We need a place for our visiting guests to stay, plus it is perfectly positioned for food, entertainment, gas stations and MANY ancillary retail businesses. Additionally, Urgent Medical Care is readily available.
There seems to have been less than a lukewarm response. WHY?
Again, I, and many others do not understand this reluctance by the City Council and other city agencies to support a hotel/motel project? There has never been a statement about this issue from the council.
I would suggest a novel idea: support the internal needs of our city and stop looking at new residential developments that only line the pockets of the winning developer.
After much reading about successes of aging towns , the successful interventions stress the need for incorporating their aging and declining citizens into civic planning. They need to have a say.
Yes, we have our wonderful “neighborhood” groups — however, their agenda is dictated and their needs and suggestions do not reach the “powers that be.”
The infrastructure needs also includes humans. A successful city needs to evaluate generational needs, too.
Other Letter(s):
No need for more outdoor eating at Sylvan Corners I do not think outdoor eating options are realistic for the former Sylvan Middle School property. Mr. Pickles renovated and now seems closed. That corner is too busy and too noisy for enjoying outdoor eating, and much of the year is either too hot or too cold. Several restaurants have opened and closed in the shopping area across the street in the area of Starbucks. I do not have a suggestion for a realistic use, but outdoor eating seems unfriendly from my perspective. –Jean Schafer, Citrus Heights
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Pretty Girl Court is one of several unusual street names in Citrus Heights. // CH Sentinel
Latest letters from Sentinel readers cover a wide range of local topics, including wild turkeys in Citrus Heights, unusual street names, repaving priorities and a question about cops.
Citrus Heights should be known for its turkeys [RE: LETTERS: Leave the wild turkeys alone; Dec. 1st] Please leave the turkeys alone. They are a great asset to our community. Like Fair Oaks is known for the chickens, I wish Citrus Heights would be known for the turkeys. They may leave droppings and sometimes they may seem assertive, but the poop isn’t permanent and not so bad that you’re always stepping on it or walking around it. I’ve actually never really noticed it and we have turkeys in our yard quite often.
They really won’t do anything to you if they act aggressive. If people are that scared when they approach, they should run towards them and scare them. If we got rid of all the animals in the area, this area would be worse off. They are fun and healthy for us to have contact with as humans. -Carly Haggett, Citrus Heights
Turkeys are a great part of living in the ‘burbs I love seeing wild turkeys. I love that people stop in their cars to let them cross streets. We are so lucky that we still have these wonderful critters and they are able to scratch out a living in the burbs amongst humans. It’s amazing. -Linda Schulman, Citrus Heights
Don’t get rid of the turkeys My grandson and I enjoy the turkeys, even when it’s 29 turkeys crossing in front of us. They are plentiful near George Cirby School in Roseville. I was surprised one morning to find so many turkeys on the lawn and roof of one of the houses. Please don’t rid of the turkeys, we enjoy them. -Cathy Montoya, Roseville
Don’t forget Chivalry Way [RE: Living Local: Street names in Citrus Heights often have quite a personality; Nov. 28th] You left off one of the more amusing names — Chivalry Way runs south off of Auburn Road just east of the Costco/Walmart shopping center. Appropriately enough, it is a dead end. -Ralph Lewis, Citrus Heights
About Bonita Way I was a lifelong resident of Citrus Heights, as was my mother before she passed away in 2018. My sister still lives there. I moved 10 years ago with my husband who moved to Citrus Heights in 1963 with his family. Bonita Way in Citrus Heights was named by my maternal Grandmother. They asked her what she wanted the street named when she lived on that street and she told them “Bonita Way” and they named it that. Her name was Anna Fay Horner. That’s the story I was told by my mother. –Bonnie Parker. Somerset, Kentucky
Repaving effort should prioritize Madison Avenue [RE: Here’s the list of streets Citrus Heights is slated to repave in the next year] I don’t see Madison Avenue from Dewey Drive to Sunrise on the list! What a mess it is, and half of it belongs to Citrus Heights. I would like to see some of my 48 years of taxes used to help there, before surface streets. -Virginia Petree, Citrus Heights
Repave Lichen Drive Have you happen to drive down Lichen Drive off of Antelope and I-80? If so, did your car seem to feel like it was going to disassemble itself as you drive down the road? It’s like your suspension is outta whack, or you’ve got 3-and-a-half flat tires! We’re all falling apart here… Help. –Hallie Brown, Citrus Heights
Where’s all the cops in Citrus Heights? I have traveled from Nevada to Sacramento area the past two weeks and I’ve seen more police officers and show of police force in Nevada than I have in Citrus Heights in the past year. Where are all the police officers? People are doing 90 miles an hour down Auburn Boulevard and Greenback because there is no law enforcement. -Deb Koll, Citrus Heights
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Temporary barricades were set up at Old Auburn Road and Fair Oaks Boulevard on Nov. 29, following multiple collisions. // CH Sentinel
By Shawn Dorris, Citrus Heights– [RE: Rain prompts more collisions at problematic Citrus Heights intersection; Dec. 5th] I have lived in Citrus Heights and Orangevale for many years and use the intersection of Fair Oaks Boulevard and Old Auburn Road very often. I agree the intersection is a danger and serious problem. However, I don’t think the primary problem is so much with speedy, wild turns off of Fair Oaks onto old Auburn, as much as it is the timing of the light.
