Next meeting:

No meeting in December, we extend a wish for peace on earth and good will to all in this holiday season.

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Another population growth milestone:

With an estimated population of  42,287 on this date, El Dorado Hills is now larger than most cities with a seat on the board of directors of SACOG, the Sacramento Area Council of Governments. The median city size in the SACOG region was 41,744 according to Census Bureau estimates for July 1, 2005.

As an unincorporated area El Dorado Hills is not represented as a city on SACOG's board of directors.  Our representation is through El Dorado County District 1 Supervisor Rusty Dupray.

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Metropolitan Transportation Plan workshops -- Thursday, November 16th, 6-9 p.m.

SACOG, the Sacramento Area Council Of Governments, conducted 8 simultaneous workshops at different locations as part of its public outreach for the Metropolitan Transportation Plan.


Several EDHCA members attended the workshop in Folsom, it's possible that more attended the workshop in Placerville. It is clear that SACOG is making progress on the MTP, but the Citizens Alliance has two major concerns with the plan as presented in the workshops:

• The MTP does not reduce traffic congestion, its road system and improvements do not keep pace with population growth. It reduces delay on a statistical basis through land use planning to shorten local trips. This type of land use planning is in the nature of urbanization and infill development. Regional and through trips will continue to experience increasing congestion and delay time.
  
  Our area has a record, evident in the 1998 vote which adopted Measure Y, of placing a very high value on uncongested roads. The Citizens Alliance will discuss this in the new year, with a likely result that we will recommend strongly to SACOG that it prioritize congestion relief first. Congestion relief itself would also reduce average trip time.
  
• El Dorado County was omitted from the MTP geographic areas covered at the workshop.  El Dorado Hills itself is not even recognized on SACOG's maps. In fact, it is not clear from workshop presentations or from SACOG's MTP web site that SACOG's MTP planning has considered El Dorado Hills or El Dorado County at all at the level of SACOG staff.
  
  The Citizens Alliance's most important founding principle was that El Dorado Hills citizens need a clear voice in local government and public affairs. We urge SACOG to convene MTP workshops and town hall meetings in El Dorado Hills. These should begin by assessing the priorities, needs, and desires of our residents and the interdependence of these EDH citizens' values with planning for local, regional, and out-of-region transportation.

Additional Information: Short report on MTP workshop Long report on MTP workshop