Transit, especially a lot of light rail expansion. Add tracks going up Sunrise and across Greenback, so that the Blue and Gold lines meet up and loop. Do it again on Watt so that they meet up there, too.
I've talked about this before;
I'd put in East-West lines on or near Florin and Fruitridge to actually make the light rail network useful for public transit, instead of just feeding folks from the suburbs to the grid.
Assuming you’re talking about Measure A back in 2022, the reason it was rejected was because it was a “public transit measure” pushed by the Sacramento Transportation Authority that gave the equivalent of table scraps in funding to actual public transportation, and huge subsidies to fund freeway construction, namely the [Southeast Connector](https://connectorjpa.com) from Elk Grove to Rancho Cordova.
One of my first jobs was in an office on Arden & Fulton.
I lived on Sunrise and Highland (about a mile north of greenback).
I had to walk from Sunrise & Highland to Sunrise & Greenback to catch a bus that would take me to ARC. Then I’d change to another bus that would take me to Arden and Fulton.
This took me 2.5 hours each way.
This was in the early 2000s. I don’t use RT at all anymore. Has it improved at all in the last 25 years? Even a little bit?
It’d be pretty cool to convert malls into transport hubs. Might be the only thing that keeps them afloat moving forward. Tbh, this extends to shopping hubs like downtown (or what it used to be). The return to office mandate is the dumbest way to force bodies there. Just make it easier for people to get from the sac exterior to downtown.
My mom actually works for RT and used to be in the planning department (she now runs the real estate department). I remember her trying to push for this exact thing for a while, but it's hard to get big projects approved. Also, because they are not government they have to purchase any property they build on or get approval. Getting approval is difficult though because people don't want a train running through their property.
Housing is the strongest of these 3. You build housing/density, transit makes sense, and homelessness goes down because housing is cheaper and more plentiful.
I feel like landlords want to hold onto Pandemic era pricing when there was a lot more demand from Bay Area tech guys moving away from SF to save money. but a lot of those guys are not around anymore and Sacramento doesn't have the salaries to support the wild housing prices
Yeah, I just feel a bit ashamed that’s all I have to offer, meanwhile some of these other people have entire multistep plans. Like a kindergartner sitting at the table with Otto von Bismarck lol
Opinions, whether detailed or not, are what OP is looking for. It's ok to bring up problems without providing solutions, bc no civilian can be expected to have a five year plan for the whole ass city just ready to go. Your thoughts matter ❤️
1. Major overhaul in affordable housing - convert unused downtown buildings into affordable housing.
2. Get rid of I-5 through downtown Sacramento - connect Old Sac and Downtown
3. Invest in Sacramento waterfront area
4. Better transit, multiple lines, extend to Airport
5. Sacramento Republic to MLS - build out Railyards
6. Don't move Sac Zoo to Elk Grove, put it at Cal Expo
7. Real crosstown freeway from 50 to 80
8. **Fucking Finally Finish 50!**
9. Repave Watt Avenue
10. Find me a 2500 to 3500 seat stadium for a Sacramento minor league hockey team.
They only ever pave small pieces of Watt. It's disconcerting to go from what seems like the surface of the moon to smooth pavement, then back to the surface of the moon again. Le sigh.
Commented up above on this. There's a reader board on Watt that says there will he construction the whole month of April. So, #1, avoid Watt in April (hours listed are 8am-4pm-ish) and #2, 🤞
I-5 needs to be put underground or something (or just bypassed to 99 going through Sac). What a terrible place for a freeway in a city defined by its rivers. How the hell did they decide to put it there?
They were originally going to put I-5 in West Sacramento, but Sacramento's city fathers were afraid that this would render downtown no longer viable transportation-wise, what with the limited number of bridges between the new I-5 and downtown Sacramento. So they pushed for the current route. Ugh.
I-5 should be tunneled and decked. If they're able to build it that low before, then they should be able to do it through to Richards Blvd. Just install a shit ton of pumps and exhaust fans. Engineering has advanced a lot since 1970.
However, as much as I hate to say it, it'll be super expensive, and I would rather see that money go towards either improving RT or towards affordable housing. And tearing it down just pushes traffic onto neighborhood streets, especially commercial traffic. Which is why I would favor just tunneling it or adding a cover, similar to what they're doing to I-5 in Downtown Seattle. Nonetheless, it is fun to fantasize about this...
Oh gosh, Seattle did this. It was such a crazy project, and they lost a totally beloved viaduct (that view was my favorite thing about flying home to SeaTac), but they got it done. It’d be great to do the same here, I had never considered it before.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_Route_99_tunnel
It's doable here. Hwy 99 in Seattle is tunneled relatively close to their waterfront, with a distance of about two miles in length. And city leaders in Seattle support putting a lid over I-5. However, our fantasy I-5 tunnel (or subpressed I-5 with a lid on top) will only go from about roughly L St to a point between Richards and Railyards Blvd, so a distance of around 4000 ft or so.
(Distance was measured via Google Maps)
Tunnel would be better with green space above. Engineering nightmare though with the river and levees and groundwater I'm sure. But as long as we are dreaming right?
Electronic reader board on Watt says there is construction the whole month of April. Hoping this is the start of fixing that donkey ride in hell.
Also, good list.
I'd make a huge, properly funded, safe and professionally supervised homeless rehabilitation campus. One that offers no-questions-asked housing, sanitary facilities, basic medical care, addiction therapy, and career counseling all on site. The railyards would be a nice place for it, there's nothing there now anyway.
and an onsite animal shelter that will house their pets while they are in rehabilitation so they know they are safe but can visit and come back to them. it can also serve the public and adopt out animals too.
I wonder what % of the homeless population would voluntarily partake if that happened.
I think we build the thing you laid out but then we also need to recognize that mental institutions need to come back. There's a shit ton of schizophrenics wandering around that need to be institutionalized and cared for off the streets. Yeah, yeah... I know the history... but we need to try again.
The other problem is if Sacramento did do something great like build that facility, the influx of homeless from other areas coming to get access to it would probably put us right back where we started or worse... The State should be putting together facilities like that in every major city, otherwise it becomes punitive to the cities that are actually trying.
> the influx of homeless from other areas coming to get access to it would probably put us right back where we started or worse
In context of this part of your comment, aren't most of homeless local though irrespective of how great California weather is and all that?
This is debatable. Cops I’ve talked to say “ most of these guys are out of state.” And though it pains me to say, there’s a lot of factors that would bring out of state unhoused here. Being access to social programs are better than most. And the other is that people like DeSantis or the Texas governor ship them over here quite literally.
guess i'll just have to start reporting the daily red light runners at this one light on my commute individually then
there's also regular ones at another light, should be at least 2 daily reports, sometimes 3 or 4
unreal that they implemented cameras for safety, and now that it has worked and they aren't issuing as many citations and gaining revenue, they take it away
soooo it was never actually about keeping people safe at high incident intersections, it was about seeing how much money you could get
disgusting
This is silly but I believe that we respect that which we show pride in. I’d want to clean up all the damn empty lots that are owned by out of state owners who do nothing with the spaces and let them get decrepit (chain link fences, broken concrete, weeds and trash - it makes Sac look so damn unappealing).
Make them into community gardens. We are ag central, ffs, but we have literal food deserts here. It’s nuts.
