streetwise: a special report

7/27/2019 STREETWISE: A SPECIAL REPORT

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STREETWISE: A SPECIAL REPORT

Part One:Building A Better

NatomasBY BRANDY TUZON BOYDTHE NATOMAS BUZZ | @natomasbuzz

Just across the AmericanRiver from downtownSacramento live thousands

of the city's residents.

They make their homes inNatomas which occupiesmerely one-fourth of thegreater Natomas Basin – amassive 55,000 acres in all,surrounded by two riversand a network of drainagecanals.

“South Natomas wasspecifically built to be abedroom community todowntown Sacramento,”



said former city councilman Ray Tretheway, a Natomas residentfor three decades. “There were to be no shops to buy clothes, nomovie theater, no big restaurants.”

Area residents, he said, were expected to work, shop and play in

downtown Sacramento.

A lot has changed since then.

The area is now comprised of several distinctneighborhoods – defined in part by twointerstate freeways – and sprawls across 22square miles from Garden Highway, where

Tretheway lives, north to the city limits near the SacramentoInternational Airport.

In the past 10 years, the Natomas population has more thandoubled.

Area amenities include a multi-screen movie theater, numerousrestaurants and clothing stores, a sports and entertainment

arena, miles of bike and walking trails, and the promise of moreto come.

Today, Sacramento cityofficials will celebrate anew bike and pedestrianbridge which, for the

first time, connects theNatomas community'strails, located north ofInterstate 80 to trailssouth of the freeway.The grand opening eventscheduled for 9:30 a.m. at Peregrine Park is just short of historic



in a community where connectivity has long been a focus.

The $6.1 million project includes a nearly two-block-long bridgeover the freeway and a smaller bridge across the West DrainageCanal along with new connections to existing bike trails.

“People are so excited about the bridge opening,” said BeckyHeieck, executive director of the North Natomas TransportationManagement Association. “There will be a lot of pedestrians andcyclists who will use it – they will just go out of their way to useit.”

Over the years, between 1950 and 1980, south Natomas grew

predominately as residential subdivisions.The South Natomas Community Plan approved by city officials in1978 envisioned the area as a high-density, transit-oriented,residential community.

But changes in the community and its expectations for the areapaved the way for a revised South Natomas Community Plan in

1988 which included new parks, riverfront access, a proposedlight rail line and connections to new and existing parkwaysfrequented by cyclists.

When work on the 1994 North Natomas Community Plan rolledforward, significant efforts were made to accommodate bikesand pedestrians, said city traffic engineer Hector Barron.

“

In north Natomas, there was an emphasis on walking,” Barronsaid. “For the first time the city of Sacramento introducedstandard, separated sidewalks where there is a planter area.”

The community plan for north Natomas envisioned a mixture ofresidential, employment, commercial and civic uses in the new-growth area interdependent on transit service and a network of



connections linked by streets, public transit routes, and linearparkways with bike and pedestrian trails. Homes were to bewithin walking distance of open space and employment centerspedestrian friendly.

“

Citizens will use pedestrian trails or bikeways as part of theirwork commute pattern to move to and from commercial centers,civic uses, and recreational facilities, or solely for recreationalactivity,” reads the 1994 North Natomas Community Plan.

The city's planners and traffic engineers tried not to repeatmistakes made in growing south Natomas, Tretheway said.

For example, he said, a bike and pedestrian bridge once plannedfrom Truxel Road to downtown Sacramento was eventually erasedfrom plans for south Natomas. Later, three bike and pedestrianbridges over Interstate 80 – including the one opening today –were planned.

“We started with a clean slate,” said Tretheway, “with strongconcepts on how to link north Natomas to the south.”

Links to:1986 South Natomas Community Plan1994 North Natomas Community Plan

http://www.scribd.com/doc/68803162/South-Natomas-Community-Plan

http://www.scribd.com/doc/68803126/North-Natomas-Community-Plan


http://www.scribd.com/doc/68803162/South-Natomas-Community-Plan



Part Two: Safer Routes For Students

BY BRANDY TUZON BOYDTHE NATOMAS BUZZ | @natomasbuzz

Terri Tavita lets her 10-year-old son ride his bike 1 mile toand from school, but notwithout misgivings.

Concerns about traffic safetytop the list.

“He's more likely to be hit by acar than abducted on his wayto school in Natomas,” shesaid. “It's frightening.”

