RANCHO CORDOVA, CA (MPG) - “It’s killing people in my city.”

Those words uttered by Mayor Garret Gatewood underlined the severity and urgency of the deepest discussion at the November 15 City Council Meeting.

Despite several million already invested in improving conditions on Coloma Road, the street has long been plagued by speeding, congestion, and to a much more serious degree, collisions and fatalities. Some residents have dubbed it “Killoma”.

Public Works Director Albert Strickler led a presentation proposing improvements compiled from analyses as well as community and council feedback. The improvements are aimed to reduce the number of collisions, avoid negatively impacting residents who live on the road, create a stronger multimodal experience including pedestrians and cyclists, and ultimately, transform Coloma into a neighborhood focused street. Some of the unique challenges brought up included the additional frontage roads that make up the corridor and the different types of vehicles that pass through it. During discussion, it was also discussed how the road has become a popular shortcut due to its appearance in phone app directions.

Improvement options provided for Council to consider included speed feedback signs, adjusted signal timings, increasing police presence, lane reduction, landscaped medians and roundabouts at key intersections along the corridor.

Aside from the Civic Center issue months ago, no topic endeared as much public comment with many residents who live on Coloma coming forward to voice their concerns. “Hope you have a better solution,” said one man who has children who attend Cordova High on nearby Chase Drive (Chase and Coloma). The safety of children and all pedestrians and cyclists were brought up as at risk. One woman resident dryly pointed out the occasion a car wound up on her lawn.

While roundabouts appeared to be the most popular option with the Council, a clear path was not close in view. Council Member Linda Budge, who did not favor roundabouts, wanted more design effort and more community meetings"'a desire she did share with all the Council. She was also concerned about the effect on the Fourth of July parade.

Vice Mayor Donald Terry noted his disappointment in technologies such as cameras which were not available to the state.

For his part, Council Member David Sander spotlighted the public comment as labeled the best he’d witnessed"'particularly their focused words and “lack of anger”. Sander called for more hard data. He also laid out in basic terms whether a Coloma Road living family could take a safe bike ride to American River Park with the answer being a hard “no”.

The “last steps,” as Planning Manager Darcy Goulart called them, of the reinstatement of the Planning Commission"'the once defunct group of citizens who work alongside the Council in matters related to planning, land use regulation, and community development"'were also undertaken on November 15.

To maintain as much diversity as possible, the Council acquiesced to frustrations brought up during public comment that the requirement that all on the commission be a registered voter be stricken, so as to include those who are not yet American citizens. Council Member Linda Budge abstained from voting on this matter and it was passed.

The Council also heard again from Planning Manager Darcy Goulart who led a presentation on a tentative subdivision map for a future site of the 1,486,000 square ft. industrial warehouse campus located in the southwest corner of Folsom Boulevard and Hazel Avenue.

During public comment, Amalia Bowley Fuentes a Legal Fellow of Lozeau Drury LLP on behalf of Laborers Union Local 185 stated that wildlife biologist Dr. Shawn Smallwood felt there would be an impact on the tricolored blackbird (a California threatened species) plus not enough wildlife investigation, as a whole, plus health risks and transportation issues. A resident also expressed concern about the jet fuel in the ground of the proposed site that could be a health hazard if disturbed.

Michelle Wilson of ECORP Consulting said they could not find credible evidence of fact on the research from Dr. Smallwood which she described as “Non-scientific and speculative”.

While Council Member Sander and other members were very curious about the industrial area’s impact on the surrounding lands now and in the future, the Council approved for the project to go forward.

During Council Reports, Council Member Sander reported on the President’s infrastructure bill bringing new transportation opportunities to the city and region. He also spoke with Leadership Rancho Cordova about growing strong neighborhoods. Vice Mayor Terry announced his new position as Board President of the Children’s Museum. Council Member Siri Pulipati proudly reported that she gave her first proclamation in honor of Hindu Heritage Month.

Mayor Gatewood called the Council’s recent productive meeting with the Veterans Hospital Administration “amazing” and reminded the city that it has its own emergency room for life threatening issues in the VA.

The Mayor’s words at the recent State of the City event was praised by Council.

And the singing voices of the Council had also improved greatly since their last performance when they celebrated the birthday of Council Member Sander.