Draft MTP/SCS Comments Received - sacog

PO Box 1526 • Sacramento, CA • 95812 (916) 444-0022
January 9, 2012
Board of Directors
Sacramento Area Council of Governments (SACOG)
1415 L Street Suite 300
Sacramento, CA 95814
Re:
Draft Metropolitan Transportation Plan/Sustainable Communities Strategy, and
corresponding DEIR
Honorable Board Members and Executive Director Mike McKeever:
The Environmental Council of Sacramento (ECOS), Habitat 2020, and the California Heartland
Project are unified in our support of SACOG's first joint Draft Metropolitan Transportation Plan /
Sustainable Communities Strategy (MTP/SCS). The plan is a visionary approach to the SB 375
objective to link regional land use and transportation planning to reduce greenhouse gas
emissions. We applaud the direction of the SACOG Board and the efforts of SACOG staff to
produce a scenario that, if adhered to, will certainly make significant steps towards regional
sustainability.
Considering the financial constraints of this planning cycle, we are impressed with SACOG's
ability to do "more with less" by directing investment to areas that maximize impact by the cost
effectiveness of smart growth and active transportation. Some of the impressive anticipated
outcomes we support include:
o Meeting the CARB GHG reduction targets (10% by 2020, 16% by 2035)
o Declines in congested VMT (6.9%)
o Increases in transit service hours, system productivity, and access overall, and
more so for Environmental Justice Areas
o More homes, jobs, and amenities near high-frequency transit
o 8% proportion of funding to active transportation, with additional bike/ped
improvements integrated into road maintenance funds
While we strongly commend the modeling outcomes the MTP/SCS presents, there is also room
for strengthening the plan to help ensure these outcomes are achieved. We fully support the many
suggestions offered in the letters of ClimatePlan, Human Impact Partners, and the Coalition On
Regional Equity. But, for the purposes of this letter, we are obliged to highlight some key areas of
weakness that we feel could, in the long-term, be a detriment to the successful implementation of
this valuable plan. We recognize that the following, in some cases, deals with processes that
require further coordination with local jurisdictions, and are not necessarily in the sole control of
SACOG. Given that, we offer these observations for your ongoing consideration in future work.
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