Streetcar vote coming up soon...

About 3700 voters in the Central Downtown district will soon be voting on Measure B, the Streetcar initiative.

Property owners in that district (and the ones who will pay the special tax) have already given a solid "YES!" in a recent advisory vote, but registered voters, whether property owners or not, get to vote on it.  And there are those who are opposed to the idea.

Perhaps these voters don't realize that the public's share of the cost of the streetcar, that could greatly improve getting around in Downtown and Midtown and get cars off the streets,  will cost just 1% of the total cost of building the first leg of this new connector.  That meants property owners will pay between $3 and $5 a month more in their taxes to greatly enhance connectivity between all the exciting things going on between Raley Field, Old Town, the Downtown Entertainment & Sports Complex, a re-born Downtown (with more jobs)  and the Theater district.  What a boon for our city!

Streetcars; the lowdown on the low down

Did you know that Streetcars are different than Light Rail trains and even buses in many, very positive respects?  For instance:

Streetcar chassis and their doors are designed to be low to the ground, almost at curb level, which has a number of beneficial results:
 - the cars are easier to step or roll in and out of
 - A low entry point makes for easier access for those with disabilities



 - There are typically 3 access doors on a streetcar so people can get on and off quickly rather than standing in line as for a typical RT bus
 - The low profile of the streetcar allows pedestrians to see through the car to the other side from the street, thus making the streetcar less imposing than a Light Rail vehicle.

Just some good reasons to consider Streetcars in Sacramento's Downtown and Midtown future!

Pillar to Post? Try, Rivers to Freeways

The Mayor's Strong Housing Task Force envisions a  fairly broad geographic area as well as a mix of market rate, Affordable and rehabilitated housing.

The area of concentration for the proposed "10,000 new homes" covers the city from "River to River, Freeway to Freeway" according to Cassandra Jennings of the Mayor's Office.  Specifically, it's bounded by the American River to the north, the Sacramento River to the west, Highway 50 to the south and Business 80/Route 160 to the east.  AKA Rivers to Freeways.  That covers Downtown, Midtown and more...

Their preliminary thinking is to encourage the building of about 6,000 "Owner Occupied" market rate housing units, 1,500 additional "Affordable Housing" units and about 1,500 rehab. or " Adaptive re-use" (i.e. re-purposed) housing units.  The Task Force is currently prioritizing and winnowing an initial list of identified issues needing to be addressed into recommendations that will be presented to stakeholders in May and the City Council in July.