Since the beginning of the year, the City Council has focused on the issues of homelessness and the general budget. However, there are numerous other concerns and priorities that council members, including myself, have put forth to help move Sacramento toward its potential to be a great city. One of these issues is the ongoing effort to transform Sacramento into a bike-friendly city. Given our geography and climate, there is no reason why we should not lead the nation in this area.
Recently, the city created a master bike plan, which lays out a number of significant steps that the city should take in moving this issue forward. In conversations with many neighbors, I know this is important to many Curtis Park residents. I particularly want to thank Jordan Lang, a community leader who serves as a project assistant on the board of Sacramento Area Bike Advocates. As the city looks for more permanent funding sources to improve our bike-friendly surfaces, the Council directed $2.2 million of our mid-year budget reserves to bike projects. Of significance to Curtis Park, I have requested funding for enhanced bike lanes on Franklin Boulevard, 24th Street, and Fifth Avenue, all of which have come as requests from our neighborhood over the past two years.
I hope the bike lane on Fifth Avenue will run from 24th Street to Franklin Boulevard, helping to connect the Curtis Park and Oak Park neighborhoods. As final decisions are made, I will keep you informed.
On Sunday, May 21, the city will sponsor an Open Street event on Broadway and Second Avenue. Please come out and enjoy meeting your neighbors, and enjoying open streets.
May is Bike Month.
To celebrate, I have suggested a Mayor/Council bike ride that will begin at the north end of the city in District 1, go through all the Council districts, and conclude in District 8. The ride happened May 13, and had one stop in each Council district. I selected the Oak Park Farmers Market as the District 5 stop.
