Save the Date – September 4th! Are you staying in town for Labor Day weekend? Looking for something fun to do? We have the perfect morning outing for you! So join us as we explore North and South Natomas on our bikes. This is a great way for you to learn what your neighborhood and community has to offer. It’s a comfortable 24 miles – you’d be surprised how far you can go!

The City of Sacramento has recently started construction on a bike/pedestrian bridge over I-5, scheduled for completion in 2011. Our ride will explore both sides of the bridge site. We will likely ride through Discovery Park and stop in Old Sac for refreshments. We’ll enjoy the American River trail and head east along the Ueda trail, which will take us to Del Paso Road and return to NNTMA office. This ride is designed to familiarize riders with North and South Natomas and more importantly, to get you thinking about new riding possibilities for when the bike bridge is completed.

Please meet us at the North Natomas TMA office, 1960 Del Paso Road, promptly ready to ride at 8:30 AM. Remember to bring your helmet and water. Refreshments will be provided by the TMA. Be prepared to enjoy the sun, great company and a nice bike ride!

The North Natomas Transportation Management Association (NNTMA) is looking for experienced bicycle mechanics to perform diagnosis, repairs and tune ups on community members’ bicycles at scheduled community events throughout the North Natomas area.

Interested in this job? Please see attachment for more information.

Calling all walkers and bikers! Natomas Park Elementary's Walking Wednesdays program is off to a great start for this school year. Principal Johnson invited us back to Natomas Park Elementary because of the success of the program last year.

How does the program work? Walking Wednesdays is designed to reward children who use other modes of transportation to get to school: walking and biking. Frequent walker/biker cards will only be given to those children who participate. Every Wednesday, your child should come to the Walking Wednesday table in the courtyard to get their card hole punched. Every other week, they will receive a new charm to put on their Walking Wednesday key chain.

Now that the student body has increased, so has the participation. Last year when we kicked off the Walking Wednesdays program, 211 students came out. This year, 260 kids participated in the first Walking Wednesday. Way to go! Keep up the good work Coyotes!

The Sacramento Regional Transit District (RT) invites you to participate in the Green Line Community Review, an interactive and collaborative community planning workshop for the future Green Line to the Airport Light Rail Extension.

The Green Line, also referred to as the Downtown Natomas Airport light rail extension, will provide an additional 12.8 miles of light rail service from downtown Sacramento to the River District, the Natomas, communities and the Sacramento International Airport.

Periodically, throughout the year, we like to ride along on the Flyer and to see how things are going. It’s been a great way for us to get to know our riders better and to hear, first hand, how everything is going. We usually bring a small breakfast treat for our riders, a token to thank you for riding with us.

On August 19th, we will be riding the Flyer again. During this difficult economic time, our School Districts are facing hard cuts and limited resources. We will be collecting new school supplies for the children in need who attend our local schools in North Natomas. Don’t worry – we’ll still bring you treats!

If you want to donate school supplies, please bring them when you take the Flyer Shuttle on August 19th. They can be handed to TMA staff or your driver.

Examples of School Supplies:

Binders, Notebooks (spiral and marble), Pen/Pencils, Backpacks, Highlighters, Rulers, Etc.

In advance, thank you for your generosity and we look forward to seeing you on August 19th.

As a child, Beth Mahony grew up riding her bike everywhere: school, gymnastics practice, and to friends’ houses. She said that she would never expect her parents to drive her anywhere within a five mile radius because she could get there by bike.

Beth is now married and a dedicated mom of three kids. She often finds herself in the car most of her days, shuffling kids around and getting grumpy in the meantime. She’s decided to make a change. She says, “I knew how much I loved riding as a kid and I wanted my children to experience the same. So, I started off slowly to teach my kids to be safe and we would take short trips.” She’s now instilled the importance of wearing a properly fit helmet, rules of the road, and taught them how to be a courteous, predictable cyclist.

Now, her family enjoys taking long bike rides around what she believes is a neighborhood treasure, the Natomas Regional Park. She hopes in the future, cycling will be a way of life for her children. The family enjoys the exercise and fresh air, while Beth and her husband model the importance of leading a healthy lifestyle for the children.

Beth’s family often finds peace in the simplicity of walking and biking, which helps them escape from the rat race of traffic and parking lots. Just like Beth’s family, you can experience the invigorating world of cycling, especially in North Natomas where there are great bike paths to explore. Beth’s advice is to, “Just do it!”