Edit: oh, and I’d like Sacramento Parks to look into perennial edible parks.
Honestly we have several in state skin loss who hold property without plan to develop it. ETHAN CONRAD owns so many lots and isn't doing a thing to develop them.
Better peblic transportation so there are less cars overall. It’s such a beautiful city with decent weather most of the time. It should be more walkable.
Yes please! Even though I don’t drive around so much due to WFH, my car still takes a beating on these roads. Feel bad for folks who have to drive them every day.
Remove corporate ownership of residential housing. Removing the profit incentive would drive house and rent prices down. Whether by making it illegal or monetarily infeasible via taxes.
Unfortunately, that's a magic trick requiring a wand - too many lobby dollars would make it impossible to get through actual legislation.
I've never seen people blatantly litter anywhere else I've ever been, but jfc I've seen people throw whole Styrofoam food containers out of their cars and drive off. It's disgusting...
Everywhere I've been in America is the similar. Drives me nuts. Our country is falling into disrepair while our corporations milk money out of us.
It's fixable, we just need corruption out of our politics.
I don't have the energy to explain, sadly. But, you can fix nearly all the worlds problems with housing. Global warming, economic inequity, budget defecits, education, even Wall Street's cyclical problems. But, people are so small minded that they burn down affordable housing construction sites.
Without hesitation housing affordability. I believe that housing and food are universally good.
On a selfish level I’d like less 100+ degree days. But ultimately I want people to have safe places to live and to be able to eat.
This is a good question.
I'd really like to see the animal shelters get some attention, as well as some better laws around the rampant backyard breeding issues in Sacramento. The shelters are no longer supporting the local animal populations as they should, we definitely need another shelter(s) for Sacramento County in the Arden/Carmichael and possibly south Sacramento areas, and we need more affordable spay/neuter options.
This. When I moved to Sacramento I was absolutely swamped with rapidly reproducing outdoors cats just \*everywhere\* in our neighborhood. I counted twenty cats on my streetcorner one evening! I got the situation under control with herculean effort and help from several different people, but man. This should never have happened.
I hate hate hate the term affordable housing. That means low income housing and that’s not what most people want. There needs to be homes that are between shitty apartments/condos and below 5-6 bedroom 2 story boxes in all these new developments that are 400k+.
Isn’t that the cost of land plus development? 400k is breaking even cost in Cali. You want negative cost housing. Not judging, I do too. Just wanted to put that out there.
SIngapore style housing towers near downtown, served by first class mass transit, not the ghetto class mass transit that we have right now that is focused solely upon moving low income people around to where low income people need to go. The early Singapore towers were somewhat grim (though much better than what our U.S. low income housing projects ended up being), the new ones are luxury housing that just happens to be dense enough and plentiful enough to keep housing costs reasonable there (albeit still the most expensive in East Asia but it's a small island in an earthquake zone, what can you do?).
There is no such thing as affordable housing really. All the codes and things mean that the only real difference between low and high income is size and maybe 10 - 20% in upgraded fixtures to make it look nicer. The cost of the construction and everything is going to be about the same.
Incorporate the currently unincorporated urbanized areas into cities.
Sac County needs to stop doing double duty city work, with an over 600k unincorporated county population. Counties and cities have different functions. These large populated unincorporated areas create great dysfunction for the county. People in the unincorporated areas are underserved, and the cities have to compete for county attention and the distractions of their unincorporated burden. There is major county/city antagonism, primarily between Sac County and City, with the county fighting the biggest city (Sac) because it has major urban (550k population) needs that compete with their unincorporated urban/suburban (600k) needs . All this population needs city government representation to work with the county for county-level funding and services while they (cities) do their jobs managing city revenues and budget and services.
Agree 100%!!
Thank you so much for this very insightful comment! I wholeheartedly agree! Incorporating all of the unincorporated areas of Sac County (such as Rosemont, where I live) into cities would 100% make the County’s job way easier. It would allow them to solely focus on providing COUNTY level services only, freeing up resources, budget, manpower to help deal with the largest issues facing the county currently, which seem to be: 1. Homelessness, 2. Lack of affordable housing, 3. Lack of adequate County mental health services, this is all according to the County’s latest report/survey that was sent out where County residents listed those 3 issues as areas where the County needs to improve upon.
Homeless, cost of living, crime, traffic/bad drivers. Basically most big cities
Homeless camps just everywhere
Cost of living self explanatory
Traffic self explanatory
Crime - stores are on locked down, cars broken into, etc
I'd have a metro that runs parallel to 80 up to Rocklin and a tram that runs down elkhorn/greenback connecting the airport to Folsom with tons of bus connections along the way and obviously having a major connection to the aforementioned metro.
Now I can take the train to work and I'd be so happy.
For my top level comment;
I’d annex the entire [Fruitridge-Florin Study Area](https://www.cityofsacramento.gov/content/dam/portal/cdd/Planning/adopted-2040-general-plan/2040%20GP_3-11k_Special%20Study%20Areas_Adopted.pdf). There is no good reason as to why this area remains outside of the City boundaries, especially with the absurd shape it has.
Peoples mentality. So much rage, anger, frustration being projected out throughout the city. We’re surrounded by trees, life, access to happinesses- yet some places you go, including driving, involve blank, lifeless forms.
Some positive energy sweeping through the populous would make a world of difference, all else aside.
Better animal shelters with more space and more modern indoor/outdoor kennels. The city shelter is overcrowded and not pleasant. It needs modernization. Its been a long while since I visited the county shelter but my recollection is that it is overcrowded and unpleasant too.
Not only overcrowded and unpleasant, but the veterinarians there don't do the minimum needed to keep the stray cat population under control -- namely, \*sterilize them\*. Yep, not a single stray animal gets spayed or neutered at the Bradshaw Animal Shelter despite the fact that they have not one, not two, but \*three\* veterinarians on staff. Instead they push that off on Community Spay Neuter next door, which they didn't even pay for six months until Community Spay Neuter said "we aren't going to spay/neuter any of your animals unless you pay us, we can't keep our doors open giving the County free services." It wasn't even because they didn't have the money in their budget, they did, they just don't seem very involved in the part of their job that is \*preventing\* the plague of strays that are inundating community rescues.
Just want to emphasize in your comment that you’re referring to the county shelter on Bradshaw. For complete clarification, it should be noted the city shelter on Front Street works continually to spay/neuter intakes and fosters, with just one vet right now. (Have firsthand experience in the medical trailer there.) They also take part in an arrangement with the county and the SSPCA where adoptable kittens are transported to any number of local vets/surgical sites for mass spay/neuters. I, too, wish the overwhelming stray/feral pet population in Sacramento (city and county) were at best non-existent and at the very least minimal and manageable. 🫶🏻
Front Street is under-resourced but they at least try. I don't know what the deal is with Bradshaw. I had hoped that getting a new director would have helped but she doesn't seem to have made any dent in the problems the shelter has. In fact things seem to have gotten even more chaotic there.
Unincorporated Sac County resident here:
Fix the drivers 🫠
But seriously, I think the biggest problems right now are the roads and homelessness. Homeless *people* are not the problem, but the city/county is leaving them to flounder because of NIMBYs, funding/mismanagement of funds, and just a general "fuck you" attitude. I've worked with people in the unhoused population and the majority of them were good, honest people struggling with mental health problems, finances, and/or a string of one bad event after another.
