From News10.net:

A Roseville 12-year-old can consider himself lucky — he’ll only face DUI and hit-and-run charges for his alleged drunken driving spree last weekend that had Rocklin Police relieved things didn’t end much worse…The boy allegedly showed signs of being drunk and was arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol, hit and run and driving without a driver’s license.

Two notes of interest, however (well, other than a drunk 12 year old driving a car on public streets of course)…

Continue reading “At least he didn’t drive into a house” »

Beginning in the spring of 2008, motorists using Interstate 5 through downtown Sacramento can expect traffic controls and congestion while the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) replaces pavement, improves drainage and installs new wells to keep the river water out between L & S Streets.

I would say that keeping river water out is a good thing- Continue reading “Prediction for 2008: TRAFFIC” »

In today’s Bee, writer Tony Bizjak reports on a number of traffic concerns from folks in-the-know concerning the new Cal Expo arena plans.  The piece pretty fairly andd succinctly addresses the concerns of a number of agencies, groups, and individuals, as well as putting forth a fledgling solution, even at this early stage:

Bartosik and other area business officials, in fact, already have been studying a potential traffic reducer — a streetcar that would run on tracks on or off the street.  It could bring people into the area from a nearby light-rail station, looping them to the Cal Expo gates and the Arden Fair front entrance.

Amazingly enough, not one of the so-called experts mentioned the futuristically fantastic solution staring them right in the face.  It’s a solution so singular it only needs one track, so simple it’s already been built, so elegant it only takes one word to express it: Monorail!  (From now on, any mention of the Monorail! will use a capitalized “M” and an exclamation point.) Continue reading “New Arena, New Traffic Problems” »

One of my favorite Bee columns, Back-Seat Driver, reports today on CalTrans’ new plan to shut down lanes and onramps on I-5 in downtown.

Beginning in February or March and lasting through October, Caltrans will close one or two freeway lanes in each direction from Richards Boulevard on the north to the I-5 junction with Highway 50 on the south.

That will leave three lanes open in each direction, Dinger said.

Key ramps, such as the commuter-heavy I and A street connections also will be closed at points during the year

Apparently there are drainage problems there and it leaks, and therefore flood danger in the long run. But holy smokes, that does not sound like a fun 2008 for commuters or people flying on airplanes. Bizjak says this is the busiest strectch of I-5 north of Los Angeles. (Yay Sacramento!) I’m sure RT and the city have some ideas to alleviate the problem though… Continue reading “More traffic problems for I-5 corridor in ‘08″ »

The Tower Bridge is scheduled to be closed to all forms of traffic from 9/17/07 - 11/20/07.  This shutdown will allow a widening of the pedestrian and bicycle sidewalks that, according to the Bee, are like skinny calves on a body builder.  (Let’s all absorb that for a moment)  Alternatives to crossing the river are the Pioneer Bridge and the I Street Bridge.  To stay up-to-date on all things bridge related, click here.  Or, if you have questions about the status of the bridge, please call the Tower Bridge Pedestrian and Bikeway Improvements Project information line at (916) 492-6454.  I’m quite sure that they’d like to hear from you about your not using the bridge for two months.  By the way, this whole issue prompted the following conversation in the office today:

Person 1: Man, they’re closing the bridge for two months?  How am I going to get to West Sac?

Person 2: West Sac?  Where’s that?

Sacramento’s starter line opened 20 years ago, and Regional Transit is celebrating by offering free rides all day on Friday, September 14th.

Sure, our light rail system doesn’t get you EVERYWHERE you want to go, but think of it as an actual 20 year old:

- It thinks it can do everything

- It still mooches off others for funding

- It still hasn’t quite decided where it wants to go in life, but definitely has big aspirations

Like many modern 20 year olds, it is also bilingual. “Empuje para abrir las puertas.”

So, get on out there and ride those rails — you never know what you’ll hear!

So, you’re driving on Elvas from Folsom Boulevard and you’re trying to get on to Fair Oaks Boulevard (it’s “Sacramento’s Rodeo Drive” don’t you know, but that’s another post) and you notice a sign indicating that you can go to the right and get on to Fair Oaks Boulevard, or you can go straight and reach the “Central District.”  What is this “Central District” to which the sign alludes?  And when was anything close to Elvas ever considered “Central?”

We’re at the point here at the Sac Rag that we don’t even bother reporting on “normal” crashes involving a vehicle and a living room (unless it’s a two-fer, of course), but this one is different. While Sacramento isn’t making a name for itself on any “best place to…” list, it does continue to bring its “A” game in this arena.

Sacramento police say around 9:20 p.m. one of its officers and the driver of a Honda crashed into one another on Village Star Drive and Franklin Boulevard. The impact sent the Honda into the living room of a nearby home.

Wow, huh? I wonder what happened. High speed pursuit? Drunk driver? Man, what could it have been? I must read on…

Police say there are no indications that speed or alcohol lead to the crash.

Oh, ok, Police, sure that’s enough for me. I’ll move on now.

There is an interesting article on money.cnn.com about JetBlue’s new fall fare sale. Flights from Sacramento, CA to/from New York/JFK are priced at $149 each way and Sacramento to/from Long Beach are $49 each way. However, the detail that caught my eye was JetBlue’s announcement that they have been named…

“The Official Airline of Springfield” — the hometown city of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie Simpson — to celebrate the summer theatrical release of The Simpsons Movie.

Uh, uh, say what? This is an airline, right? That flies high in the air with hundreds of human beings on board? Oh wait, there’s more you say?

In honor of America’s favorite animated family of comedy, JetBlue also unveiled its first-ever specialty aircraft, christened “Woo-Hoo, JetBlue!” and featuring an image of Homer along with a permanent logo of its new Springfield status. To celebrate Fall travel, the low-fare airline is offering special sale fares for Springfielders and non-Springfielders across the country.

What’s next? Do I get a Bart Simpson Black Box toy with each round trip ticket purchased? Perhaps a Milhouse fuselage complete with air sickness bags?

If you are an RT commuter, make sure to check whether your employer belongs to a Transportation Management Association. I inquired with the South Natomas TMA here at the widget factory about purchasing monthly RT passes at a discount and was told that those are not offered. Because free annual passes are offered to anyone who asks. That’s a $1000 perk. It’s definitely worth a call but obviously there are several different commuter groups in town with different agreements so YMMV.