North Natomas resident and employee, Rosalind Heard was one of two regional winners of the top May is Bike Month prize. She won a $250 gift certificate to Natomas Bike Shop, and logged 141 miles towards Million Mile May. We asked her what she was going to do with this reward and she said she was going to buy a new road bike!

Rosalind started biking only two years ago and now enjoys riding every week. She thinks it’s a great activity for her whole family, which creates many fun memories. This past April, she participated in a 25 mile bike tour in Napa, California for blind veterans. She thought this was a fun challenging experience and with her investment in a new road bike, she hopes to ride in the 50 mile tour next year. She is also currently looking for other bike tours and fundraisers to expand her biking experiences.

She loves to walk and bike. On Saturdays, Rosalind wakes up at 5:45am in the morning, rides to a friend’s house, walks for an hour and a half, and then rides back home. This has been a great way for her to enjoy the fresh air. She also enjoys riding with her family. On Fridays, her husband and she ride their bike with their son to school. After they drop him off, Rosalind and her husband enjoy a nice breakfast at Bella Bru.

When she can, she likes to commute to work, which is currently four times a month. She believes that Sacramento is bike friendly with many different bike trails and is a great way to get around town and creates many fun memories.

We encourage others to follow in her footsteps in reducing trips and having fun on your bike!

In response to an estimated $25 million budget shortfall for Fiscal Year 2011, the Sacramento Regional Transit District (RT) will implement service changes affecting bus, light rail and complementary paratransit service effective Sunday, June 20, 2010.

RT will implement the following service reductions that will affect North Natomas:

Both SATURDAY and SUNDAY service will be discontinued on Routes 13 and 14.

Service AFTER 9:00 PM will be discontinued on Routes 13 and 14.

During the last few years, RT has implemented a number of cost-cutting measures - including service reductions, fare increases, a hiring freeze, freezing employee pay and employee furloughs. By September 2010, RT will have reduced its workforce through layoffs and retirements by approximately 180 employees since the RT Board of Directors approved service changes on March 29, 2010.

Service reductions, combined with approximately $11.1 million in State Transit Assistance funds expected to be restored to RT and revenue generated by the future expansion of the Park-Pay-and-Ride (parking fee) program, will resolve the $25 million budget shortfall for Fiscal Year 2011.

May is Bike Month was a huge success - our best year ever! 8 local North Natomas schools cycled a total of 34,160 miles! Way to Go! Regency Park Elementary School logged 9,468 miles and is the top school in the region. They won the North Natomas TMA perpetual trophy as well as a plaque from the Sacramanto Area Council of Governments (SACOG) for being the region’s top school. Regency Park Elementary’s participation calculated out to be 52% of the student body riding weekly.

Here are the standings for all other participating North Natomas schools:
Witter Ranch Elementary - 4,925 Miles 35% participation weekly
Heron School - 3,971 Miles 30% participation weekly
Natomas Park Elementary School - 3,872 Miles 31% participation weekly
H. Allen Hight Elementary School - 3,476 Miles 31% participation weekly
Westlake Charter School - 3,335 Miles 37% participation weekly
Leading Edge Program - 3,142 Miles 49% participation weekly
Performing and Fine Arts Academy - 1,971 Miles 32% participation weekly

Keep up the good work! Remember that biking instead of driving is a great way to keep our air clean, great for your body and spirit and it’s tons of fun!

May is Bike Month 2010 was a success! Congratulations North Natomas, 51,347 total miles logged by North Natomas residents and employees in the month of May. The top North Natomas resident, Matthew Wietrick, rode 1,430 miles. One of the big Regional prize winners, awarded a $250 Gift Card, is a Natomas resident too! Rosalind Heard, won the Gift Certificate to Natomas Bike Shop and logged 141 miles during Bike Month!

North Natomas businesses working directly with North Natomas TMA logged 2,910 miles. These businesses include Bel-Air, FedEx Office, Natomas Unified School District, Panera Bread, Raley's Distribution Center, Raley's Store, River City Bank, Sacramento Gateway, Staybridge Suites, and Starbucks.

On Bike to Work Day, May 20th, 30 cyclists stopped on their way to work to have breakfast on the TMA. Two students riding on their way to high school stopped too, and grabbed bagels for their morning meal.

Thank you to all of you who participated in reducing trips while having fun on your bike! Remember, cycling isn’t just a May event; you can ride your bike all year long!

