The Sacramento Department of Transportation (SacDOT) is poised to significantly enhance North Watt Avenue, aiming to meet the diverse safety and mobility requirements of that community.
However, the Rio Linda M Street streetlight project has now been stuck in limbo for eight years.
The North Watt project has garnered attention and support from the Sacramento Area Council of Governments (SACOG), which has allocated $7.4 million towards these efforts. This funding is part of a larger $22.5 million grant received by SACOG from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Reconnecting Communities Award, earmarked for design and possible land acquisition, pushing the project towards realization. This financial backing is viewed as a cornerstone for the community’s future, paving the way for a transportation network that is safe, accessible, and environmentally conscious.
That’s $22.5 Million dollars in grant money that has been awarded to a project that has no tangible projects in process or in development.
While the Rio Linda Elverta Downtown Special Planning Area ordinance has multiple, defined needs and requirements for the M Street corridor, was adopted November 17, 2015, and hasn’t seen a dime in funding since 2016, when District 4 Supervisor Roberta MacGlashan funded the initial half-installation of street lights from Oak Lane to 6th Street.
The most recent effort to replace the remaining streetlights was proposed for completion in June of 2023. Supervisor Sue Frost said at the most recent community meeting in March that the project had been approved and funded, and the SacDOT Master project list says that the $420k replacement of the streetlights was to begin in March of 2024.
It’s April 3rd, and I ain’t seen nothin’.
The vision for North Watt Avenue is to transform it into a corridor that supports multiple modes of transportation, ensuring ease of access to employment, retail, educational institutions, recreational spaces, and residential areas. The aim is to foster a setting where biking, walking, and public transit are convenient and safe options for everyone.
It sounds very similar to the Rio Linda Downtown SPA. Sidewalks separated from the street by planters and trees, public art, cafe seating, public plazas, design guidelines for signage, wayfinding devices, traffic-calming measures, bulb-outs, speed tables, colored and textured pavements… all are meant to create a human-scaled, walkable downtown district; “…a setting where biking, walking, and public transit are convenient and safe options for everyone.”
I have more questions than answers.
Why isn’t Sacramento County or SACOG applying for grants for this community? Why has it taken seven years to begin thinking about continuing the Special Planning Area? How is it that within 20 years North Highlands gets funding for Freedom Park Drive and North Watt, while we wait for ONE SINGLE PROJECT to be completed?
Who is working for us?
Is anyone working for us?
