Sacramento Area Council of Governments briefs CTC on 2025 regional blueprint and Green Means Go investments

Representatives from the Sacramento Area Council of Governments briefed the commission on regional planning and implementation efforts, including the draft 2025 Metropolitan Transportation Plan / Sustainable Community Strategy (MTP/SCS), the Green Means Go program, and a local priority recommendation for the I Street Bridge.

Darren Soon, chair of the SACOG board and an Elk Grove council member, said SACOG is seeking a stable funding source to continue Green Means Go investments and thanked the commission for a staff recommendation of $25 million in Local Partnership Program (LPP) funds toward the I Street Bridge project, a multimodal crossing intended to improve active transportation links between Sacramento and West Sacramento.

Casey Lizon, SACOG deputy executive director of planning and programs, outlined the agency's approach to mapping equity priorities using a bottoms-up engagement across six counties and pairing community values with quantitative data to identify mobility zone priorities. The Green Means Go program has committed planning and capital funds to catalyze infill housing and transit-supportive investments in city corridors, the presenters said.

SACOG said about two-thirds of expected new homes to 2050 should occur in existing urbanized areas if the blueprint is implemented, and the agency emphasized transit planning and next-generation transit strategy development to expand high-capacity bus service. Commissioners thanked SACOG for the briefing and for local partnership work in the region.