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January 26, 2006
TOD@Hazel Station: A little historical perspective
UPDATE: I thought I should add a link to this "making up with ECOS" editorial by the Bee.
The current hubub about the so called "crisis" on Folsom Blvd. near the Hazel Ave light rail station is kind of hysterical.
- The great tribulation surrounds a proposed 29-acre expansion of the Folsom Auto Mall, a project which will, according to the social justice conscious (snickers) Environmental Council of Sacramento:
- present a choice between easy money and smart planning
- may jeopardize hundreds of millions of dollars in federal transit funds
- is opposed by Regional Transit, the Air District, SACOG, and almost everybody other than the applicants
- threatens to bring low density sprawl-style buildout to the entire Folsom light rail corridor
- exacerbate air quality problems
- is the epitome of bad planning
- is inconsistent with
- the County’s General Plan (Land Use Policy LU-14)
- RT’s Master Plan
- SACOG Blueprint growth principles
- air quality regulations
- and surrounding land uses.
- costs of the auto mall expansion far outweigh the benefits
- upon approval, "does not bode well for future land use planning decisions"
- "make it much more difficult to develop the area into a dense mixed-use neighborhood appropriate for the vicinity of a transit station."
I'm on the ECOS mailing list and I culled the list above from their various "Action Alerts".
So with that impending doom, one might think this whole ordeal was some precident setting phenomenon, a first bad step of somekind, a fall from grace on the part of Sacramento County. Far from it. This is pure spin (read:bullshit).
Here's the "Historical Perspective" I offer. :
WRONG DEVELOPMENT MIX DERAILS BID TO BOOST TRANSIT
December 13, 1999
Sacramento Bee | Section: MAIN NEWS Page: A1
By Stuart Leavenworth Bee Staff Writer
In 1992, Sacramento County had a grand plan: It would try to concentrate a mix of development around commuter rail stations, where people could easily walk to offices, homes and stores. Seven years later, county planners acknowledge their blueprint has been a whopping failure. Across the county, de velopers are building big-lot subdivisions, big-box stores and a necklace of parking near existing and proposed rail stations.
As a result, ridership is uneven on transit lines; future rail extensions are uncertain. And hopes for reducing traffic and auto fumes are becoming as hazy as the summer skyline."In short, we haven't been very successful in getting that kind of development strategy adopted," said Don Thomas, an assistant planner for the county.
"With every application (from developers), we are getting proposals for the standard subdivision design and big-box developments," said Rob Burness, a senior planner who helped craft the 1992 plan. "They are following the path of least resistance."
As county and city officials note, there are some partial successes. In downtown Sacramento, lofts and mixed-use developments are rising near some stations. In east Elk Grove, the county is working with developers to create village centers that could one day facilitate daily transit users.
Overall, however, "we have missed a lot of opportunities," said county Supervisor Roger Dickinson. "We are approving development that discourages people from walking, discourages people from meeting each other, and encourages more reliance on automobiles."
"There are some real consequences," he adds. Traffic is building, and pressure is mounting to widen highways and build sound walls. "All that costs money, but people don't realize that."
Who's responsible? Fingers point everywhere. Some blame last-minute compromises in the county's 1992 plan. Others blame NIMBYs (individuals who oppose certain developments "in my back yard"), banks and elected leaders, who have repeatedly waived requirements for transit zones at the behest of developers.
Even environmentalists say they have done a poor job of selling the public on rail-friendly development, which involves such plannerish gobbledygook as "high-density, mixed-use transit nodes."
"No one is going out to those communities, either from the government or public-interest groups, and making a case for transit," said Earl Withycombe, who leads the Environmental Council of Sacramento.
A fixture of town planning from Brazil to Canada, "transit oriented development" refers to a compact mix of apartments, shops and offices centered around rail or bus stations. Tourists to Europe often snap pictures of such transit villages without knowing it.
Since 1993, Sacramento has called for half-mile rings of "TODs" around the county, part of a policy to reduce auto emissions at new projects by 15 percent.
But the county plan hasn't been widely embraced.
In south Sacramento, neighborhood activists have helped defeat at least two proposals for TODs. One of these -- at the corner of Elk Grove-Florin and Calvine roads -- would have included a mix of apartments, homes and commercial development, served by buses and, eventually, light rail.
In the same vein, county supervisors this year allowed a Home Depot with 500 parking spaces to be built next to a future rail stop on Antelope Road, despite staff opposition. Other Home Depots have been built near RT stations at Power Inn Road and Sunrise Boulevard.
George Phillips, a Carmichael lawyer who represents Home Depot, said the company worked hard to reach "a darn good compromise" with the county. The Antelope Road store, he said, is designed to accommodate bus pull-ins and a park-and-ride lot. The company has also vowed to subsidize transit passes for its employees, he said.
"I think we ended up with a transit-friendly Home Depot," said Phillips.
Friendly for automobiles, say environmentalists.
In north Natomas, plans for a transit village near Del Paso and Commerce boulevards are also up in the air. The Lewis Operating Corp. is designing a 26-acre mix of shops and offices, and is setting aside land for a future spur of regional rail that could go one day to Arco Arena and the airport, said Greg Thatch, an attorney for the company.
But City Council rezonings have led to what some call "a retail land grab" in the area. Three years ago, the council approved the Natomas Marketplace, a collection of big-box stores near Truxel Road and Interstate 80.
