​​​​GHG-12​

Implement the Active Transportation Plan

Measure

The 2022 Active Transportation Plan (ATP) is the County’s vision to enhance active transportation infrastructure and reduce reliance on fossil-fuel-powered vehicles. Through the 2022 ATP, the County identified projects to increase and improve bike lanes, sidewalks, and pedestrian spots and provide more opportunities to reduce emissions generated by driving vehicles. The implementation of actions identified in 2022 ATP has already started. The County intends to reiterate its commitment to improving the infrastructure for pedestrians and cycling in the unincorporated county, with prioritization of projects in Environmental Justice Communities. The County has identified priority projects in the 2022 ATP that are planned to be completed by 2030, while all other recommended projects are planned to be completed by 2045.

Actions

Action GHG-12-a: Develop and adopt an implementation plan for the goals and implementation measures included in the 2022 ATP. Status: Not Started. 


Action GHG-12-b: Update the Zoning Code and/or Design Guidelines to clarify the preferred siting of both short-term and long-term employee bicycle parking to encourage bicycle use at commercial, multi-family, industrial, or institutional uses. Status: Not Started. 


Action GHG-12-c: Continue to include active transportation projects in the transportation Capital Improvement Plan as project funding is secured. Status: Ongoing.


Action GHG-12-d: Implement Safe Routes to School programs and infrastructure improvements identified in the 2022 ATP as funding becomes available, with programs and infrastructure upgrades implemented at 6 schools by 2030 and the remainder of schools in the unincorporated county by 2045. The County has already secured funding for and hired a consultant to implement Safe Routes to School programming at the following schools: Thomas Edison Elementary, Howe Elementary, Fern Bacon Middle, Pacific Elementary, Nicholas Elementary, and Ethel Baker Elementary. Status: Ongoing.


Action GHG-12-e: Develop a Complete Streets Design Guide based on Caltrans’ Design Information Bulletin #94 (Complete Streets: Context Design Guidance) and other best practices to provide policy and design guidance on the planning, design, and operation of county roadways to be used in the following situations:

  • When designing future streets or reconstructed streets in an area experiencing redevelopment.
  • When implementing a capital improvement project, such as the construction or reconstruction of a street, intersection, or bridge.
  • When resurfacing a street or conducting major work in the street, which may create an opportunity to reconsider some aspects of the street’s design.
Status: Ongoing.

​Status of Implementation 

The Department of Transportation submitted one grant application in 2024 for a safe routes to school project which includes bicycle and pedestrian improvements: Whitney Avenue Road Diet and Safe Routes to School (from Watt Avenue to Walnut Avenue).

Through a consultant, the Department of Transportation coordinates and implements a non-infrastructure Safe Routes to School program in schools. In 2024, the Fern Bacon program was completed. Later in 2024, the South Sacramento County program for Nicholas, Pacific, and Ethel Baker Elementary Schools will start. The program objectives are to:

  • Encourage walking and rolling (i.e. use of bicycles, wheelchairs, scooters, skateboards) to school and in the community.
  • Promote safe practices amongst students and their families walking, rolling, and driving to and from school in order to prevent collisions.
  • Teach students and their families how to maintain a bicycle.
  • Provide mobile bicycle repair and tips on repair.
  • Address concerns of crime safety in the trip to school through a Safe Passages program.
  • Evaluate numbers of students using various modes for the trip to school before and after the program. 

A goal of the County's Active Transportation Plan (ATP) is Connectivity and Access: Sacramento County residents will have access to neighborhood destinations by walking, bicycling, and rolling and can seamlessly connect to networks in incorporated cities; Sacramento County residents will travel more by active transportation modes. Several of the ATP implementation measures include:

  • Ensure walking, bicycling, and rolling routes connect to both neighbor-hood-serving destinations—such as schools, libraries, parks, and transit stations—and regional destinations such as job centers and major commercial areas.
  • Make bicycling more attractive than driving for short trips of five miles or less by developing and maintaining a bikeway system that provides direct, safe, and convenient travel by active transportation throughout neighborhoods in Sacramento County with connections to adjacent municipalities.
  • Eliminate gaps in the bicycle and pedestrian networks to improve connectivity and physical access between neighborhoods and destinations.

The Department of Transportation seeks funding for competitive and formula grant proposals in order to plan, design, and construct bicycle, pedestrian, and Americans with Disabilities Act infrastructure in support of this GHG measure. 

Updated 7/12/2024.


​​​​​​​​​Started

The efforts for this measure have begun. ​

​Object​ives

Improve active transportation infrastructure through implementation of priority projects identified in the 2022 Active Transportation Plan that include 66 pedestrian spot improvements, 51 miles of sidewalk gap closures, and bicycle projects representing 190 miles by 2030 and all recommendation projects identified in the ATP by 2045.