McKinley East Sacramento Neighborhood Association (MENA)

PRESIDENTS MESSAGE - RIAN TROTH

Jul 13, 2005

Summer is definitely here with our high temperatures, dry days, and more people out and about in our East Sacramento neighborhood. Luckily, living in East Sacramento we are fortunate to have plenty of mature trees that shade our homes and streets, which makes walking and living here so much more enjoyable than areas without such a mature tree canopy. Living in East Sacramento, I love being able to take a stroll to the closest market, restaurant, coffee shop, or boutique, all within a comfortable one-mile radius of my home and just about any home in East Sacramento. However, what is not enjoyable lately is the traffic and congestion while walking around some parts of East Sacramento.
I don?’t know about you, but I think traffic seems to be getting worse in East Sacramento. Even my walk over to McKinley Park has my heart racing just trying to cross H Street at the crosswalk by the Rose Garden. In addition to more cars than ever, and streets becoming parking lots, it seems like people are driving a little faster and without any regard to those around them. On more than one occasion, I have witnessed people zooming through a yellow or even red light on H or J Streets, while neighboring Folsom Boulevard is practically a freeway at spots. I have seen a total disregard to the resident biker, walker, or jogger who is accustomed to using human power as his or her mode of transportation, whether for exercise, enjoyment or a means to run a few errands.
I?’m sure there are several of you reading this who are nodding your heads in agreement that traffic in our neighborhood is a huge problem. Have you wondered about how to rectify the problem, but not quite sure what to do?
The answer is simple; we all need to make sure we are advocating to our representatives that East Sacramento traffic issues need to be a priority. Like our neighboring Midtown, which over the last couple of years has undergone measures to address their traffic concerns, the same urgency needs to apply to East Sacramento. We need to make sure that our main traffic arteries, such as Folsom, Elvas, J and H Streets, which also border our homes, are protected. For those of you living with traffic problems, the city has a program called the Neighborhood Traffic Management Program.
One way to address traffic concerns is to get a group of neighbors together and sign up to be a part of the NTMP program. The great strength of the NTMP is that the neighbors of streets decide what they would like to see done or not done on their streets, and all the residents of an area vote for or against any traffic measures that the residents devise. To learn more about the program go to the city?’s website at www.cityofsacramento.org or call 808-5307.
The NTMP is just one way we can all make sure that traffic issues in our neighborhood are being addressed and the appropriate measures are taking place. The rest of us need to let our local officials know that we want our neighborhoods to remain pedestrian friendly and be willing to take the necessary steps as residents to do so.