Biden is offering billions for transportation. Here’s how Sacramento can get its share

The Sacramento region’s transportation systems are woefully outdated, condemning the public to lives spent stuck in traffic. The capital area is snarled by congestion-prone highways, scarce on light rail and so disjointed that getting anywhere efficiently will require a car for years to come.

The need for a significant change in how we move around the area has never been greater. Transportation accounts for 56% of the city of Sacramento’s carbon emissions, making it a major contributor in the region’s upsetting consistency in earning the American Lung Association’s recognition as one of the most polluted areas in the country. The smoke we inhale each fire season is a downstream result of climate change caused partly by our overreliance on cars. Long-term exposure to smoke and vehicle pollution poses an increased risk of mortality, especially for lower-income communities.

The region’s leaders have a chance this year to take meaningful steps to adapt our transportation network and advance our shared interests toward a safer, healthier future. Local governments are competing for billions of dollars to help reshape their transportation systems, courtesy of the $1 trillion infrastructure package signed into law by President Joe Biden last fall. It’s paramount that leaders throughout the Sacramento region take advantage of this massive investment, especially given how much our future relies on cleaner transportation.

On Thursday, state and federal officials will be participating in a Sacramento Area Council of Governments board of directors workshop to help Sacramento-area leaders ensure our region is competitive for grant funding. Our area could be a model for midsize regions around the country, but selling that idea will require collaboration among governments and outreach to communities that have historically been left out of the climate conversation.

Regional buy-in has been elusive over the years. Transportation officials tried and failed to persuade voters to support sales tax measures that could expand light rail to the Sacramento International Airport and Elk Grove or expand rapid transit to cut down lengthy commutes from the suburbs. The most recent attempt was scuttled in 2020, when pandemic hardship was most widespread, although some officials have hinted that another measure could surface in a coming election.

There’s good reason to be optimistic about the six-county region’s chances at attracting long-sought federal infrastructure dollars. In 2020, SACOG and several other regional groups put together a list of projects sought by 50 local agencies, totaling $11 billion. The “Road to Recovery” report included proposals such as installing 330 miles of broadband connections to bring the region into compliance with state law for household internet access. Another project would turn wastewater into irrigation water for 16,000 acres of farmland south of Elk Grove and help reduce groundwater use during drought years. Federal dollars could help close a funding gap for the $375 million project.

Bolstered emergency services in Roseville and Placerville and road upgrades in Sutter and Yuba counties could also be positioned for federal investment.

What is missing across the region, however, are the equity components that the Biden administration is eager to prioritize. The White House has set aside $1 billion for reconnecting historically disadvantaged communities divided by highways by building new parks, reconstructing street grids and addressing other consequences. Long-neglected Sacramento communities that lack tree canopies and experience particularly harmful air quality — such as Meadowview, east Tahoe Park or northern industrial neighborhoods — are fertile ground for such attention. But generating support will require public officials to stop talking about equity and actually practice it by bringing these areas into discussions that they have never been part of.

The only thing stopping Sacramento from capitalizing on this rare opportunity for sustainable development are the silos that keep cities, counties and tribal governments from pursuing transportation initiatives as a unified front. Rural communities have a vested interest in improving urban corridors, and urban centers have much to gain from strengthening agricultural areas.

If there was ever a time to recognize our shared interests in molding the region for long-term success, this is it.