Tavita said she's seen firsthandhow drivers roll throughuncontrolled intersections

oblivious to bike and pedestrian traffic. And she's well aware ofthe accidents near neighborhood schools in recent years.Just three weeks ago, a Two Rivers Elementary School studentwas hit by a car as he rode his scooter to school.

The city-run "Captain Jerry Traffic Safety Program" will visit theTwo Rivers campus next week to teach students how to travelsafely to school – from walking in crosswalks to watching for carsto cycling rules of the road.

But parents and those who live near area schools complain: it'sdrivers who make Natomas roads unsafe for young pedestriansand cyclists.



STOP MEANS STOP

Laurence Wilson livesadjacent to a four-waystop and kitty-corner

from Heron School, a K-8campus of 800-plusstudents.

Wilson said he rarely seesdrivers stop at the intersection, even when school is in session.

“I would say 10 percent come to a complete stop, the other 80

percent are rolling through,” he said. “I've yelled out that 'Stopmeans stop,' but they just ignore me.”

A block from Wilson's house, in September 2010, an 80-year-oldwoman crossing the street was struck by a car and killed. An hourlater, less than a mile away, a boy on a bike was the victim of ahit-and-run accident while on his way to school. Within the sameweek, a young girl collided with a vehicle as she crossed the

street in front of Witter Ranch Elementary.

These three incidents spurred cityCouncilwoman Angelique Ashby to hireretired police officer John Banks in Februaryto work part-time as a traffic and schoolsafety coordinator for District One.

“One child injured is unacceptable,” Bankssaid.

Banks and a city traffic engineer inspectedschool sites throughout the Natomas UnifiedSchool District to identify changes needed tostriping, signage, traffic flow and parking

http://www.natomasbuzz.com/2010/09/two-morning-accidents-rock-natomas.html


http://www.natomasbuzz.com/2011/02/pedestrian-safety-important-to-ashby.html









which would improve student safety. A report including theserecommendations was presented by the city to the school districtin July.

“We are working with the city traffic department to prioritize,

cost and schedule modifications to curbs, sidewalks and trafficmarkings on city property,” said Michael Cannon, the schooldistrict's executive director for facilities and planning. “We aredoing the same for the interiors of the campuses, which will becompleted by the district.”

The city finished some improvementsat Witter Ranch Elementary School

over the summer.

Parent Larry Richardson participated inthe series of community meetingswhich led to the changes.

His 7-year-old daughter suffered a badcase of road rash as a result of last

year's accident – when she collidedwith a vehicle in September 2010 – andstill has a scar to show for it.

“I see now, when I pick up my daughter in the afternoon, it's notas bad as it used to be,” he said. “Mornings are still an issue.”

Students who attend the Twin Rivers Unified School District'sthree elementary schools situated adjacent to the NorthgateBoulevard corridor are guided across one of the busiest roadwaysin Natomas by city crossing guards.



“Northgate … has gottenout of control,” saidTwin Rivers Policespokesman officerWilliam Cho. “People

use it as a thoroughfarefrom the north side todowntown because it'sthe only direct route toHighway 160. Northgatehas been a victim of growth and expansion.”

Gardenland Northgate Neighborhood Association presidentGeorge Azar still remembers when he was a child and a friend ofhis brother was hit by a car and killed in front of Smythe, now acharter school, on Northgate. In December 2009, a preschoolerwalking to the school was killed by a hit-and-run driver near thesame spot (memorial pictured above). To date, the driver has notbeen apprehended.

“Northgate has always been a problem,” Azar said.

SURVEYING ROUTES TO SCHOOLS

A transportation mode survey in 2004 showed a disparity betweenhow many Natomas students living within half a mile walked orbiked every day to their school. Safety and fast traffic werereasons cited by parents why their children did not walk or bike.

The survey found the further students lived from schools, the lesslikely they were to walk or bike. Many parents reported theirkindergarteners through fifth graders were too young to walk orbike. Twenty-five percent of the parents who responded said theypreferred to drive their children to school.

http://www.natomasbuzz.com/2009/12/north-area-mourns-death-of-preschooler.html








“One common complaint was the parking lot, entries and exitsused to drop off children at school,” the survey results read.“This presents the picture of a vicious circle; parents areconcerned about letting their kids walk or bike because of thetraffic concerns close to the schools, so they in turn drive and

make the situation more hectic.”

