LOCAL LEADERS APPROVE $35 BILLION REGIONAL PLAN
Metropolitan Transportation Plan/Sustainable Communities Strategy for 2035
Click here to view the MTP/SCS
The Sacramento Area Council of Governments unanimously approved the Metropolitan Transportation Plan/Sustainable Communities Strategy for 2035 (MTP/SCS) last week, after more than two years of extensive public input and collaborative technical work with local governments. The MTP/SCS guides how the region spends local, state and federal transportation funds.
“As our region adds nearly 900,000 people by 2035, we need strategic improvements for our existing roads and transit system. Our region has coalesced behind a plan that reduces the time most people will spend in congestion, fixes our roads, and increases access to transit,” said SACOG Board Chair and Rocklin Councilmember Peter Hill.
The MTP/SCS focuses on improving the safety and maintenance of streets and freeways, invests in new options for people to walk, bike or use transit, and connects the transportation planning with land use planning to ensure public dollars are used efficiently.
“This plan expands the options people have for transportation in our communities, whether it’s bike lanes or sidewalks for kids to get to school, new streetcars or light rail to get to work, or safer and better maintained roads to drive on,” said SACOG Transportation Committee and Sacramento City Councilmember Chair Steve Cohn.
“The MTP/SCS builds on the region’s Blueprint, which envisions more housing and transportation choices for our region by 2050,” said SACOG CEO Mike McKeever. “The MTP/SCS provides the infrastructure needed to support the Blueprint influenced land uses in local jurisdictions across the six-county region.” Among the key highlights from the plan:
- Future congestion per person in the region decreases by 7 percent through 2035 (compared to a projected increase of nearly 60 percent in the MTP adopted a decade ago, in 2002)
- Over 40 percent increase in transit services per person in 2035 as today.
- Meets Air Resources Board target for reducing greenhouse gas emissions from passenger vehicles by 16%
- Between 1988 and 2005, for every 1,000 new residents, 333 acres of farmland were urbanized. Between 2008 and 2035, for every 1,000 new residents, only 42 acres of farmland will be urbanized.
- Streamlined environmental review processing at lower costs for a wide variety of projects consistent with the plan.
“This MTP/SCS accelerates opportunities for saving money and accelerating economic development for business in our region,” said SACOG 2011 Board Chair Susan Peters.
The 31-member SACOG Board of Directors is made up of city councilmembers, mayors, and county supervisors from each of the 22 cities and six counties in the region. SACOG is responsible for developing the MTP/SCS every four years in coordination with the cities, counties, transit agencies, air quality management districts, Caltrans, and other public agencies. The plan is required to conform to air quality goals for the region, contain a plan to reduce greenhouse gases from passenger vehicles, demonstrate that all proposed projects can be reasonably funded, undergo extensive public review, and complete a programmatic Environmental Impact Report.
SACOG coordinates transportation planning, funding and project delivery for Sacramento, El Dorado, Placer, Yolo, Sutter and Yuba counties and the cities within them. SACOG also engages elected officials in land use and other regional issues.
Click here to view the MTP/SCS