Speedy, wild turns are a symptom of the real problem. People know how short that green light is and therefore speed up to make it through. There is where your problem lies. Is it a good excuse? No, speeding is never a good idea, no matter the reason. Getting to your destination a little late, but safe, is better than never getting there at all.
That being said, I do believe if the green light lasted a little longer (at least a reasonable amount of time) so more cars had a chance to get through, not only might the drivers go at a slower speed, but the traffic backup may improve as well.
Just my humble opinion. Thank you for the opportunity to “speak. ”
More letter(s):
Use concrete dividers instead of planter boxes How about instead of the planter boxes using concrete highway median dividers anchored to the ground. They are designed to direct vehicles back onto the road. -Alan Tupper, Citrus Heights
Road dips would help Install road dips between Old Auburn Road & Oak Ave. on Fair Oaks Blvd. between Old Auburn and Oak Ave. -Alison Cohen, Citrus Heights
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Latest letters from Citrus Heights residents respond to the recent decision by the police department to discontinue posting daily incident bulletins about local crimes and reports.
Police logs offer valuable info for citizens [RE: Citrus Heights PD won’t be posting police logs anymore. Here’s why; Dec. 1st] I feel these logs are good for public relations. They are not too long and I know that some police activity cannot be published. I have been a citizen of Citrus Heights since 1980, when my husband retired after 21 years in the United States Air Force.
I find The Sentinel to be a good source of information, especially since the major news sources in Sacramento treat us like chopped liver. The Police Logs provide valuable information for citizens. When there is a proliferation of crime in one’s neighborhood, we can be on the lookout for similar crimes. – Patricia Lueckert, Citrus Heights
We have a right to know about crimes in our city I prefer a more accurate posting of the police activities within our city. The POP officers no longer provide us a list of crimes in our neighborhood association meetings either. Saying it is a time factor is an excuse. As citizens of the city, we should be able to know and have a right to know what crimes occur in our city. Check to see if this decision is coming from legal counsel. -Bill Shirley, Vice President of CHASE Neighborhood Association
Disappointed at police logs being cut I am disappointed that this information will no longer be published in The Sentinel. I looked forward to reading about what’s going on in our areas/neighborhoods. I can understand the additional work putting this info together for you to publish, but shouldn’t that be important enough to hire someone part time to do it? -Lena Mueller, Citrus Heights
Ask residents first Why discontinue this? Very helpful to know what is going on. How much additional time could it really take? I read every one and shared the information. Why not ask us first? -Richard B. James, Citrus Heights
*Editor’s note: Up until Nov. 12, daily incident bulletins were posted to the police department’s website for community members to access. The Sentinel compiled select bulletins into a more readable format each week, with police codes and other jargon interpreted for readers. See prior story for more: Citrus Heights PD won’t be posting police logs anymore. Here’s why.
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Wild turkeys, a familiar sight across Citrus Heights, are shown here at the intersection of Old Auburn Road and Mariposa Avenue. // Image credit: City of Citrus Heights
By Citrus Heights resident Carolyn Monson– [RE: Wild turkeys in Citrus Heights are out of control; Guest Opinion, Nov. 28th] I enjoy the turkeys and wonder why others are so unhappy with them — do mockingbirds irritate them too? It seems that the areas where I see large groups varies from year to year and they seem to completely disappear for a good part of the year.
My vote is to leave them alone. Maybe offer suggestions to those who are so bothered how they might discourage the turkeys — for example, a few years ago, a neighbor of mine continuously had the bark in his yard seriously disturbed when the turkeys scratched for food. He put chicken wire down and then put bark on top. I haven’t seen any mess created by turkeys since. Animals (wild or domesticated) are a gift!
