| Trade Corridor Improvement Funds Awarded |
| The California Transportation Commission has
adopted a program of projects for the state's $3 billion Proposition
1B Trade Corridor Improvement Fund. Among the projects is the
western extension of the Highway 4 Stockton Crosstown Freeway from
east of Fresno Ave. to Navy Drive. The TCIF grant will provide
$96,820,000 of the total cost of the project, estimated at
$193,640,000. Construction on the SJCOG project starts in June
2013. The extension would remove heavy traffic from the
Boggs Tract neighborhood and provide better access to the port. Also
funded was the Port of Stockton Deep Water Dredging Project. This
project is meant to bring the channel to a consistent depth of 40
feet from the San Francisco Bay to the Port of Stockton. The Port
will receive $17.5 million which matches a $105 million grant from
the Army Corps of Engineers. |
| Town Hall Forum for South Hwy 99 |
| More than 200 south Stockton residents
participated in the Caltrans-sponsored Highway 99 widening public
hearing in April. Participants reviewed and commented on three
proposed alternatives for widening the section of the highway from
the Crosstown Freeway to Arch Road. |
Residents studied magnified maps of three
alternative plans and were asked to comment, either in writing or to
a court reporter who was available to document community concerns.
 Staffers from
Caltrans and its partners in the project, SJCOG, the City of
Stockton and San Joaquin County, answered questions about the
project's local impact and described the process for the
widening. |
A decision is expected to be made on the
design in May with environmental review completed by December, 2008.
 Construction
should begin in June, 2012. This project will widen SR 99 from a
four- to a six-lane freeway from just north of Arch Road to south of
the Highway 4 Crosstown Freeway. Interchanges will be rebuilt and
there may be modification of some local roads and connectors to the
interchanges. The project is planned to ease congestion, improve
safety and decrease commute times for drivers. |
| The total cost for this project is estimated
at $253 million, with the funding coming from the state's
Proposition 1B Highway 99 Bond Funds and the countywide Measure K
sales tax. |
 |
| Welcome Back Donald!!! |
SJCOG welcomes Donald Mascardo back to work
this month.  Donald Mascardo, a planner for SJCOG and a master sergeant
in the Air Force Reserves, has been on active duty in Iraq since
last fall. During his recent tour of duty, Mr. Mascardo oversaw the
construction of housing and roads near a Baghdad airport. |
| While he was gone he kept in touch with his
pen pals at St. George’s Parish School and his SJCOG family: At
Christmas the SJCOG staff sent seven boxes packed with gifts for
Iraqi children at Mr. Mascardo’s request. |
| Mr. Mascardo has already dropped by the
office to check on his old friends. He is spending time with his
wife and children before returning to work on May 15. We are happy
to have you back, Donald! |
|
| SJCOG Announces next Round of Blueprint
Forums |
| This month the San Joaquin Council of
Governments is starting a second round of Blueprint public outreach
and community workshops. The SJCOG Blueprint team will be reaching
out to local residents during a series of public meetings scheduled
in cities and in unincorporated areas of San Joaquin County. |
| The goal is to provide a forum for residents
to describe what they’d like the region to look like in the year
2050. What will the parks be like, the roads, the highways,
the shopping? How about the environment, the business opportunity
and housing? These workshops are designed to be fun, interactive and
engaging for residents of all ages. Participants will be presented
with a series of growth option scenarios to discuss, debate and
decide which scenario best fits their vision of the San Joaquin
County region in the year 2050. |
| In addition, during May and June, SJCOG staff
will conduct a "Blueprint Road Show" to provide information to local
city councils, the San Joaquin County Board of Supervisors, partner
agencies and community organizations. |
| Share your vision for San Joaquin County and
please attend one of the dozen community forums scheduled throughout
the county. The first will be held May 20 at 6:30 p.m. at the COG
conference center, 555 E. Weber Avenue, Stockton. See Blueprint
Schedule. |
|
| A final day for SLEWS |
Two dozen high school students left a legacy
for San Joaquin County's environment this year - a riparian hedgerow
on a habitat preservation easement at the Wing Levee Road Preserve
near Tracy.  The
students met regularly at the site all year, braving fall winds,
winter fog and spring rains to plant native species that will become
natural habitat for nesting and foraging song birds, the Swainsons
Hawk and other raptors. |
| They worked the soil, established ditch
irrigation systems to maintain their plants, and planted a number of
shrubs, including the Blue Elderberry shrubs for the Valley
Elderberry beetle. The students, from VISTA Academy High
School in Stockton, worked under direction of the Student and
Landowner Education Watershed Stewardship program, or SLEWS. They
learned about native species and the value of eco-systems to
preserve them, studied farming techniques and got hands-on
experience out in the fields! |
| During their final field day at the end of
April, the students installed wooden birdhouses and protective plant
cages to further develop habitat for natural species in the area.