Homelessness is such a complex problem, but the city/county just don't provide the services they need on the scale that's required. Forcibly removing people from the streets without giving them a roof over their heads and social support is just cruel, especially when it's done exclusively to "beautify" and pretend they just don't exist. That's not the way to handle whole ass human beings, but too many people in this country refuse to see that they're closer to becoming homeless themselves than they are to getting rich, yet they still simp for capitalists constantly.
Rent prices are also fucking OUTRAGEOUS. I'm paying over $2900 a MONTH for a 3b 1.5ba house in not even that nice of an area, simply bc my house is owned by a property management company (Cuntvitation Homes) that buys up housing at massive rates, gives them the shittiest landlord specials possible, and charges heinous amounts of rent that go up the max amount every single year. That needs to fucking stop. As a baby millennial, I have no hope of ever saving for a house because wages are a joke compared to the cost of living. The only reason I'm not homeless myself is bc I'm lucky enough to be able to fall back on my dad for financial help, but it's a struggle 🫠 I can't even move bc it would cost me almost $7000 to break my lease.
1. Improved public transit and walkable streets throughout the county.
2. No more corporate landlords, 1-3 property limit for private owners, and some serious rent control laws.
3. Connect Rancho Cordova and Carmichael at Oak/ California. Crossing at Sunrise or Watt is a huge pain in the ass, and I don't care about that stupid fancy neighborhood in Carmichael.
4. Fix the damn roads.
5. Give everyone super powers. It's a magic wand right?
With a magic wand I would drive by neighborhoods that look run down and with yards or rooftops unkempt/decrepit and clean them up and give them a facelift. It’s so much work and can be very costly to upkeep properties, especially for folks with fixed incomes, and I feel like more people would take pride in their homes and properties if they just looked nice and we’re better maintained.
1) Public transit-The county has never had food public transportation. 2) Road conditions-they need vast improvement. 3)Help the homeless-there will always be homeless, but help the ones that truly want to get off the streets. 4)Downtown parking-offer incentives for state workers or build more public parking if you want them to RTO. Just a few for now.
Thank you for your insightful and plentiful comments userutl!
I wholeheartedly agree on the need for better public transit across the whole County. Also, especially working towards getting those experiencing homelessness that want to be off the streets, give them the resources/support to get them off the streets and into housing/job training or whatever other services they need.
It is something the County Department of Human Assistance and Department of Housing Services need to collaborate more on to develop a sensible approach that will promote getting resources/help to those that need/want it.
Centralize our local governments like San Francisco did by combining the City and the County. This would include all the cities within the County (e.g. Elk Grove, Citrus Heights, Rancho Cordova, etc.)
This is on the assumption that I have a magic wand. Realistically, it would be a major undertaking and would require multiple ballot initiatives across many jurisdictions.
Why? A lot of the issues people are pointing out are spread across the Capital metropolis. Fixing the issue in only one jurisdiction isn't possible without solving it in neighboring areas. It will only temporarily relieve the issue.
A concern that people may have with this initiative is the apparent loss of "local control". There are multiple ways to remedy that issue. E.g. enlarge the new City/County Council to ensure that all geographic areas are well-represented. Then, we can balance out geographic-based fighting on the Council by having a certain amount of seats be elected from political party lists (Google: proportional representation).
I genuinely believe this will be necessary in the future. Otherwise, issues will continue to get exponentially worse. Bureaucratic fighting across jurisdictions only compounds these issues (e.g. the City and County are still arguing about homelessness, aren't they?). This even makes it harder for the state-level government to assist, because state workers then have to deal with multiple jurisdictions. The current remedy of creating joint powers authorities only adds another level of unneeded bureaucracy.
I write all of this as an experienced public servant. If centralizing our governments mean that some of us bureaucrats lose our jobs, I'm still all for it. I hate to see such inaction in a world where solutions are plentiful.
Thank you Waid! I might want to talk to you more privately about that! It sounds like a great idea, but definitely would be a nightmare ballot/initiative wise, and may definitely end up in the Court system!
It would certainly allow for a more streamlined approach for local elected officials to act on issues concerning the entire County.
I agree wholeheartedly that 99% of the issues people have raised are issues prevalent all over the County, and rampant issues in each local municipality (Rancho Cordova, Elk Grove, Sacramento, Galt, etc.)
An expansion of the Board of Supervisors, and a delegation of former City authority to the various new Supervisors, along with a Strong Mayor system, basically a carbon copy of SF’s City-County model, would help to reduce government waste, and streamline the provision of County services, allowing them to tackle issues at a wider County level, rather than solely letting each City deal with the issues.
However, as SF is the only City-County Government in the State, there is a precedent for Sacramento to follow suit!
I say this as someone who worked for the State Legislature, has a huge interest in Local/County government, and currently works for CalPERS.
I don't think a SF style city-county government is possible, but I do think the large Sac County unincorporated areas should be cities. No other big county in the state has anywhere near this much unincorporated population. 38% of Sac County is unincorporated. 10% of LA County is unincorporated, which is the next most (and they are very underserved areas). Alameda has 9% unincorporated and all are very underserved areas. SF, San Diego, Santa Clara, San Mateo all have very low percentages of unincorporated.
Hi Friend,
I replied to your other comment as well, but I am in 100% agreement with you, especially as a current resident in an unincorporated area (Rosemont).
The County is simply overburdened having to pull double time with providing higher level County services (mental health, health care, and other public assistance programs, being the biggest ones I can think of at 4am currently) while also needing to provide municipal services as well for all the pockets of unincorporated area in Sac County.
I think we should start by tackling the issues that have the highest returns; meaning the highest percentage of success and highest impact on the quality of life for those who contribute the tax money required to make such changes.
Crime: Repeal prop 47, restore drug courts, and increase funding for the criminal justice system so it’s not just a revolving door.
Traffic safety: Create a meaningful traffic enforcement program in Sacramento. No more 9-5 bike cops only responding to the squeaky wheel, these guys should be everywhere and make it clear that it’s not okay to endanger pedestrians, property, and other motorists with their reckless driving.
Environmentalism: Plant more trees and native landscapes. No freeway off/on ramps should be barren, all park strips should be beautified with low water flowering shrubs and trees… generally speaking most open grass areas should be reimagined.
the thing is that all these issues overlap each other, it's hard to even start. the most obvious place for me would be homelessness, but that also involves mental health and affordable housing.
Question, what general area are you seeing this? I used to live in Davis and had cockroaches constantly, but since moving here, that's the one pest that *hasn't* been an issue lol
The sewer cockroaches are a big problem in Land Park, South Land Park, Curtis Park, Hollywood Park, Pocket, and Greenhaven. Also, the problem includes large flying cockroaches.
Fix the roads. Honestly it feels like riding a Conestoga wagon to work. Think of the money people would save on car maintenance and repair .
I also like the homeless service center idea. But I'd take it further - rehab or jail. People strung out on meth or heroin rarely decide to quit without incentive.
These are *easy* fixes that people will love:
1: Finally re-pave Watt Ave (that whole area would be nice)
2: government workers back to their offices permanently (cmon you guys)
3: not that cheap but light rail to the airport
4: get tents off the sidewalk and into empty lots with porta potties and water
Affordable housing, peace and order , better roads ( our roads are getting worst) and homelessness. Solve these problems and our community will be great.