Armed with these survey results from2004 and input from the community inthe 2006 “Report on Recommendationsfrom Community Design Workshops inNorth and South Natomas,” the

Natomas Unified School Districtapplied for and was awarded a federal,multiyear Safe Routes To School grantin 2007.

The mission of Safe Routes to School isto improve children's safety whilewalking and bicycling to school.

According to Cannon, theinfrastructure portion of the grant -which entails changes to sidewalks andcrossings adjacent to Bannon Creek, Jefferson and Natomas Parkelementary schools – has been scoped by the district and city,and is currently in design by the city traffic engineering

department.

“When fully completed, current plans are for the city, inconsultation with the district, to schedule and completeconstruction of the improvements at Jefferson and Natomas Parkelementary schools,” Cannon said. “The Bannon Creekimprovements will be done by the district as a part of the



infrastructure package for the Bannon Creek K-8 conversionproject.”

In August 2009, the district hired Safe Routes programcoordinator Dario Gonzales who quickly got to work on the non-infrastructure portion of the grant which is to develop programswhich encouraged walking and biking to Natomas schools.

WALK (OR RIDE) THIS WAY

Some campuses, such as Natomas Park Elementary, already had

grassroots walk-to-school programs in place. Others needed to bestarted from scratch.

For example, Gonzales teamed up with the North NatomasTransportation Management Association to kickoff a walking andbiking program at Witter Ranch in May and again this school year.

“It's been a long time coming,” said Gonzales, who has since leftNatomas to take a job with a neighboring school district. “At thispoint, we are hoping to build momentum.”

Last year, Gonzales also worked with Two Rivers Elementary on avariety of biking programs.



When a needs assessmentshowed students did not havehelmets to wear, Gonzales joinedforces with the school's PTAgroup to coordinate helmet

fittings and giveaways – morethan 100 helmets in all - twicelast year.

Bike-to-school events, held everyFriday, included incentives forstudents.

“Kids who rode (bikes, scootersand skateboards) and worehelmets would win prizes,”principal Leslie Sargent said.“This year, we are definitelyplanning to … keep it rolling.”

Weekly walk (or bike) to schoolprograms have thrived at several Natomas-area schools in recentyears. At Heron School, a core group of students participateevery week – rain or shine – in Footloose Friday walks and rides.

“It's supposed to be a healthier lifestyle for them, but it has alsodeepened the sense of community,” said Beth Mahony, now in her

third year as a volunteer leader who guides students from aneighborhood park to the back gates of Heron School.

On the opposite side of Interstate 5, Westlake Charter Schoolalready had vibrant Walking Wednesday and Footloose Fridayprograms in place when avid cyclist Ebers Garcia suggested afirst-of-its-kind daily “bike train.”



Creating a cyclingcommunity for children tobe healthy and stay alertwhen they are at school, isa perfect combination, said

Garcia. He's had up to 20students and their parentsparticipate on rides.

“Every day, rain or shine, except when it's very windy or poundingcats and dogs, we're there,” Garcia said. “The kids are veryresilient.”

The North Natomas Transportation Management Association alsoworks with one of the Twin Rivers Unified School District's schoolsin Natomas. Regency Park Elementary has a Two Feet Tuesdaywalk-to-school program.

Principal Michael Reed said the North Natomas TransportationManagement Association's programs have raised awareness aroundsafety issues while the competitive aspects keep studentsengaged.

“I think the TMA's work has been brilliant,” Reed said. “Our kidslove it and get a lot out of it.”

Links to:School Transportation Mode Survey Initial Results 2004

Neighborhood Planning for Safe Routes To Schools in Natomas Safelinks Natomas - Building Connections: Linking Kids to the SchoolsCity of Sacramento School Safety Presentation

http://www.scribd.com/doc/70493010/School-Transportation-Mode-Survey-Initial-Results-2004

http://www.scribd.com/doc/70114993/Neighborhood-Planning-for-Safe-Routes-To-Schools-in-Natomas

http://www.scribd.com/doc/70115078/Safelinks-Natomas-Building-Connections-Linking-Kids-to-the-Schools

http://www.scribd.com/doc/70483806/City-of-Sacramento-NUSD-School-Safety-Meeting-Presentation

http://www.scribd.com/doc/70493010/School-Transportation-Mode-Survey-Initial-Results-2004

http://www.scribd.com/doc/70114993/Neighborhood-Planning-for-Safe-Routes-To-Schools-in-Natomas

http://www.scribd.com/doc/70115078/Safelinks-Natomas-Building-Connections-Linking-Kids-to-the-Schools

http://www.scribd.com/doc/70483806/City-of-Sacramento-NUSD-School-Safety-Meeting-Presentation



MAP OF NATOMAS-AREA SCHOOLS

AFTER SCHOOL TRAFFIC AT H. ALLEN HIGH ELEMENTARY SCHOOL



Part Three: Minding The GapsCLICK ON +/- TO ZOOM IN OR OUT. CLICK MOUSE AND DRAG TO NAVIGATE MAP.

