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Active Transportation Commission Special Meeting - July 30, 2020
The Active Transportation Commission held a special meeting via Zoom on July 30, 2020, starting at 6:00 p.m. The commission considered several action items, including a revision to the Bicycle Master Plan for Broadway, the Vision Zero School Safety Study, and adoption of an equity definition. The meeting also featured a staff presentation on traffic signals and active transportation, updates on grant programs, and public comments on slow streets and the Del Rio Trail.
Consent Calendar
- Approved the meeting minutes of June 18, 2020, by a unanimous vote.
- Received and filed the Active Transportation Commission Log.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Deb Banks, Executive Director of Sacramento Area Bicycle Advocates (SABA), urged the commission to recommend a slow and resilient streets program using CARES Act funds, citing examples from New York and Los Angeles.
- Bo Chaitman (former docent at California State Railroad Museum) stated that his termination was forced by the city due to his criticism of the Del Rio Trail Project, and that a climate of fear prevents other state workers from speaking out.
- Craig Siegel (District 4) urged immediate implementation of slow streets in Sacramento, especially in underserved areas.
- Dan Allison commented on slow streets, stating the city has not addressed bag buttons (only 5 of 800 changed) and that Sacramento is the last major city in the state to act on slow streets. He also noted low-income programs are hard to find.
- Joe Wolf (Davis) called attention to unsafe bike lane designs in the I Street Bridge replacement renderings, which show unbuffered bike lanes next to car traffic and a wall separating pedestrians from cyclists.
- A caller (anonymous) criticized the Del Rio Trail as the opposite of equity, noting a pending lawsuit and asking the commission to recommend an easement for maintenance.
Discussion Items
- Commission Staff Report (Jennifer Donlon Wyant): Provided updates on Caltrans planning grants – the city won a grant for a combined inclusive economic development and traffic safety study on Northgate and Freeport corridors, but lost a grant for Vision Zero Corridors 6–10. Shared rideables updates: Bird and Spin have relaunched with COVID-19 cleaning protocols; Lime (Jump) contract is held by SACOG and negotiations are ongoing.
- Traffic Signals and Active Transportation (Ryan Billeci, Senior Engineer): Presented an overview of the city's traffic signal system (786 signals), bicycle detection standards (video detection since 2005, meeting AB 1581 and California MUTCD), minimum green times (bicycle min green calculated at 10 mph with 6 seconds startup), pedestrian recalls and countdown heads, and pedestrian timing (3.5 ft/s walking speed). Q&A covered leading pedestrian intervals, detection technology (video vs. loop), education gaps, and the possibility of touchless buttons during COVID-19.
- Envision Broadway in Oak Park Bicycle Master Plan Revision (Leslie Mancebo): Proposed amendment to add a buffered bike lane on Broadway from Alhambra Boulevard to Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard (correcting a boundary error in the staff report). The recommendation was forwarded to City Council to allow grant eligibility. Motion passed unanimously.
- Vision Zero School Safety Study (Leslie Mancebo): Reviewed 20 school sites (ranked by collisions within 0.25 miles, one per council district, excluding schools on Vision Zero top-five corridors). Observations included driver speeding, failure to yield, and inadequate bike/ped infrastructure. Recommendations include curb ramps, enhanced crossings, sidewalk improvements, and road diets. Equity consideration: included Mustard Seed School (private, serves unhoused children). Motion to forward the final report to City Council passed unanimously.
- Discussion on Equity, Part 3 (Commissioner Garrow): Presented a final working definition of equity for the commission. Definition: "The City of Sacramento's Active Transportation Commission acknowledges the challenges the city faces in providing equitable access to safe and adequate modes of active transportation as a result of prior historically sanctioned discriminatory policies... The Active Transportation Commission is working to achieve equitable access for all our residents..." Motion to adopt the definition passed unanimously. The commission agreed to discuss implementation (e.g., an equity action plan) at the next meeting.
Key Outcomes
- Consent Calendar approved unanimously.
- Envision Broadway BMP Revision – Motion to recommend City Council amend the Bicycle Master Plan (including buffered bike lane from Alhambra to MLK Jr. Blvd.) passed unanimously.
- Vision Zero School Safety Study – Motion to forward the final report to City Council passed unanimously.
- Equity Definition – Motion to adopt the working definition of equity passed unanimously, making the Active Transportation Commission the first city commission to do so. The commission will schedule a discussion on implementation (e.g., equity action plan, equity impact analysis) for the next meeting.
- Committee Comments: Requested an update on the Del Rio Trail progress (impacted by COVID) and reiterated interest in having the Sacramento Police Department present on issues affecting bicyclists and pedestrians. Staff will follow up.
- Next meeting scheduled for August 20, 2020, also via Zoom.
Meeting Transcript
During this commission, but mute yourself when you're not talking. When you wish to speak on an item, there's a raise your hand feature. Please raise your hand. Not literally, but use the little feature on the thing. And Chair Haim and I will keep an eye on that. We'll make sure everybody who has their hand raised is able to address comments. When we vote, we're gonna do roll call so that we you know can record that into session. We have a number of presentations and a very packed agenda tonight. Uh, and we actually have the most public comments. We've got a e-comment. Oh, and Commissioner Smith is coming in, so let's just get him on board before we start broadcasting. Okay, Commissioner Garrett, did you want to present the equity, the final equity definition since you did the heavy lifting? Sure. Okay. Great. Commissioner Smith, we see a black box for you, and that you are muted. I'm working on it. Okay. All right. Commissioner Smith, soon as you're ready to go, we will start broadcasting. It's not a good virtual meeting without at least a few minutes of technical difficulties. Yeah. While we're waiting, I will tweet out that we were almost there. We got somebody in San Francisco who thinks me already for my tweet saying that we're almost there. We are moments away. Exclamation points. All right, we have everybody on the core. This is awesome. Commissioner Smith, can I hear you? Can you hear me? I can. Awesome. All right. One last recap, everybody, just for before we go. Video on at all times. Mute yourself when you're not talking. We're doing roll call by voting, so you will be called on. You want to affirm verbally how you are voting. Raise your hand using the raise your hand feature when you wish to speak. And we have a packed agenda, so get ready, have your beverage, um, your water beverage, non-alcoholic beverage, and we are ready to go. Staff at City Hall, I think if you are ready, we'd like to start broadcasting and have this meeting take off. Thank you. We are ready. All right. Ready to call me in the okay. Let's call me in order. Jennifer, can you confirm? Can you call roll and confirm we have a call? Certainly, Chair Haim. Thank you.
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