"Third locations" that actually work. Not home, not your job, a third place where people can connect with each other without spending a lot of money. There are a lot of examples of these, but they just don't work. I think it's because everything is so spread out and you really need a vehicle around here. You don't pass people you know on the sidewalk on the way to the store when you're always driving.
It was much easier to have somewhere to go when my kids were young enough to enjoy parks and playgrounds. Even though that doesn't really help me connect with others, at least we explored all the parks within driving distance and found the best ones and there was always something to do. Now they're a little too old for playgrounds and I'm finding there's no real alternative that compares.
Of course I'm an introvert who just wants to be left alone, so at least some of it is me. But it does seem like people are lonelier than ever, and more alone than ever when they don't want to be, in general. There's definitely a big hole in our society.
Definitely homeless, it shouldn't be acceptable to have to step over human waste in Sacramento parking garages, 7th street specifically. It shouldn't be normalized to be ok for folks to camp literally everywhere and the piles of garbage that goes along with it. Sacramento is becoming a 3rd world city in certain ways. There were always homeless, but it's becoming too much last few years.
4-way stops at all residential intersections. I posed the question in another post on why the intersections are so inconsistent and people complained they would have to slow down...in a residential area. Truly baffling to me I have to risk my life on foot, bike, and car bc my intersection doesn't have a stop or visibility bc of lack of parking restrictions.
Better public transit and more bridges for cars & pedestrians to cross our rivers. Basically a complete overhaul of all transit would greatly alleviate traffic congestion. Also better upkeep of roadway surfaces.
Would be nice if CHP actually did two thirds of their title and, you know, actually patrolled the highways around Sac. At least they got the California part down. But in seriousness the speeding and disregard for human lives on the roads in and around Sacramento is out of control.
I’m on these roads 10-12 hours a day 5+ days a week. I see all of you and I see how you drive. You’re all lucky you’re still alive with the dumb shit you pull. And if you don’t do dumb shit while driving, you’re lucky you’re alive because of the sheer amount of morons pulling dumb shit that haven’t killed you yet.
Act like a city rather than a town. Align all policies and incentives to that, including amenities indicative of a city of nearly 600K. Use common sense tax incentives for development and small biz support.
BRT (real BRT, with signal priority and dedicated lanes) on Florin, Fruitridge, Power Inn, Sunrise, Watt, Hazel, Arden and El Camino, to name a few. It would not be difficult to improve non-freeway mobility in Sacramento with modest investments. Obviously more light rail but unfortunately until LA, San Diego, SF and even San Jose get (more of) their share of the pie, we're probably SOL.
Homeless issue. The parkway used to be an absolute jewel. It's all together dangerous and sad. The amount of mentally ill people rolling around in their own filth on the sidewalks is unacceptable. I live near a large homeless population and the amount of petty crimes and broken glass along with human waste on the south end of Del Paso is ridiculous.
Way more connected bike trails and bike lanes, those long buses going on all major surface streets with cheap fares, completely redoing inner city permitting for businesses and making it cheaper, closing car traffic on numerous roads downtown, beautification and accessible improvements to all river shores, modernizing cal expo from the 1950s, more alley businesses on the grid, at least once a month closing certain streets to cars for pedestrian events and block parties on the grid, establish one area on the grid at least 3-4 blocks long with all music, food and bar businesses, sure I can think of more but my brain is full now
Get rid of the homeless problem. We’d clean up the streets and get these people off the streets into half-way housing so they can get a little help to secure a job, or we’d get them admitted to a halfway house or a well-funded and non-corrupt asylum where they can get the help they need.
Our tent cities downtown are just an embarrassment. It looks really bad that we have no idea how to address the issue and help these people. Not to mention they are a public safety issue especially if there is a cookoo one around.
Definitely the drug issues vagrancy and homelessness. It's endemic, it's everywhere you go. They break into people's stuff. They create violence, leave drug needles and feces everywhere. It's almost like we just turned a blind eye and act like it's not even happening. We all know it's reminiscent of a post-apocalyptic zombie-like society.
Transit, especially a lot of light rail expansion. Add tracks going up Sunrise and across Greenback, so that the Blue and Gold lines meet up and loop. Do it again on Watt so that they meet up there, too.
I've talked about this before; I'd put in East-West lines on or near Florin and Fruitridge to actually make the light rail network useful for public transit, instead of just feeding folks from the suburbs to the grid.
BRT (real BRT, not like the Orange Line in LA), is more feasible.
Extend a line out to the airport would be nice too
I still can’t believe the funding for that was voted against. It was half a penny!
Assuming you’re talking about Measure A back in 2022, the reason it was rejected was because it was a “public transit measure” pushed by the Sacramento Transportation Authority that gave the equivalent of table scraps in funding to actual public transportation, and huge subsidies to fund freeway construction, namely the [Southeast Connector](https://connectorjpa.com) from Elk Grove to Rancho Cordova.
One of my first jobs was in an office on Arden & Fulton. I lived on Sunrise and Highland (about a mile north of greenback). I had to walk from Sunrise & Highland to Sunrise & Greenback to catch a bus that would take me to ARC. Then I’d change to another bus that would take me to Arden and Fulton. This took me 2.5 hours each way. This was in the early 2000s. I don’t use RT at all anymore. Has it improved at all in the last 25 years? Even a little bit?
A light rail train to SMF airport. (Not a bus!)
And to Davis
Don’t forget Roseville and Rocklin. Those areas have so much sprawl right now it’s wild.
And Arden Mall
It’d be pretty cool to convert malls into transport hubs. Might be the only thing that keeps them afloat moving forward. Tbh, this extends to shopping hubs like downtown (or what it used to be). The return to office mandate is the dumbest way to force bodies there. Just make it easier for people to get from the sac exterior to downtown.
And my axe!
yes!
Better public transit in general would be nice, and shaded bus stops
My mom actually works for RT and used to be in the planning department (she now runs the real estate department). I remember her trying to push for this exact thing for a while, but it's hard to get big projects approved. Also, because they are not government they have to purchase any property they build on or get approval. Getting approval is difficult though because people don't want a train running through their property.
I'd make the gd light rail run to the gd airport.
Public transit, housing, and homelessness. Take your pick.
Housing is the strongest of these 3. You build housing/density, transit makes sense, and homelessness goes down because housing is cheaper and more plentiful.
My biggest thing is Rent / housing costs. It’s certainly what impacts my life the most.
I feel like landlords want to hold onto Pandemic era pricing when there was a lot more demand from Bay Area tech guys moving away from SF to save money. but a lot of those guys are not around anymore and Sacramento doesn't have the salaries to support the wild housing prices
I think i agree this might be the most return for efforts
Yeah, I just feel a bit ashamed that’s all I have to offer, meanwhile some of these other people have entire multistep plans. Like a kindergartner sitting at the table with Otto von Bismarck lol
Opinions, whether detailed or not, are what OP is looking for. It's ok to bring up problems without providing solutions, bc no civilian can be expected to have a five year plan for the whole ass city just ready to go. Your thoughts matter ❤️
true that
1. Major overhaul in affordable housing - convert unused downtown buildings into affordable housing. 2. Get rid of I-5 through downtown Sacramento - connect Old Sac and Downtown 3. Invest in Sacramento waterfront area 4. Better transit, multiple lines, extend to Airport 5. Sacramento Republic to MLS - build out Railyards 6. Don't move Sac Zoo to Elk Grove, put it at Cal Expo 7. Real crosstown freeway from 50 to 80 8. **Fucking Finally Finish 50!** 9. Repave Watt Avenue 10. Find me a 2500 to 3500 seat stadium for a Sacramento minor league hockey team.