Full-screen Natomas Bike And Pedestrian Accidents Map on Dotspotting


One of the most popular rides for bicyclists in Natomas could beone the region’s most dangerous.

Garden Highway is a winding, two-lane road which runs parallel

to the two rivers that border the Natomas Basin. Here, the legalspeed limit tops 45 mph.

“It’s a beautiful place, no doubt about it,” said Teri Burns, aGarden Highway resident for 15 years. “The problem is, really,that it is too narrow.”

While the Natomas population has nearly doubled over the past

http://dotspotting.org/embed/bucket/map?user=173&sheet=1631&title=Natomas+Bike+And+Pedestrian+Accidents&bucket=accident%20type#13/38.6394/-121.5040

http://dotspotting.org/


http://dotspotting.org/



10 years, the number of those biking along Garden Highway hasalso increased and those cyclists who commute from Natomas todowntown must first cross, and then ride along a portion of,Garden Highway.

California Highway Patrol records show 15 bike versus vehicleaccidents on Garden Highway between 2000 and 2010. (Sixpedestrians were hit by cars along the same stretch of roadduring that period.)

Efforts to improve relations between Garden Highway residents

and cyclists over the years have proven temporary, at best. Aproposed fix that would pave the adjacent river levee couldrelieve tension between the two groups, and also benefitpedestrians, but lacks funding.

“Garden Highway doesn’t meet county standards for road width,”said Burns. “In places, there is no shoulder at all.”

DANGEROUS BY DESIGNElsewhere in Natomas it’s the wider, multi-lane streets that cancreate a hazard for those who walk and bike.

According to north-area police Capt. James Maccoun arterialroadways are designed to move people faster and have higherspeed limits. Wider streets take longer to cross by foot, exposing

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DG5ZQivq8Ck/Tq0dLoWk6KI/AAAAAAAAMA4/E5yuOnA5Tfg/s1600/censuschart1.jpg



pedestrians - and cyclists - to higher safety risks, he said.

CHP data shows higher concentrations of bike and pedestrianaccidents with motor vehicles at intersections and along multi-lane streets in Natomas such as Truxel Road, Northgate

Boulevard, San Juan Road and West El Camino Avenue. Over thepast 10 years, more accidents were reported between cars andcyclists than between cars and pedestrians.

PEDESTRIANS WAIT TO CROSS NATOMAS BOULEVARD AT

DEL PASO ROAD WHILE 11 CARS RUN THE RED LIGHT

According to Dangerous by Design, a report published earlier thisyear by Transportation for America about an “epidemic” ofpedestrian fatalities nationwide, Sacramento ranks as the eighthmost dangerous city for walking in California and No. 22 in theUnited States.

Sacramento police Lt. Gina Haynes was so troubled by thenumber of pedestrian and cyclist fatalities citywide, shelaunched pedestrian awareness and ride safe bicycle campaignslast year.

“I was looking at the stats - 24 fatals last year and we had fivebike fatals,” said Haynes, who oversees the police department’straffic and air operations. “I had never heard of having that many



before.”

Police implemented pedestrian “stings” where drivers were citedfor failing to yield to those on foot. Rules of the road - such aswearing helmets and riding the right direction in bike lanes -

were also enforced for cyclists.“My whole thing is to stop fatalities,” Haynes said. “If I canprevent somebody dying, I will do it.”

In February 2004, officials amendedthe city General Plan to include“Pedestrian Friendly Street

Standards.” The goal: to encouragemore walking and cycling.

Two years later, in September 2006,the city adopted a PedestrianMaster Plan meant to improvewalking conditions and create a“walking capital.” In turn, citydwellers could reap health benefits,encounter less traffic, help improveair quality and save money by notdriving.