More Letter(s):
Wild turkeys are awesome At what point do humans accept that we are part of nature, not masters of nature? We’re really going to re-locate some animals because they leave some droppings or extend our commute by a minute or two? Think long and hard about how decent your life must be, if wild turkeys are one of the bigger inconveniences you come across in life. The turkeys are awesome, there’s plenty of people, buildings, businesses, traffic, and crime to go around in our dear Citrus Heights… I don’t think there are enough turkeys. -Mathew Dastmalchi, Citrus Heights
It’s time to do something about the wild turkeys Don’t ever get chased by a turkey. They are vicious and can do some serious harm. They are really fierce when it’s mating season. Time to do something about them. I used to see herds of them at the mobile home community when I went there for bingo; now they are “visiting” our community which is off Antelope Road. -Lena Mueller, Citrus Heights
Wild turkeys make me happy I love the wild turkeys please leave them alone. They make me happy! -Susan Norris, Citrus Heights
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By Kimberly Montgomery– [RE: SJUSD shoots down proposed charter school in Citrus Heights; appeal planned; Nov. 17th] I live in Citrus Heights and am teaching in Roseville, in the elementary district — a K-8 school district — and have been for 30 years… Charter schools do nothing more than take students and funding away from public schools, promising parents better education and better academic results .
There is no statistical evidence to prove that charters perform better overall than public schools. Charter schools are one way to privatize education.
The best solution to address the arguments made for a charter school is to ask why a parent would move a student to a charter instead of remaining in the public school, and then address those concerns within the school district. Letting the charter take money away from the public schools is only weakening the public school system, which is the ultimate goal of the charter school movement.
The fact that millions are spent to get pro-voucher, and pro-charter school candidates into positions on county school boards and school boards in districts nationwide is a big red flag that the ultimate goal is not to provide a better educational choice for our students, the lie told, but to instead push the unspoken political agenda of those big-money corporations and benefactors who are creating and financially supporting charter schools.
Support the local schools… put the funding into the local schools and the local kids. Find the solutions within your own district to counter the reasons any parent would choose a charter over a public school… (Letter shortened due to 250-word limit)
OTHER LETTER(S):
Bad schools causing parents to send kids outside of the district I have raised children, grandkids, and great-grand kids in Citrus Heights schools. My husband has lived here 80 years, and we have seen schools come and go, and what I am getting from the kids that live here is that the school district is in shambles, with low scores, and discipline. I am hearing that many of our young adults are sending there kids out of district to Roseville, Orangevale, or paying for private schools.
Also, some are sending their children to charter schools out of the San Juan district. Thirty years ago we put our grandson in a private school here because we were told by the teacher he had in kindergarten that he was smart, and if left in the Citrus Heights school he would be passed over because they had to spend so much time with some other kids. -Carol Alexander, Citrus Heights
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Wild turkeys are a regular sight near Sylvan Oaks Library. // CH Sentinel
Latest letters from Citrus Heights Sentinel readers include varying perspectives on wild turkeys in the city.
Wild turkeys are fun to watch [RE: Wild turkey population continues to grow in Citrus Heights; Nov. 3rd] I have turkeys in my neighborhood, and they walk, sit in my flower area, and apparently like bark. They are amusing and fun to watch. I live on Highland Avenue and have seen quite a few people stop to take pictures. The only time I have seen the turkeys get annoyed or cause a nuisance is when people chase them and yell at them. They have never caused trouble. I love them. -Angela Buettner, Citrus Heights
Some turkeys are causing problems Even though the turkeys are mostly harmless they do plague the neighborhood and attack people trying to either drive past them or get into their cars and drive away. My daughter was targeted by a certain Tom Turkey that would not let her get in her car and drive away she had to physically use a broom to move it away. She had to drive slowly to make sure it moved out of her way so she did not hit it. It was at her car every morning for a month. We definitely need find place for them to go to be safe and not hit by cars. -Kathy Breault, Citrus Heights
Love seeing the turkeys Personally, I love seeing the turkeys run around my neighborhood being goofy. They’re a reminder to me that life doesn’t have to be so serious. Sure, sometimes they come into my yard and steal fruit while leaving droppings, but in my opinion, that’s a small price to pay to be surrounded by such beautiful wildlife. Living in such an urban area, it’s nice to be reminded that wildlife exists without having to travel, so, bring on the turkeys! -Michael Gray, Citrus Heights
Turkeys are an enjoyable sight I enjoy seeing the turkeys, but they can be destructive to lawns when they are looking for grubs or the lawn is newly seeded. I still enjoy them especially when a male displays his full tail feathers. Spraying with water doesn’t always work. One of my neighbors sprayed them with her hose and they loved it! -Patricia Lueckert, Citrus Heights
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Latest letters from Citrus Heights Sentinel readers include more perspectives on the city’s bike lane experiment on Old Auburn Road and advocacy for a new veterans building to be included in plans for Sunrise Mall.