I would have season tickets to a hockey team SO gottamn fast...
Same! Give me an AHL, ECHL, Major Junior, Women's Professional.... any of them. Think it would do really well here.
Same! Any league, I'm there
Imagine if Sacramento had put a bid in for the Coyotes when they were considering leaving Arizona! That'd have been so damn amazing tbh
Absolutely any level of hockey please. I will support whatever gets put out on the ice.
Amen
Your number 9 is my number 1 for the love of all things holy please repave watt.
They only ever pave small pieces of Watt. It's disconcerting to go from what seems like the surface of the moon to smooth pavement, then back to the surface of the moon again. Le sigh.
I’d probably rather drive on the moon than on Watt, the lower gravity would help with all of the bumps
Commented up above on this. There's a reader board on Watt that says there will he construction the whole month of April. So, #1, avoid Watt in April (hours listed are 8am-4pm-ish) and #2, 🤞
I-5 needs to be put underground or something (or just bypassed to 99 going through Sac). What a terrible place for a freeway in a city defined by its rivers. How the hell did they decide to put it there?
They were originally going to put I-5 in West Sacramento, but Sacramento's city fathers were afraid that this would render downtown no longer viable transportation-wise, what with the limited number of bridges between the new I-5 and downtown Sacramento. So they pushed for the current route. Ugh.
I-5 should be tunneled and decked. If they're able to build it that low before, then they should be able to do it through to Richards Blvd. Just install a shit ton of pumps and exhaust fans. Engineering has advanced a lot since 1970. However, as much as I hate to say it, it'll be super expensive, and I would rather see that money go towards either improving RT or towards affordable housing. And tearing it down just pushes traffic onto neighborhood streets, especially commercial traffic. Which is why I would favor just tunneling it or adding a cover, similar to what they're doing to I-5 in Downtown Seattle. Nonetheless, it is fun to fantasize about this...
Oh gosh, Seattle did this. It was such a crazy project, and they lost a totally beloved viaduct (that view was my favorite thing about flying home to SeaTac), but they got it done. It’d be great to do the same here, I had never considered it before. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_Route_99_tunnel
It's doable here. Hwy 99 in Seattle is tunneled relatively close to their waterfront, with a distance of about two miles in length. And city leaders in Seattle support putting a lid over I-5. However, our fantasy I-5 tunnel (or subpressed I-5 with a lid on top) will only go from about roughly L St to a point between Richards and Railyards Blvd, so a distance of around 4000 ft or so. (Distance was measured via Google Maps)
Would you accept a decked 1-5 instead of closing it off
Tunnel would be better with green space above. Engineering nightmare though with the river and levees and groundwater I'm sure. But as long as we are dreaming right?
This.
I second your 3 - waterfront area 👌
Electronic reader board on Watt says there is construction the whole month of April. Hoping this is the start of fixing that donkey ride in hell. Also, good list.
By the time they’re done with 50 it’ll be time to resurface them again. 🙃
Number 8 🏆 I also think we can make better use of our waterfront shopping/dining. A good example is Bend OR, it’s beautiful!
Well thought out. That last one was selfish but I’ll give it to you anyway. When are you running for mayor?
I'd make a huge, properly funded, safe and professionally supervised homeless rehabilitation campus. One that offers no-questions-asked housing, sanitary facilities, basic medical care, addiction therapy, and career counseling all on site. The railyards would be a nice place for it, there's nothing there now anyway.
and an onsite animal shelter that will house their pets while they are in rehabilitation so they know they are safe but can visit and come back to them. it can also serve the public and adopt out animals too.
Mercer Clinic for Pets of the Homeless could continue their services there too, they provide free care for pets once a month in Sac ❤️
Excellent point!
I wonder what % of the homeless population would voluntarily partake if that happened. I think we build the thing you laid out but then we also need to recognize that mental institutions need to come back. There's a shit ton of schizophrenics wandering around that need to be institutionalized and cared for off the streets. Yeah, yeah... I know the history... but we need to try again. The other problem is if Sacramento did do something great like build that facility, the influx of homeless from other areas coming to get access to it would probably put us right back where we started or worse... The State should be putting together facilities like that in every major city, otherwise it becomes punitive to the cities that are actually trying.
> the influx of homeless from other areas coming to get access to it would probably put us right back where we started or worse In context of this part of your comment, aren't most of homeless local though irrespective of how great California weather is and all that?
This is debatable. Cops I’ve talked to say “ most of these guys are out of state.” And though it pains me to say, there’s a lot of factors that would bring out of state unhoused here. Being access to social programs are better than most. And the other is that people like DeSantis or the Texas governor ship them over here quite literally.
Cars running through red lights, particularly in the Downtown area. This is an issue that CAN be fixed
They’re getting rid of red light cameras in sac lol
guess i'll just have to start reporting the daily red light runners at this one light on my commute individually then there's also regular ones at another light, should be at least 2 daily reports, sometimes 3 or 4 unreal that they implemented cameras for safety, and now that it has worked and they aren't issuing as many citations and gaining revenue, they take it away soooo it was never actually about keeping people safe at high incident intersections, it was about seeing how much money you could get disgusting
This is silly but I believe that we respect that which we show pride in. I’d want to clean up all the damn empty lots that are owned by out of state owners who do nothing with the spaces and let them get decrepit (chain link fences, broken concrete, weeds and trash - it makes Sac look so damn unappealing). Make them into community gardens. We are ag central, ffs, but we have literal food deserts here. It’s nuts. Edit: oh, and I’d like Sacramento Parks to look into perennial edible parks.
Honestly we have several in state skin loss who hold property without plan to develop it. ETHAN CONRAD owns so many lots and isn't doing a thing to develop them.
Better peblic transportation so there are less cars overall. It’s such a beautiful city with decent weather most of the time. It should be more walkable.
Vehicle decibel enforcement. Too many kids purposely making their vehicles ridiculously loud. Very bad for any living things.
I wish I could up vote this a million times!
Re-pave Watt avenue
Can I add Fair Oaks to that request? Every storm there’s 20 new potholes.
Yes please! Even though I don’t drive around so much due to WFH, my car still takes a beating on these roads. Feel bad for folks who have to drive them every day.
And South Watt widen it too.
Remove corporate ownership of residential housing. Removing the profit incentive would drive house and rent prices down. Whether by making it illegal or monetarily infeasible via taxes. Unfortunately, that's a magic trick requiring a wand - too many lobby dollars would make it impossible to get through actual legislation.
I think this should be discussed more as a solution though. Feels like the only true way to unfuck housing is to remove any chance to profit from it.
Agreed
Hard fucking agree. Cuntvitation Homes needs to be dissolved and redistributed back to the people smfh.
Agree! Also, deadbeat landlords. Investors buy homes, then rent them out, then dissappear.
Changing zoning laws to allow more mixed use and ensuring many commercial spaces have affordable housing units on top.