According to traffic engineer HectorBarron, the city works to install

traffic controls when aneighborhood is built.

“Sometimes, because development does not all happen at once,you see improvements over time,” he said.

When residents report traffic concerns, he said, the cityinvestigates. A city-run traffic calming program empowers



residents to help identify measures to slow vehicles, makingstreets safer and more attractive to pedestrians.

To date, several traffic calming projects - including one LaurenceWilson volunteered for in 2008 - have been completed in

Natomas.“When we first moved in, motorists were using Banfield Drive likea race track,” said Wilson. “When the school opened … not awhole lot changed. During the day people were driving prettyfast and at night, really fast.”

The traffic calming plan Wilson helped work on focused on

residential streets surrounding Heron School, located across thestreet from his house. By project’s end, speed humps, markedcrosswalks, pedestrian islands and other measures had beenadded to streets around the K-8 campus.

According to Wilson, results have been mixed. Drivers haveslowed, he said, but rarely stop at the intersection where signswere added.

NOT ACCORDING TO PLAN

Planning for bicycles and pedestrians played a significant role inbuilding out the Natomas community, Barron said.

“It is probably one of the largest efforts of the city of Sacramentoto try to make it a multi-modal area,” he said. “It is the only

area in Sacramento where transit is planned out.

Multi-modal communities have more than one method oftransportation available. Generally, the term refers to thewalking, biking and the use of public transportation such as busesin addition to driving motorized vehicles.

Key features in the South Natomas Community Plan included



several bike- and pedestrian-friendly parkways and a proposedlight rail line that would connect walkers and cyclists in southNatomas to the central city and as far north as the SacramentoInternational Airport. The North Natomas Community Planenvisioned smaller commercial centers within walking and biking

distance of homes; larger shopping areas were to be accessibleby bus and the proposed light rail line.

Budget cuts to public transportation have resulted in limited busservice throughout Natomas. Lack of funds have also delayed

building the light rail line from downtown Sacramento to theairport by several years; the project has been pushed back -twice - from 2015 to 2021. Even the local school district onlybuses middle schoolers who live south of Interstate 80 and specialneeds students.

“The plan looked pretty good on paper, but when it came down to

building, that’s where things diverged quite a bit,” said ChrisHolm, a project analyst for Walk Sacramento, a nonprofitcommunity group working to create walkable communitiesthroughout the city.

The North Natomas Community Plan was changed and lostneighborhood commercial areas, building was sporadic and



spaced out throughout the area, the road system changed andplanned schools disappeared altogether, according to Holm.

“The vision was good,” he said. “It’s not horrible, it’s just notquite (as walkable) as we would have expected.”

CONNECTIVITY IS THE KEY

Connectivity refers to the street and pedestrian network.

“A well-connected network of streets and pedestrian ways meansthat it is easy for the pedestrian to get around,” reads theSacramento Pedestrian Master Plan. “Connectivity includessupport for safe, convenient street crossings.”

In Natomas, the lack of connectivity is an obstacle from being atruly walkable and bikeable community for residents like KarenQuant.

“Coming from a city where all I did was walk or hop on publictransit, I liked the idea (of a master planned community),” saidQuant, who moved to Natomas eight years ago from SanFrancisco. “It just sounded like it was going to be easier to access… it’s not how I imagined.”



Quant uses the walkways atop neighborhood canals when theweather is nice, but had envisioned a community where she couldwalk to places and get things - errands - done, too.

“I wanted to have a community where walking was a way of life

and not as much an event,” she said.Former city councilman and longtime Natomas resident RayTretheway said the region has more off-street and on-street bikepaths than anyplace else in Sacramento. But incompletebikeways and missing links between trails are confusing tocyclists, he said.

“

The biggest challenge is connectivity,” Tretheway said. “We havea long ways to go, many decades, to finish the bicycle dream ofNatomas.”

The new bike and pedestrian bridge over Interstate 80 openedearlier this month is a first step toward connecting trails north ofthe freeway to those on the south, but the status of two more,long-planned bridges - one over the freeway at Truxel Road and

another closer to Northgate Boulevard - is unknown.

City councilman Steve Cohn, a new representative for southNatomas neighborhoods as a result of redistricting, has pledgedto review both the 2003 Gardenland-Northgate StrategicNeighborhood Action Plan and 2006 Northgate BoulevardStreetscape Plan. Both plans tackle pedestrian safety issues,however, funding a multi-million dollar project along the well-traveled corridor might prove to be a challenge.

