Traffic: A transportation plan that works for Folsom

Landowners, home builders, and a special financing district will contribute more than $320 million for roadway improvements, including more than $125 million for improvements to existing roadways outside of the project area that will benefit all Folsom residents.

When Folsom voters outlined the requirements for development south of Highway 50 with the passing of Measure W in 2004, they were adamant that the plan area mitigate its traffic impacts. To accomplish that, the plan includes an abundance of transit improvements, with a road system that is now under construction and developer fees the City of Folsom can apply to provide traffic relief in the city.

Reducing congestion…and emissions

The transit plan designed for Folsom Ranch adds more functional and direct routes to many destinations with improvements to reduce congestion on critical roadways. Before any pavement was laid, the project was noted for its land plan that is designed around transit connections and reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. In a memorandum of understanding, Folsom and Sacramento County agreed to reduce emissions in the project area by 35 percent – against a standard of 15 percent. The Folsom Plan Area nailed a whopping 42.5 percent.

Several speakers at a public hearing to adopt the specific plan lauded this result. Mike McKeever, then chief executive officer of the Sacramento Area Council of Governments, cited the plan’s “extremely high air quality,” and air quality expert Joseph Hurley reported the plan was “the only project of this size to achieve that much mitigation.”

Master-planning expert Ardie Zahedani, who represented a landowners group, added that much of the credit for the savings can be attributed to a multimodal transit mix that incorporates attractive and convenient alternatives to driving, including bike lanes and sidewalks on all roads. These diverse modes of transportation along with new roadways and freeway interchanges will benefit all Folsom residents. The costs for the transit infrastructure are being borne by the project.

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