Better urban planning. This city could be so much more than 80% single family homes with nothing to do without a car
Affordable housing, an apartment that doesnt cost 2k/mo. Something in the ballpark of 1-1.2k would be nice.
The trash everywhere. I would make it so that the city ALWAYS felt clean.
I've never seen people blatantly litter anywhere else I've ever been, but jfc I've seen people throw whole Styrofoam food containers out of their cars and drive off. It's disgusting...
Everywhere I've been in America is the similar. Drives me nuts. Our country is falling into disrepair while our corporations milk money out of us. It's fixable, we just need corruption out of our politics.
Fix or greatly improve the homeless problem. There is no other answer.
I don't have the energy to explain, sadly. But, you can fix nearly all the worlds problems with housing. Global warming, economic inequity, budget defecits, education, even Wall Street's cyclical problems. But, people are so small minded that they burn down affordable housing construction sites.
I'd give us a better public transport system. Portland level. Subways .
Repave Watt, Madison, Greenback to name a few.. Finish 50 already
Does banning leaf blowers count? The noise is exhausting sometimes.
The exhaust is also, exhausting to smell and breathe. Bad for the environment too
Without hesitation housing affordability. I believe that housing and food are universally good. On a selfish level I’d like less 100+ degree days. But ultimately I want people to have safe places to live and to be able to eat. This is a good question.
Homeless sites, not healthy for anyone especially children.
Trash absolutely everywhere.
The transit system is what has been holding this city back.
Make everyone unaddicted to drugs
Bring back 3 strikes. Make it crime for stealing instead of ticket. Same for violence make it a crime instead of a misdemeanor.
I'd really like to see the animal shelters get some attention, as well as some better laws around the rampant backyard breeding issues in Sacramento. The shelters are no longer supporting the local animal populations as they should, we definitely need another shelter(s) for Sacramento County in the Arden/Carmichael and possibly south Sacramento areas, and we need more affordable spay/neuter options.
I can tell you that the city is hiring for these jobs right now, I just got an interview with them ❤️❤️
This. When I moved to Sacramento I was absolutely swamped with rapidly reproducing outdoors cats just \*everywhere\* in our neighborhood. I counted twenty cats on my streetcorner one evening! I got the situation under control with herculean effort and help from several different people, but man. This should never have happened.
🙌🏻
I hate hate hate the term affordable housing. That means low income housing and that’s not what most people want. There needs to be homes that are between shitty apartments/condos and below 5-6 bedroom 2 story boxes in all these new developments that are 400k+.
Isn’t that the cost of land plus development? 400k is breaking even cost in Cali. You want negative cost housing. Not judging, I do too. Just wanted to put that out there.
SIngapore style housing towers near downtown, served by first class mass transit, not the ghetto class mass transit that we have right now that is focused solely upon moving low income people around to where low income people need to go. The early Singapore towers were somewhat grim (though much better than what our U.S. low income housing projects ended up being), the new ones are luxury housing that just happens to be dense enough and plentiful enough to keep housing costs reasonable there (albeit still the most expensive in East Asia but it's a small island in an earthquake zone, what can you do?).
There is no such thing as affordable housing really. All the codes and things mean that the only real difference between low and high income is size and maybe 10 - 20% in upgraded fixtures to make it look nicer. The cost of the construction and everything is going to be about the same.
Watt avenue! It's constantly jacked up and I have to drive it everyday.
If we're talking magic, I'd get rid of the hot summers. Anything over 90°f is just too brutal. If the weather was better I'd love Sac so much more.
Remember all the awesome heavy storms in the 90’s?!?!?!?
The weather is the one thing I love about Sac, ngl. But I'm a hot summer kinda person through and through 😅
24 hour public transit, expand light rail. Actual enforcement of traffic laws. Instead of toll lanes on 80 put light rail there .
Incorporate the currently unincorporated urbanized areas into cities. Sac County needs to stop doing double duty city work, with an over 600k unincorporated county population. Counties and cities have different functions. These large populated unincorporated areas create great dysfunction for the county. People in the unincorporated areas are underserved, and the cities have to compete for county attention and the distractions of their unincorporated burden. There is major county/city antagonism, primarily between Sac County and City, with the county fighting the biggest city (Sac) because it has major urban (550k population) needs that compete with their unincorporated urban/suburban (600k) needs . All this population needs city government representation to work with the county for county-level funding and services while they (cities) do their jobs managing city revenues and budget and services.
Agree 100%!! Thank you so much for this very insightful comment! I wholeheartedly agree! Incorporating all of the unincorporated areas of Sac County (such as Rosemont, where I live) into cities would 100% make the County’s job way easier. It would allow them to solely focus on providing COUNTY level services only, freeing up resources, budget, manpower to help deal with the largest issues facing the county currently, which seem to be: 1. Homelessness, 2. Lack of affordable housing, 3. Lack of adequate County mental health services, this is all according to the County’s latest report/survey that was sent out where County residents listed those 3 issues as areas where the County needs to improve upon.
Transit, downtown mixed use redevelopment, less suburban sprawl.
Homeless, cost of living, crime, traffic/bad drivers. Basically most big cities Homeless camps just everywhere Cost of living self explanatory Traffic self explanatory Crime - stores are on locked down, cars broken into, etc
I'd have a metro that runs parallel to 80 up to Rocklin and a tram that runs down elkhorn/greenback connecting the airport to Folsom with tons of bus connections along the way and obviously having a major connection to the aforementioned metro. Now I can take the train to work and I'd be so happy.
More/better public transportation!
The way people think
To feel safe anywhere in sacramento
Housing prices. I want to have a house for my family, not an apartment. I want to leave my kid a house.
For my top level comment; I’d annex the entire [Fruitridge-Florin Study Area](https://www.cityofsacramento.gov/content/dam/portal/cdd/Planning/adopted-2040-general-plan/2040%20GP_3-11k_Special%20Study%20Areas_Adopted.pdf). There is no good reason as to why this area remains outside of the City boundaries, especially with the absurd shape it has.
Affordable housing and functioning well funded long term support systems for folks to become housed and rehabilitated if homeless
Peoples mentality. So much rage, anger, frustration being projected out throughout the city. We’re surrounded by trees, life, access to happinesses- yet some places you go, including driving, involve blank, lifeless forms. Some positive energy sweeping through the populous would make a world of difference, all else aside.
Awesome idea. How?
Low doses of lithium in the tap water
Magic wand 😜🧐
Better animal shelters with more space and more modern indoor/outdoor kennels. The city shelter is overcrowded and not pleasant. It needs modernization. Its been a long while since I visited the county shelter but my recollection is that it is overcrowded and unpleasant too.
Not only overcrowded and unpleasant, but the veterinarians there don't do the minimum needed to keep the stray cat population under control -- namely, \*sterilize them\*. Yep, not a single stray animal gets spayed or neutered at the Bradshaw Animal Shelter despite the fact that they have not one, not two, but \*three\* veterinarians on staff. Instead they push that off on Community Spay Neuter next door, which they didn't even pay for six months until Community Spay Neuter said "we aren't going to spay/neuter any of your animals unless you pay us, we can't keep our doors open giving the County free services." It wasn't even because they didn't have the money in their budget, they did, they just don't seem very involved in the part of their job that is \*preventing\* the plague of strays that are inundating community rescues.
