Sac Sheriff’s decision to end red light camera program ‘disappointing,’ ‘disheartening’ | Opinion
How to stop sprawl
“Sacramento region has glut of proposed “greenfield” housing,” (sacbee.com, March 7)
I have no illusions how this fight between developers and the officials they helped elect and planners will turn out. This is not an even match. The only way sprawl stops is when it’s less profitable than the alternatives. Through a series of carrots and sticks in taxes and fees, we can make it less profitable to build on greenfields and more profitable to do infill development.
When the developers can make more money building on brownfields, sprawl will stop dead in its tracks.
Lawrence Bernsteinr
Sacramento
Opinion
Needed enforcement
“High beams, red lights and left turn rules: CA road laws,” (sacbee.com, Nov. 30, 2023)
Why are traffic laws not being enforced in Sacramento? It’s relentless: red light running, speeding, blowing through populated crosswalks, turning right on a red without stopping, racing to beat a yellow and a shocking disregard for others’ well-being.
The answer? It’s a toughie, I know. Like solving the dark matter mystery or why Baskin-Robbins stopped at only 31 flavors. My wild stab: Enforcement, enforcement, enforcement. People start paying attention — and changing their behavior — when their pocketbooks yelp.
Perhaps city leaders might consider hiring (a plethora of) new traffic-only cops. Given our horrendous drivers, cost recuperation should take, oh, about two weeks. Admittedly, my calculations could be off: It’s probably closer to a day. Paramount, though, is the potential lives saved by aggressively citing offenders.
Listening, city council? You, Sac PD? Address this public health crisis now.
Mark Drolette
Sacramento
Lives at stake
“Car crash kills Sacramento cyclist in unprotected bike lane,” (sacbee.com, March 6)
Thank you for the recent coverage of crashes involving pedestrians and cyclists in our region. These horrifying incidents need daylighting and follow-up to remember the victims and also so that the driving, riding and walking public can learn from them and hopefully avoid similar fates.
These incidents point to the large gap between enlightened policy pronouncements like Vision Zero and actual saved lives. Our region and state government are to be commended for making public investments in active transportation facilities — and The Bee’s watchful journalism can help keep a focus on getting the results we need.
Lives are at stake every day.
Mick Klasson
Davis
Safety is the priority
“Sacramento County red light camera program ended at 24 sites,” (sacbee.com, March 15)
The decision by the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office to discontinue the red light camera system is both disappointing and disheartening. Initially heralded as a safety measure, not a revenue tool, this program aimed to mitigate accidents at Sacramento’s perilous intersections.
The reason for its termination — costs — contradicts previous assertions of prioritizing safety over revenue. The idea that law enforcement programs must be cost-neutral is flawed. We don’t demand profit from efforts to stop bank robberies or homicides, so why apply it to crucial traffic safety measures? Sacramento County, already grappling with rising vehicular injuries and deaths, stands as one of California’s most hazardous regions in traffic safety. Eliminating such a vital safety mechanism at this juncture is not only illogical but also dangerous.
We must reassess our priorities and ensure that safety, not cost, guides our decisions.
Isaac Gonzalez
Founder, Slow Down Sacramento
Was it effective?
“Sacramento County red light camera program ended at 24 sites,” (sacbee.com, March 15)
This article about the end of red light camera enforcement in Sacramento County fails to ask the most important question: Was the program effective? The program was intended to be revenue neutral, but now, according to the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office, it is “losing money.” Could that be because the cameras work?
Let’s remember why they were installed: because red light running crashes — often high-speed T-bone impacts — are the most dangerous crashes in urban areas. Was red-light running reduced at the monitored intersections (and was there a “halo” effect nearby)? Have crashes, injuries and/or fatalities been reduced? Was the program effective at its primary goal of saving lives.
Did the Sheriff’s Office consider the cost savings associated with not responding to crashes that didn’t happen or the value of the lives saved? Or, as Sac County Sheriff Spokesman Amar Gandhi implied, are those irrelevant because the CHP, not the sheriff, investigates those collisions.
Anthony Powers
Folsom
Everything in our power
“Sac mayor introduces city council’s ceasefire resolution,” (sacbee.com, March 16)
I want Palestinian members of our community to see that there are Jews like me here in Sacramento who support Israel’s right to exist but who do not find the bombing of civilians to be morally acceptable.
Years from now, our kids will ask us: What did you do when a million Gazans faced famine and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu mobilized to invade Rafah? Will our answer be that we let the pain of October 7 allow us to support Israel inflicting more pain? Or that we did not like the chants of the protesters, so we avoided confronting Israel’s actions? Or that we silenced those desperately calling attention to the deaths of children by arguing that international issues were not the purview of the city council?
I hope the answer will be that we did everything we could to end the war, including taking actions that were symbolic.
Miriam Joffe-Block
Sacramento
Safety net
“UCSF team ties food insecurity to liver disease in Latino kids,” (sacbee.com, March 12)
There is a troubling surge in cases of fatty liver disease among Latino children due to food insecurity. Unfortunately, this issue will only worsen if low-income, undocumented Californians aged 54 and under continue to be unjustly excluded from critical food assistance.
More than half of undocumented Californians are Latino, and those who would be eligible for CalFresh, our state’s most powerful defense against food insecurity, are among the 600,000 Californians who will continue to be shut out due to their age or immigration status without additional funding in this year’s budget. This exacerbates health disparities across our state when Latino households with children disproportionately experience food insecurity and one in five Latino children lives below the federal poverty line.
Gov. Gavin Newsom and our elected officials must prioritize an inclusive safety net for all so every Californian has access to the food they need to thrive.
Seciah Aquino
Sacramento