This program was organized by SJCOG Habitat, which oversees the
Regional Habitat Conservation Plan in San Joaquin County. |
|
 |
| Congratulations to the California Department of
Transportation which has been awarded $55 million from the
California Transportation Commission for improvements to a stretch
of Highway 12 through San Joaquin County. This project includes
construction of shoulders across Bouldin Island. |
|
| |
 |
| May 2008: |
| 10 |
Management and
Finance Committee, noon, Commercial Exchange
Club |
| 12 |
Highway
99/Morada Interchange Public Meeting, 6:30 p.m., Morada
Middle School, 5001 East Eastview Drive, Stockton |
| 14 |
Governor's May
Budget Revise |
| 21 |
CAC
Meeting, 6 p.m., COG Board Room |
| 22 |
Board
Meeting, 5:00, COG Board Room |
| 23 |
Valley Regional
Policy Council 10 a.m., Fresno COG |
| June 2008: |
| 10 |
Public Hearing,
Draft FTIP 4p.m.-6p.m., Board Room |
| 13 |
Executive
Committee, noon |
| 18 |
Management and
Finance Committee noon |
| 18 |
CAC Meeting
6 p.m., Board Room |
| 26 |
COG Board,
5 p.m., Board Room | |
|
 |
Your local transportation
sales tax at
work. |
| Statements of Revenues,
Expenditures, and Changes in Fund Balance Measure K Expendable
Trust Fund |
 | |
| Click here to learn more |
 |
| SJCOG Photo Gallery |
 |
| One Voice 2008 |
|
| Gear Up for Bike to Work Week |
| It's the cycling event of the year!
Commute Connection announces Bike to Work Week May 12-16, 2008.
Let's get those cars off the road and the bikes out of the garage.
Really put some pedal to the metal and cycle to work the second week
of May. With gas prices soaring, the time to ride a bike to work has
never been better. |
| To participate in the program, simply pledge
to ride your bike or walk at least one day during Bike-to Work Week.
Participants are automatically eligible to enter a drawing for a
free bicycle and helmet. Employers can create excitement about the
week by calling Commute Connection to organize a rally at
their site. Commute Conntection provides the t-shirts, giveaways and
signup sheets. |
| Commute Connection, the regional ridesharing
program operated by SJCOG, sponsors the drawings for San Joaquin and
Stanislaus counties. Commute Connection is a program designed to
help commuters make the transition from driving alone to a
convenient rideshare option such as carpools, van shares, transit
or, the best, bicycling or walking. |
| Entry forms and more information is available
through Commute Connection at http://www.commuteconnection.com/,
468-8960, 1-800-52-SHARE or email requests to mailto:commuteconnection@sjcog.org?subject=Re:
Bike to Work Week. |
|
| State Route 12 Corridor Committee
Named |
| San Joaquin County Supervisor Ken Vogel and
Lodi Councilmember Larry Hansen, both members of the SJCOG Board,
have been named to the newly formed State Route 12 Corridor Advisory
Committee. The committee, which holds its first meeting May 22,
2008, is planned to unify all three SR12 counties as they advocate
for much needed improvements to the highway. |
| San Joaquin, Solano and Sacramento counties,
along with Caltrans and the CHP, have been working to build
significant improvements to SR12 , which winds through Lodi and into
the Delta, at one time or another crossing the three county lines.
In January SJCOG and the Solano Transportation Authority jointly
submitted a $300,000 Partnership Planning grant to Caltrans to
create a multi-agency Corridor Advisory Committee. |
| The committee is comprised of five voting
members, two each from Solano, San Joaquin, and Sacramento.
Ex-Offico members may be invited from Caltrans, the CHP and
potentially the Delta Protection Commission. |
| The creation of the committee recognizes the
value of partnership among the three counties and other agencies for
ongoing efforts to upgrade SR12, including: a Rio Vista Bridge
study, SR12 improvements between I-5 and Bouldin Island, multiple
roadway safety and operation improvements including median barriers
and shoulders, and a CHP-led public education plan. |
| Congratulations to the Solano Transportation
Authority for receiving an award for its SR12 Safety Campaign from
the California Association of Public Information Officials! The STA
initiated the SR12 Safety Campaign in response to a series of
accidents and fatalities that occurred on the highway.
| |