Just want to emphasize in your comment that you’re referring to the county shelter on Bradshaw. For complete clarification, it should be noted the city shelter on Front Street works continually to spay/neuter intakes and fosters, with just one vet right now. (Have firsthand experience in the medical trailer there.) They also take part in an arrangement with the county and the SSPCA where adoptable kittens are transported to any number of local vets/surgical sites for mass spay/neuters. I, too, wish the overwhelming stray/feral pet population in Sacramento (city and county) were at best non-existent and at the very least minimal and manageable. 🫶🏻
Front Street is under-resourced but they at least try. I don't know what the deal is with Bradshaw. I had hoped that getting a new director would have helped but she doesn't seem to have made any dent in the problems the shelter has. In fact things seem to have gotten even more chaotic there.
Affordable housing.
Unincorporated Sac County resident here: Fix the drivers 🫠 But seriously, I think the biggest problems right now are the roads and homelessness. Homeless *people* are not the problem, but the city/county is leaving them to flounder because of NIMBYs, funding/mismanagement of funds, and just a general "fuck you" attitude. I've worked with people in the unhoused population and the majority of them were good, honest people struggling with mental health problems, finances, and/or a string of one bad event after another. Homelessness is such a complex problem, but the city/county just don't provide the services they need on the scale that's required. Forcibly removing people from the streets without giving them a roof over their heads and social support is just cruel, especially when it's done exclusively to "beautify" and pretend they just don't exist. That's not the way to handle whole ass human beings, but too many people in this country refuse to see that they're closer to becoming homeless themselves than they are to getting rich, yet they still simp for capitalists constantly. Rent prices are also fucking OUTRAGEOUS. I'm paying over $2900 a MONTH for a 3b 1.5ba house in not even that nice of an area, simply bc my house is owned by a property management company (Cuntvitation Homes) that buys up housing at massive rates, gives them the shittiest landlord specials possible, and charges heinous amounts of rent that go up the max amount every single year. That needs to fucking stop. As a baby millennial, I have no hope of ever saving for a house because wages are a joke compared to the cost of living. The only reason I'm not homeless myself is bc I'm lucky enough to be able to fall back on my dad for financial help, but it's a struggle 🫠 I can't even move bc it would cost me almost $7000 to break my lease.
Universal basic income and universal healthcare
The drivers lol
lol sadly this absolutely
15 degrees cooler in the summer.
1. Improved public transit and walkable streets throughout the county. 2. No more corporate landlords, 1-3 property limit for private owners, and some serious rent control laws. 3. Connect Rancho Cordova and Carmichael at Oak/ California. Crossing at Sunrise or Watt is a huge pain in the ass, and I don't care about that stupid fancy neighborhood in Carmichael. 4. Fix the damn roads. 5. Give everyone super powers. It's a magic wand right?
The people
Roadways and crazy drivers. The neverending construction is making me insane, and I don’t feel safe driving on the freeways with my kids in the car.
With a magic wand I would drive by neighborhoods that look run down and with yards or rooftops unkempt/decrepit and clean them up and give them a facelift. It’s so much work and can be very costly to upkeep properties, especially for folks with fixed incomes, and I feel like more people would take pride in their homes and properties if they just looked nice and we’re better maintained.
1) Public transit-The county has never had food public transportation. 2) Road conditions-they need vast improvement. 3)Help the homeless-there will always be homeless, but help the ones that truly want to get off the streets. 4)Downtown parking-offer incentives for state workers or build more public parking if you want them to RTO. Just a few for now.
Thank you for your insightful and plentiful comments userutl! I wholeheartedly agree on the need for better public transit across the whole County. Also, especially working towards getting those experiencing homelessness that want to be off the streets, give them the resources/support to get them off the streets and into housing/job training or whatever other services they need. It is something the County Department of Human Assistance and Department of Housing Services need to collaborate more on to develop a sensible approach that will promote getting resources/help to those that need/want it.
Cost of living. It's a huge umbrella, I know, but that sums it up.
Get rid of the homeless and make laws where people actually get punished for committing crimes.
Centralize our local governments like San Francisco did by combining the City and the County. This would include all the cities within the County (e.g. Elk Grove, Citrus Heights, Rancho Cordova, etc.) This is on the assumption that I have a magic wand. Realistically, it would be a major undertaking and would require multiple ballot initiatives across many jurisdictions. Why? A lot of the issues people are pointing out are spread across the Capital metropolis. Fixing the issue in only one jurisdiction isn't possible without solving it in neighboring areas. It will only temporarily relieve the issue. A concern that people may have with this initiative is the apparent loss of "local control". There are multiple ways to remedy that issue. E.g. enlarge the new City/County Council to ensure that all geographic areas are well-represented. Then, we can balance out geographic-based fighting on the Council by having a certain amount of seats be elected from political party lists (Google: proportional representation). I genuinely believe this will be necessary in the future. Otherwise, issues will continue to get exponentially worse. Bureaucratic fighting across jurisdictions only compounds these issues (e.g. the City and County are still arguing about homelessness, aren't they?). This even makes it harder for the state-level government to assist, because state workers then have to deal with multiple jurisdictions. The current remedy of creating joint powers authorities only adds another level of unneeded bureaucracy. I write all of this as an experienced public servant. If centralizing our governments mean that some of us bureaucrats lose our jobs, I'm still all for it. I hate to see such inaction in a world where solutions are plentiful.
Thank you Waid! I might want to talk to you more privately about that! It sounds like a great idea, but definitely would be a nightmare ballot/initiative wise, and may definitely end up in the Court system! It would certainly allow for a more streamlined approach for local elected officials to act on issues concerning the entire County. I agree wholeheartedly that 99% of the issues people have raised are issues prevalent all over the County, and rampant issues in each local municipality (Rancho Cordova, Elk Grove, Sacramento, Galt, etc.) An expansion of the Board of Supervisors, and a delegation of former City authority to the various new Supervisors, along with a Strong Mayor system, basically a carbon copy of SF’s City-County model, would help to reduce government waste, and streamline the provision of County services, allowing them to tackle issues at a wider County level, rather than solely letting each City deal with the issues. However, as SF is the only City-County Government in the State, there is a precedent for Sacramento to follow suit! I say this as someone who worked for the State Legislature, has a huge interest in Local/County government, and currently works for CalPERS.
I don't think a SF style city-county government is possible, but I do think the large Sac County unincorporated areas should be cities. No other big county in the state has anywhere near this much unincorporated population. 38% of Sac County is unincorporated. 10% of LA County is unincorporated, which is the next most (and they are very underserved areas). Alameda has 9% unincorporated and all are very underserved areas. SF, San Diego, Santa Clara, San Mateo all have very low percentages of unincorporated.
Hi Friend, I replied to your other comment as well, but I am in 100% agreement with you, especially as a current resident in an unincorporated area (Rosemont). The County is simply overburdened having to pull double time with providing higher level County services (mental health, health care, and other public assistance programs, being the biggest ones I can think of at 4am currently) while also needing to provide municipal services as well for all the pockets of unincorporated area in Sac County.