That, in turn, has prompted two other proposals for big-box developments, and could undermine Lewis' transit-planned village.
County officials point to several reasons why their 1992 transit plan -- lauded as "visionary" at the time -- has been ineffective.
One problem is the uncertain extensions planned by Regional Transit. RT plans to extend a line to Meadowview by 2003, and Folsom by 2002. But lines to Elk Grove and Natomas haven't received funding, and RT isn't making promises.
As a result, neighborhood groups are reluctant to support transit-friendly development. In many cases, neighbors fear they will get the traffic of high-density housing without the transit.
"There's a chicken-and-egg question we have to deal with," said Burness. Without higher-density development, he said, Sacramento won't have the ridership for rail. But without assurances rail will be built, denser developments can't be sold, he added.
Another problem: Many rail stations are close to freeways and highways. That makes land adjacent to the stations attractive to big-box stores and other businesses dependent on motorists.
"That is especially true with the Highway 50 corridor," said Burness. "It's an accident of geography that we have to deal with."
Some business leaders say that, in light of this geography, the county should be more realistic. Instead, said Curt Haven, CEO of the Rancho Cordova Chamber of Commerce, the county has rigid rules and little to show for it.
A few years ago, he said, Cordova had retail developers who wanted to redevelop an old Lumberjack store site on Sunrise Boulevard. But since the area was close to the future Sunrise rail station, "All these red flags went up," said Haven. "Regional Transit and the air quality district ganged up on them."
The county approved the project, but Haven said it was a needlessly long ordeal.
RT officials say that, if anything, they have been slow to voice concerns.
In coming years, Sacramento and RT planners hope to take a more proactive approach to developing transit projects.
But what's missing, said Burness, is a broad support for transit. That includes support from business groups, which have a stake in preventing Sacramento from turning into another Los Angeles, he said.
"In Silicon Valley, business groups have taken the lead in advocating transit-oriented development," said Burness. "That hasn't been happening here in Sacramento County."© The Sacramento Bee
Posted by cystdog at 05:27 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
A trail wiki looks for contributors
The Steeps, a mountain bike blog centered on Southern California singletrack trails launched a wiki called "SingleTrackWiki", and is inviting contributors from the US and abroad to submit trail info and pics. They've incorporated some Google Maps api functionality to the site so that users can map the trails they ride and submit.
Pretty cool use of wiki and google maps.
Trail entry for Maxwell Road, Lake Hughes, CA (Santa Clarita Valley)
Found via hatch.org
Mentioned by Gadling
Posted by cystdog at 04:59 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
A cool gift, to yourself
I got my weekly Thinkgeek junk mail, and decided to peruse their catalog for new crap. Came across this really cool LCD/WiFI enabled picture frame.
ThinkGeek :: eStarling Wi-Fi Gmail / Flickr Enabled LCD Frame
It also allows you to display flickr photos via rss and send your mobile pics as well.
Also mentioned by Engadget and Red Ferret
Posted by cystdog at 01:28 PM
January 15, 2006
MLK 2006 Sacramento March
King Research and Education Institute Stanford University
King Speeches/Sermons (Quicktime/Realplayer)
Posted by cystdog at 11:55 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
January 11, 2006
My new house???Maybe
Posted by cystdog at 07:00 PM
January 02, 2006
The journey to becoming a real patch wearing pirate
I broke my glasses, or rather "lost" my glasses on Christmas Eve while driving. They were the only pair I had, as I'd been holding out on going to the optometrist to get examined and get a new prescription. That was a Saturday night, and I had to be back to work Tuesday, so I knew Monday, I'd have to run to LensCrafters to get an emergency pair of glasses, and pay out of pocket as they aren't in my insurer's (VSP) "network".
OK, no biggie. While I was there, I figured I might as well get the full eye examination and get my pupils dilated, just to make sure everything was ok. It had been 5 yrs since I'd had that done, and thought I should take a peek for safety's sake.
Well, they found something, in my left eye. They call it a "Choroidal Nevus". The O.D. at first called it a "freckle", but strongly encourage me to get an appointment with an Ophthalmologist.
This is the first pre-cancer type medical condition I've discovered. I thought I'd be a lot more alarmed when I was told about something like this, but at the time, my overriding concern was to be able to get a pair of glasses that night. I was also getting very "interested" in the friendly optician that was assisting me, and she discovered as much after taking my blood pressure.
I've yet to make the appointment, and just recently changed my primary doctor, so I guess I'll have to go in on my vacation and see whats up. The O.D. said they would most likely start a regime of 3-6 mo. monitoring appointments, then if after 2 years, no growth, increase to 12 mo. intervals. From what I've read, the statistics are promising that nothing will ever develop. I would opt for
irradiation and/or laser surgery before throwing in the towel, and going Sammy D/Pirate style, otherwise known as Enucleation
I never thought it would be my eyes that would give me a problem. My imagination wandered a little after reading up on these "freckles", but I've chilled out after crunching the numbers, and learning of the success of treatment they have with early detection. I kept wondering if I hadn't broke my glasses, how long it would have been before I discovered this? I guess that answer will only come with time.
Here are a few sites I've been browsing:
In the mean time, I'm going to check out eye patches and fake eye balls.
Here are some of the latest styles:
http://www.eyepatchheaven.com/eyepatch.htm
Posted by cystdog at 04:14 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