Sunrise Mall should include a new Veterans Memorial Building [RE: City takes next step towards major redevelopment of Sunrise Mall; Oct. 13th] In Sacramento, there about 15,000 veterans. Citrus Heights has an many as 1,000 veterans, but no place to call home.
Citrus Heights has had an American Legion Post, Post 637, in the city since the post was chartered in 1957 — but no American Legion building or Veterans Memorial hall, as there is in many cities.
I know that the city is looking for future and forward-thinking ideas, so I guess hoping that a building is built somewhere on the mall property for veterans in this area would be out of the question.
But I guess that if I had a vote — that’s what I would vote for. A Veterans Memorial Building for American Legion Post 637. -Jim Monteton, Citrus Heights
Make temp changes at Old Auburn/Fair Oaks permanent [RE: City says it’s evaluating results of ‘road diet’ test on Old Auburn Road; Oct. 31st] I live off Old Auburn Road and Twin Oaks Avenue and go through the intersection at Fair Oaks Boulevard coming in all three directions several time a week, if not daily.
First impression, driving from Twin Oaks toward Antelope Road, I thought it was stupid and what were they thinking? Twin Oaks with left turn onto Fair Oaks, well that’s ok, makes some sense. Fair Oaks making right-hand turn onto Old Auburn, now I get! I like this, so much safer.
Making left-hand turn off Fair Oaks onto Old Auburn, not all the jockeying to get into the left-hand lane, especially if I don’t want to go up Antelope. Bottom line, I like the change and would like to see it made permanent. -Kit Carlson, Citrus Heights
Protecting cyclists, pedestrians should be priority [RE: LETTER: City’s traffic experiment on Old Auburn Road is insane; Oct. 27th] The lives of cyclists and pedestrians are often endangered by reckless drivers who fail to yield to pedestrians and encroach on the bike lane. The proposed changes which would provide a safe corridor for cyclists are a means to the end of ensuring public safety, ostensibly the highest priority of government. Concerns about traffic congestion should be addressed by those that are a part of it, which presents no serious grievance if they depart at less congested hours.
Reported sightings of mountain lions and other wild animals instill fear into the heart of some people without an enclosed means of transport, sometimes due to poverty or environmentalism. One must not fail to remark that the hot daytime weather, professional obligations, and a lack of open businesses and amenities at night cause many to depart their places of shelter in the crepuscular hours, elevating the risk of encounters with potentially dangerous wildlife. Given the relative difficulty of obtaining instruments for defense against such wild beasts, cyclists must be provided with the safest routes possible.
Opposition to such changes seem to be motivated by the extreme selfishness of a car-owning majority. Such oppression of the poor and disregard for human life is characteristic of those who threaten public safety by violating traffic laws on the streets and leash laws on the sidewalk. Enough has already been spent to ensure the safe operation of motor vehicles. Beautification projects should be emphasized as they verily benefit residents and tourists regardless of their socioeconomic status. –Juan Pablo Flores, Roseville
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A traffic sign announced temporary roadway changes that were in effect Oct. 19-27 on Old Auburn Road, near Fair Oaks Boulevard. // CH Sentinel
By Michael Price, Citrus Heights— [RE: City closes one lane of Old Auburn Rd for 9-day experiment; Oct. 17th] Sacramento County exercised poor planning by letting the area grow without adding lanes to accommodate the increased traffic. Citrus Heights inherited the issue, but hasn’t done a good job of relieving the issue.
My feedback on the 9-day test:
Relieving increased traffic flow is never fixed by removing a lane.
This change has disrupted the ability of residents to get out of our subdivision at Garry Oak and Old Auburn. Because it is so close to the signal light we are dependent on the kindness of drivers on Old Auburn to let us into traffic. I have waited as long as 20 minutes for such kindness.
Same goes for Glen Tree and Old Auburn.
It is causing people to take short cuts through the subdivision instead of using the main roads which is putting our children in more danger.
Putting bicyclists between traffic and the planter boxes is a very dangerous move given how many times the planter boxes have been hit.
My input for future improvements:
Fair Oaks should be four lanes of traffic from Greenback Lane to Old Auburn. Suicide lanes should be available where needed.
Old Auburn should be four lanes of traffic from Sylvan Corners to Hazel/Sierra College. Suicide lanes should be available where needed.