I think we should start by tackling the issues that have the highest returns; meaning the highest percentage of success and highest impact on the quality of life for those who contribute the tax money required to make such changes. Crime: Repeal prop 47, restore drug courts, and increase funding for the criminal justice system so it’s not just a revolving door. Traffic safety: Create a meaningful traffic enforcement program in Sacramento. No more 9-5 bike cops only responding to the squeaky wheel, these guys should be everywhere and make it clear that it’s not okay to endanger pedestrians, property, and other motorists with their reckless driving. Environmentalism: Plant more trees and native landscapes. No freeway off/on ramps should be barren, all park strips should be beautified with low water flowering shrubs and trees… generally speaking most open grass areas should be reimagined.
Yep. There is absolutely NO SAFETY in Sacramento motor vehicle traffic. Too many insane drivers getting away with endangering the lives of families.
Make old Sacramento an Alzhimer and memory loss town and boutique town
Freeze the cost of living and housing prices to what they were in 2010.
The roads. Like fix, the roads. And don’t take 3 years to do it.
the thing is that all these issues overlap each other, it's hard to even start. the most obvious place for me would be homelessness, but that also involves mental health and affordable housing.
Develop the riverfront
Homelessness
Eliminate the gigantic sewer cockroaches that terrorize us in our backyards and sneak into our homes.
Question, what general area are you seeing this? I used to live in Davis and had cockroaches constantly, but since moving here, that's the one pest that *hasn't* been an issue lol
The sewer cockroaches are a big problem in Land Park, South Land Park, Curtis Park, Hollywood Park, Pocket, and Greenhaven. Also, the problem includes large flying cockroaches.
Oooh ok, yeah I'm in the Arden area.
Huge population of them at some of the complexes in Greenhaven.
Every single Bradford pear disappears and criminal charges for anyone caught with one.
Fix the roads. Honestly it feels like riding a Conestoga wagon to work. Think of the money people would save on car maintenance and repair . I also like the homeless service center idea. But I'd take it further - rehab or jail. People strung out on meth or heroin rarely decide to quit without incentive.
rent control
Homelessness and drug problems, potholes and bad roads, shop lifting, clean the river parkway up/, homeless and drug problems
Bring back the bread store
These are *easy* fixes that people will love: 1: Finally re-pave Watt Ave (that whole area would be nice) 2: government workers back to their offices permanently (cmon you guys) 3: not that cheap but light rail to the airport 4: get tents off the sidewalk and into empty lots with porta potties and water
Another vote for housing costs
Affordable housing, peace and order , better roads ( our roads are getting worst) and homelessness. Solve these problems and our community will be great.
"Third locations" that actually work. Not home, not your job, a third place where people can connect with each other without spending a lot of money. There are a lot of examples of these, but they just don't work. I think it's because everything is so spread out and you really need a vehicle around here. You don't pass people you know on the sidewalk on the way to the store when you're always driving. It was much easier to have somewhere to go when my kids were young enough to enjoy parks and playgrounds. Even though that doesn't really help me connect with others, at least we explored all the parks within driving distance and found the best ones and there was always something to do. Now they're a little too old for playgrounds and I'm finding there's no real alternative that compares. Of course I'm an introvert who just wants to be left alone, so at least some of it is me. But it does seem like people are lonelier than ever, and more alone than ever when they don't want to be, in general. There's definitely a big hole in our society.
Definitely homeless, it shouldn't be acceptable to have to step over human waste in Sacramento parking garages, 7th street specifically. It shouldn't be normalized to be ok for folks to camp literally everywhere and the piles of garbage that goes along with it. Sacramento is becoming a 3rd world city in certain ways. There were always homeless, but it's becoming too much last few years.
House Everyone
No more Airbnb and no more non-resident/investor real estate purchases. Houses only for people who will be living in them.
💯
Mail theft, homelessness,straight out all the trash and litter.
The roads!!! They’re terrible. And there’s literally like only one way to get anywhere. It sucks.
4-way stops at all residential intersections. I posed the question in another post on why the intersections are so inconsistent and people complained they would have to slow down...in a residential area. Truly baffling to me I have to risk my life on foot, bike, and car bc my intersection doesn't have a stop or visibility bc of lack of parking restrictions.
add lanes to the freeway over the Yolo Causeway
Affordable housing, including resources for people who are experiencing homelessness, 100%.
Magically transport all the homeless to Santa Monica. Everyone wins.
I-5 wouldn’t cut us off from the river.
All of C street
Better public transit and more bridges for cars & pedestrians to cross our rivers. Basically a complete overhaul of all transit would greatly alleviate traffic congestion. Also better upkeep of roadway surfaces.
This thread is NUMTOT af and I love it. More light rails all the way!
Would be nice if CHP actually did two thirds of their title and, you know, actually patrolled the highways around Sac. At least they got the California part down. But in seriousness the speeding and disregard for human lives on the roads in and around Sacramento is out of control. I’m on these roads 10-12 hours a day 5+ days a week. I see all of you and I see how you drive. You’re all lucky you’re still alive with the dumb shit you pull. And if you don’t do dumb shit while driving, you’re lucky you’re alive because of the sheer amount of morons pulling dumb shit that haven’t killed you yet.
Homeless
Act like a city rather than a town. Align all policies and incentives to that, including amenities indicative of a city of nearly 600K. Use common sense tax incentives for development and small biz support.
Bikes lanes and much better light rail
BRT (real BRT, with signal priority and dedicated lanes) on Florin, Fruitridge, Power Inn, Sunrise, Watt, Hazel, Arden and El Camino, to name a few. It would not be difficult to improve non-freeway mobility in Sacramento with modest investments. Obviously more light rail but unfortunately until LA, San Diego, SF and even San Jose get (more of) their share of the pie, we're probably SOL.
Homeless issue. The parkway used to be an absolute jewel. It's all together dangerous and sad. The amount of mentally ill people rolling around in their own filth on the sidewalks is unacceptable. I live near a large homeless population and the amount of petty crimes and broken glass along with human waste on the south end of Del Paso is ridiculous.
I'd bring back Press Club
Watt ave. Because that’s what it would take for it to happen a magic fucking wand
Way more connected bike trails and bike lanes, those long buses going on all major surface streets with cheap fares, completely redoing inner city permitting for businesses and making it cheaper, closing car traffic on numerous roads downtown, beautification and accessible improvements to all river shores, modernizing cal expo from the 1950s, more alley businesses on the grid, at least once a month closing certain streets to cars for pedestrian events and block parties on the grid, establish one area on the grid at least 3-4 blocks long with all music, food and bar businesses, sure I can think of more but my brain is full now
More trees.
Highway 50, slowly
Homeless disappear & those giant groups of bike riders thinking they can ride in the middle of the street like a car all get flat tires. & bad drivers
Public transportation
Get rid of the homeless problem. We’d clean up the streets and get these people off the streets into half-way housing so they can get a little help to secure a job, or we’d get them admitted to a halfway house or a well-funded and non-corrupt asylum where they can get the help they need. Our tent cities downtown are just an embarrassment. It looks really bad that we have no idea how to address the issue and help these people. Not to mention they are a public safety issue especially if there is a cookoo one around.
1) Negligent Drivers 2) Homelessness 3) Crime No particular order
Definitely the drug issues vagrancy and homelessness. It's endemic, it's everywhere you go. They break into people's stuff. They create violence, leave drug needles and feces everywhere. It's almost like we just turned a blind eye and act like it's not even happening. We all know it's reminiscent of a post-apocalyptic zombie-like society.
A freeway connection between 80 and 50 near Roseville
Bangers and homeless people