Said Holm of Walk Sacramento, “It’s going to be tough and it’sgoing to take creative people within the city to probably graspfewer and fewer funding opportunities.”



For the nonprofit North NatomasTransportation Management Associationworking with the city on connectivityfixes including curb cuts, resurfacingnorth-area bike paths and finishing others

has been a priority.

“We want to see North Natomas known asa good biking and walking community,”executive director Becky Heieck said.“We want people to come off the freewayand realize they have reached a placewhere people ride and walk.”

Links To:Dangerous By DesignSacramento Pedestrian Master PlanCity of Sacramento Pedestrian Friendly Street StandardsThe 2010 City/County Bikeway Master PlanCity of Sacramento Existing and Proposed Bikeway MapNorthgate Boulevard Streetscape Master PlanNorth Natomas Community PlanSacramento Neighborhood Traffic Management Plan Map

http://www.scribd.com/doc/70818595/Dangerous-by-Design

http://www.scribd.com/doc/69627561/Sacramento-Pedestrian-Master-Plan

http://www.scribd.com/doc/69627147/City-of-Sacramento-Pedestrian-Friendly-Street-Standard

http://www.scribd.com/doc/69626918/2010-Sacramento-City-County-Bikeway-Master-Plan

http://www.scribd.com/doc/69637193/Existing-And-Proposed-Bikeway-Map

http://www.scribd.com/doc/69621080/Northgate-Boulevard-Streetscape-Master-Plan


http://www.scribd.com/doc/70861678

http://www.scribd.com/doc/70818595/Dangerous-by-Design

http://www.scribd.com/doc/69627561/Sacramento-Pedestrian-Master-Plan

http://www.scribd.com/doc/69627147/City-of-Sacramento-Pedestrian-Friendly-Street-Standard

http://www.scribd.com/doc/69626918/2010-Sacramento-City-County-Bikeway-Master-Plan

http://www.scribd.com/doc/69637193/Existing-And-Proposed-Bikeway-Map

http://www.scribd.com/doc/69621080/Northgate-Boulevard-Streetscape-Master-Plan


http://www.scribd.com/doc/70861678



Part Four: Keep On Walkin' On


Marc Laver’s daughter was nearly hit by a car on the way toschool the second day of kindergarten in 2009.

The Lavers’ wasn’t the first close call at Natomas ParkElementary School. In fact, California Highway Patrol recordsshow three accidents where pedestrians were hit by vehicles inthe morning, in front of the then year-round campus, in August2007, September 2008 and June 2009.

“The school district was too bankrupt to hire a crossing guard, so Ivoluntarily did it,” said Laver.

Armed with a safety vest, whistle and handheld stop signsupplied by the district’s Safe Routes To School coordinator, Laverhelped manage traffic at the busy intersection of Gateway ParkBoulevard and North Bend Drive for two years. At times, otherparents helped Laver - who only missed his post when sick.

“So few kids walk nowadays,” he said. “It was very clear it wasnot safe out there, based strictly on the volume of traffic.”



MORE HOOFIN’ IT

A survey conducted by THE NATOMAS BUZZ, as part of this special

series on walking and biking in Natomas, confirmed most parentsdrive their children to school. The survey also found the secondlargest percentage of parents walk or bike to school with theirchildren, while fewer youngsters walk alone to school or carpool.

According to numbers collectedby the North NatomasTransportation Management

Association, more studentshave started to walk to school.

“Over the past two schoolyears, 2009-10 and 2010-11,our numbers show an increasefrom 773 students walking on a

weekly basis at five elementary schools, to 904 students walkingon a weekly basis,” said Mellissa Meng, NNTMA school programsmanager. “These numbers are 23 percent and 24 percent,respectively, of the total school enrollments.”

According to Meng, this data reflects the average number ofchildren who get to school by an alternative mode of



transportation other than being driven or carpooled, weekly, overthe whole school year, including the best and worst weather ofthe year.

“This ranges from 41 percent of the student population walking …

to a low of 5 percent … when the weather is cold and rainy,” shesaid.

The nonprofit North Natomas TMA is funded by assessments paidby property owners north of Interstate 80 and operates severalprograms meant to encourage more children to safely walk - andbike - more often. For example, during the May Is Bike Monthcampaign earlier this year, students at eight north-area schools

rode 44,864 miles - a 131 percent increase over the previousyear.