Have you seen these before? We bet some North Natomas residents have come across them, but had no idea what they were. They are called Crank Cases, and they are for bike parking! They may look pretty small, but they are indeed effective. The specific way a bicycle gets locked into it makes them very secure, but a bit intimidating to use. In an effort to help make North Natomas more accessible by bike, we felt it was important to bring attention to these odd little boxes and help educate people on how to use them. It’s important, for car trip reduction, to be able to identify and utilize available bicycle parking throughout North Natomas. Take a minute to view the ‘how-to’ video, and next time you're out with your bike – try one out!

Natomas is the first community to experience a new cell phone app called social erranding! The concept is pretty simple; if you've ever asked a roommate or friend if they needed anything from the store, you're halfway there. Social erranding, we call it Errand Share, combines the power of social media and a newly developed cell phone app to enhance convenience and flexibility. This allows you to interact with a group of friends while at the store with one text – helping them out with an errand and helping to reduce congestion and pollution on our roads. Errand Share can also assist parents in a bind – helping secure safe transportation options for kids when a parent is running late. Sound interesting? Sign up to receive more information at www.ErrandShare.com. Errand Share is a program of the North Natomas Transportation Management Association.

Israel Young is truly an amazing community member who is also a huge bicycle advocate. He currently is a Lieutenant in the Coast Guard and works very hard. In order to stay in shape, he needed a great way to exercise. What a better way than biking?

Israel’s friend and neighbor, Rob, commutes to work by bike. Israel watched Rob everyday as he got on his bike leaving his home to go to work. Rob informed Israel of the great opportunity the North Natomas TMA offers for bike rebates. Israel ended up applying for the rebate and ultimately was rewarded a rebate for a brand new bike. He describes the experience as this, “I was expecting a fairly sordid affair with lots of waiting and paperwork, like at the DMV. But alas, easy squeezing lemon pleezy...as a matter of fact, it was so easy I hardly remember the process [and] I remember every trip to the DMV...ugg.”

Israel uses his bike to commute to work about 2-3 times a week which helps him get ready for work and helps him decompress on the way home. He loves the fact that he can cover many miles on a bike and see an array of things including mountains, valleys, rivers, meadows and animals. Cycling has impacted him in many ways. His health has improved, it’s a great stress reliever, and he loves riding with his wife and friends.

Israel’s lasts thoughts, “You get over the embarrassment of wearing the funny padded spandex shorts pretty quick. The next thing you know you will be shopping for jerseys and fancy shorts more than you do your normal clothes...spandex and pads are your friends! Cycling is great, you don’t have to train; just ride and enjoy!”

On the week of March 29th, staff rode along with the Flyer Shuttle. We all enjoyed muffin tops for breakfast and shared information about our upcoming organized bike rides and the new pilot program, Errand Share. It's always fun to spend a morning with our riders! We try to ride along with the Shuttle a few times a year because it’s a valuable way to reach our ridership. It gives us an opportunity to see how the Shuttle is doing and experience first-hand what our riders experience everyday. We hope this gives riders the chance to voice any comments or concerns they might be having. If you have something important you want us know about, you can reach us at any time by phone (916.419.9955) or by email (sarah@nntma.org). If you missed us this time, don’t worry – we’ll be back on board in a few months. Hope to see you then!

Rain or shine first grader Alexander Akin has walked to school every Footloose Friday for the last 14 weeks. Alexander’s mom tells us he is so excited to walk on Fridays that he gets up early and runs half way to school. He gets really excited when it’s raining outside on Footloose Fridays because it’s a great adventure walking to school! His mom, dad and even dog, Pearl, often join him on his walk to school. They have valued their time as a family when they walk to school and have found it much more enjoyable than driving in the car. When he arrives on campus he heads to the quad to get his card punched and picks out a token. He is a great role model for his friends because walking and biking to school builds a greater sense of community and kick starts a super day of learning.

Way to go, Alexander!

The North Natomas TMA just kicked off a wonderful bike safety program called Project Ride Smart at Heron Elementary. In partnership with Heron’s Physical Education teacher, Mrs. Vigil, cycling instructors are teaching this course which is a part of the 4th and 5th graders physical education. Children will learn skills including bike control, safety, awareness, rules of the road, and much more. The kids are very excited to get on their bikes and to learn the rules of the road! This valuable information will benefit these children for many years to come.