ON THE ROAD AGAIN

The North Natomas TMAstarted mainly as a shuttleservice for Natomas-area

residents commuting todowntown - a program whichhas expanded as the result ofreduced bus service toNatomas and the delayed light rail line. Both the North NatomasTMA and its counterpart, the South Natomas TransportationManagement Association have programs which encourage area

residents to drive less to work - and itseems to be working.

THE NATOMAS BUZZ survey showed only62 percent drive alone to work. Thatnumber is down compared to U.S.Census data which showed nearly 75



percent of workers 16 years and older drove alone to work in2000 and (when the Natomas population had nearly doubled)more than 78 percent in 2009.

“Just this year we rolled out a capital

improvements program wherebyoffice buildings apply for matchingfunds to purchase things for buildingsto promote alternative modes ofcommuting like bike racks or lockers,”said Jason Vitaich, executive directorfor the South Natomas TMA, which focuses on south-areaemployment centers.

THE SAFETY FACTOR

The Natomas region may have beendesigned with biking in mind, but THENATOMAS BUZZ survey shows more arearesidents are out walking than riding.

Only 7 percent bike daily and 22percent cycle three to five times aweek, according to survey responses.Walkers and runners, on the otherhand, reported double the numberswith 22 percent hoofing it daily andanother 41 percent out and about three

to five times a week.

Survey respondents cited safety as theNo. 1 challenge to biking in the areaand ranked the Natomas arterial roadways and majorintersections on a scale of either “safe,” “so-so” or “not safe.”



Survey results showed theNorthgate corridor isconsidered the least safe.CHP accident data confirm

more accidents betweenpedestrian and cyclistsoccurred on NorthgateBoulevard from 2000 to 2010than any other street inNatomas.

Survey takers felt GardenHighway was the second mostdangerous road followed by SanJuan Road; intersections alongNorthgate and Truxel wereranked as the least safe.Common complaints by survey takers included sharing the roadwith drivers who speed and those who run red lights.

“I wish we could go everywhere on our bikes, but there’s a lot oftraffic and cars go by fast on Del Paso,” wrote one person. “Ihave young kids and I’m still afraid of taking them on theoverpass on Del Paso so instead of biking to the North Natomaslibrary, we drive.”

Those who completed THENATOMAS BUZZ survey alsocommented oninfrastructure such ascracked bikeways,unfinished trails and bikepaths that end abruptly.



And there were kudos.

“I love all the different trails and bike paths, you can ride forhours,” wrote one. “My favorite is a ride on the path by the leveewith my 7 year-old and then stop at Bella Bru for breakfast (or

lunch or dinner). In the summer, we ride even more.”Links To:Natomas Bike & Pedestrian Accidents map on DotspottingInteractive Bike Maps by the North Natomas TMASurvey Responses on Walking, Biking & Overall

“ All pedestrian/bikeways will be designed to

be safe. Although many paths will be used primarily for commuting (direct and convenient), paths used primarily for

recreation with be aesthetically pleasing.Both systems will not be separate and will be

incorporated into one well-designed travelsystem. Providing a quality pedestrian and/or bike system will be important to increasingthe likelihood that individuals will choose amode of travel other than the automobile.”

-North Natomas Community Plan

“Streetwise: Walking & Biking In Natomas” examined whether efforts to create a healthy,walkable and bikeable community in Natomas have been successful. This special, four-part report

was undertaken as part of a health journalism program offered through The CaliforniaEndowment Health Journalism Fellowships, administered by the University of Southern

C lif i ' A b S h l f C i ti & J li


http://northnatomastma.org/bike/TrailsAndMaps.asp

http://www.scribd.com/fullscreen/70967116?access_key=key-zeidnq04cojjpien0u6

http://www.scribd.com/fullscreen/70967120?access_key=key-25xck2dbzivunievw45y

http://www.scribd.com/fullscreen/70967123?access_key=key-q6ohlk0lwu3msjbu3tk


http://northnatomastma.org/bike/TrailsAndMaps.asp

http://www.scribd.com/fullscreen/70967116?access_key=key-zeidnq04cojjpien0u6

http://www.scribd.com/fullscreen/70967120?access_key=key-25xck2dbzivunievw45y

http://www.scribd.com/fullscreen/70967123?access_key=key-q6ohlk0lwu3msjbu3tk

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