The California High-Speed Rail Authority will host public scoping meetings along the Merced-to-Sacramento project section later this month to provide the public with an opportunity to learn about the project, ask questions and provide feedback about what project alternatives and environmental issues should be evaluated in the environmental impact report. The Merced-to-Sacramento section of the High-Speed Train system includes the City of Sacramento south to the City of Merced. Proposed route alternatives generally follow the Burlington Northern Santa Fe, the Central California Traction or Union Pacific railroads throughout the section. Stations are proposed in Sacramento, Stockton, Modesto and Merced.

An Open-house meeting for the Merced-Sacramento section is scheduled for 3 p.m. to 7 p.m., Jan. 27, Sacramento, Amtrak Depot, 301 I Street

Scoping is the first opportunity to become involved in the Merced-to-Sacramento project-level environmental impact report. During the scoping process, the public – as well as city, county, state, and federal agencies – have an opportunity to provide comments on project alternatives and environmental impacts to be evaluated.

Once a month starting last spring, the North Natomas TMA offered organized bike rides, to brag about our wonderful bike paths and amenities our neighborhood has to offer. Many of you enjoyed the opportunity to get to know the area by bike, and through that experience, we fielded continual requests for bike maps. In the New Year, SACOG will produce a bicycle trip planner for regional use, and now the TMA has produced a Natomas Bike Map of existing trails, to get you on your bike with confidence. It also gives great ideas for rides with your family and friends around Natomas and beyond. Bike maps will be available by January’s end and you can come by, or we’ll mail yours… email us at the link below.

Heron School's SAFETY with HELMETS NIGHT – a success!!
9/25/2009

The North Natomas Transportation Management Association, in partnership with the PTSA and Natomas Unified School District, sponsored a Safety with Helmets night at Heron School. Hundreds of families came to the event, and over 300 helmets were given away or replaced! Students were asked to bring their helmets if they had one, and every helmet was inspected for damage and fitted correctly. If a student did not have a helmet, or their helmet needed to be replaced, they were given one for FREE.

The event included a safety presentation for students to learn the importance of wearing a helmet and traffic safety questions presented by our local police department, among other fun activities. Free dinner was also provided.

Here is what a couple of the participants wrote about the event, “Thanks for the helmets! Great information for the kids!” and, “This is the best party ever and thanks for the helmet”.

The success of Safety with Helmets Night compliments the school’s focus on encouraging students to get to and from school by walking, biking, scooting or skating. Each Friday, or Footloose Friday, students are encouraged to join the walking school bus, where parent volunteers walk groups of students to school. Parents can drop off their students starting at a ‘meet-up zone’, or join the group on their journey.

For questions or information on how to get involved, please contact:
Mellissa Meng
School Programs Manager with the North Natomas TMA
916-416-9955
mellissa@nntma.org

Eleven trekkers joined the Natomas Flyers and rode in the 23rd Annual Emigrant Trails Bike Trek recently. We spent two nights "camping" in the beautiful Napa Valley with 260 others who rode 30-60 miles per day for Breathe California's mission of clean air, healthy lungs, and the elimination of lung disease. Thanks to our sponsor, Sacramento Gateway Shopping Center, the group was bedecked with stylin' jerseys that powered the team on to ride a collective 1300 miles over three days.

Our team helped raise over $300,000 to support and expand the local programs for Breathe California. Every year our team size increases as we meet more people during the year who participate in our "neighborhood rides", starting in May. Look here for murmurs of next year’s Trek, when the TMA will be looking for willing adventuresome types who would like to join our group. We'll start riding early in the new year. Join us!

New School Year, More Programs
8/6/2009

The 2009/10 school year is shaping up to be an active year for students and families attending North Natomas schools. The TMA is working with the seven elementary and middle schools in the area to initiate and continue programs encouraging children and their families to walk and bike to school. The reason for the effort is simple; to promote healthy, safe children, improve air quality and reduce vehicle congestion. Walking and biking to school is one of the best ways to reach this goal.

Shuttle Plan in the Works
8/3/2009

Several of our seasoned riders call from time to time to advise us of up-to-the-minute happenings on the shuttle. We appreciate it because often we wouldn't know otherwise. And those who are on standing-room-only loops are such good sports and are using the hand rails and straps without complaint. We know this is a pain and it's not in our plan to having anyone standing. To this end, this winter we will complete a Five Year Transit Plan that will reveal some good info about the future and The Flyer. Stay tuned…