As Fair Oaks approaches Old Auburn there needs to be an added lane dedicated for Right Turn traffic only.
Put a flashing yellow light on Old Auburn facing oncoming traffic on Fair Oaks.
Fix our road surfaces before doing any beautification projects.
MORE LETTERS:
Two lanes is better than one I cannot understand the thinking behind reducing Old Auburn Road to one lane at Garry Oak Drive. Since the implementation, all we saw was TRAFFIC.
Cars exiting Garry Oak could not turn onto Old Auburn Road because traffic in one lane was backed up, blocking the exit. Also, that pedestrian/bike lane abruptly ended in a quarter mile, not allowing cars to merge over in enough time to make a right turn either onto the street next to Grace Bible Church or even onto Antelope Road.
When traveling on Old Auburn Road, eastbound, once a car passed through the intersection, it could not turn left onto Garry Oak because, again, traffic was backed up on Old Auburn waiting for the signal.
Those crashes into the planter boxes mostly happen at night. I know, get rid of the planter boxes!
Also, I have lived in the neighborhood since 1992, and the amount of pedestrian and bicycle traffic is minimal. I definitely prefer two lanes on Old Auburn as well as two left turn lanes on Fair Oaks. -Molly Matchell, Citrus Heights
‘Road Diet’ is a great idea I live just south of the intersection of Fair Oaks and Old Auburn, and I applaud the idea of this road diet! I hope city planners bring back the protected bike lane.
I’ve often thought that putting Fair Oaks Blvd on road diet at least as far south as Greenback would be a great idea, to give cyclists and pedestrians more space to breathe on what can be an incredibly aggressive stretch of road for motorists.
Protected bike lanes are good, but only if you can actually get from point A to point B on them. An isolated stretch of protected bike lane like in this test is just not sufficient; to get the full effect of a road diet, you have to make it easier for alternate modes of transportation like biking. Over time, you’ll see thru traffic pushed to major thoroughfares like Sunrise and Hazel, and out of our neighborhoods. I urge planners to go further! –Joshua Beigel, Orangevale
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A nine-day “road diet” experiment implemented by the City of Citrus Heights has temporarily replaced one lane of Old Auburn Road with a turn lane. // CH Sentinel
Letter submitted by Lisa Blount– [RE: City closes one lane of Old Auburn Rd for 9-day experiment; Oct. 17th] I know pot may be legal in California now, but not sure who in the city was ingesting it when they came up with the plan to somehow make the road safer by reducing the number of lanes.
The plan to slow down the traffic going westbound might just work in theory because it will create a bottleneck at several intersections, but at times of heavy commute traffic it will just irate drivers more causing some to do unsafe lane maneuvers. Just look down the road towards the east by Wachtel and the west before Sunrise Avenue to find lines of cars jammed up in one lane. I would not feel safe walking or riding a bike right next to that line of frustrated drivers.
This experiment still doesn’t address the east bound side of Old Auburn between Antelope and Fair Oaks where cars fly over “the hill” constantly cutting into lanes to jockey for position.
It is already difficult enough getting out onto Old Auburn from the residential neighborhoods on both sides. Now throw everyone into one lane and back traffic back to the intersections at high commute times and then try to find a way out does not seem to be a way to “improve” the situation.
Honestly, I don’t see anyone using the bike lanes; sidewalks are safer. Why don’t they just start ticketing all the speeders. Maybe the fines and increased insurance premiums will motivate some to drive safer. Just a thought from a guinea pig ( I mean resident) of this insane experiment.
MORE LETTERS:
Reducing Old Auburn Road to one lane is an awful idea So far, this “Road Diet” test they are conducting is an awful idea. The Sentinel’s article mentions the city would be monitoring this, but I have yet to see anyone out there to observe how bad this has made the traffic flow in this area.
I respect the issues with cars running into the wall at Fair Oaks and Old Auburn, which a simple left-turn-lane modification could solve, but bringing this area down to one lane has so far turned out to be the worst idea I’ve seen from the city (and I’m not alone).
If this becomes a permanent change, I can assure you there will be hundreds of residents demanding it be reverted back, which would cost the City millions and likely get the person in charge fired. Whoever came up with this idea clearly didn’t given much thought to the outcome and even worse isn’t physically visually monitoring the outcome of their failed experiment. -Wes Ayres, Citrus Heights
Changes on Old Auburn are working fine The new traffic flow changes are working, however the time frame the light remains green should be shortened for the traffic light on Old Auburn at Fair Oaks. This will avoid a heavy back up for the Fair Oaks direction and allow the right lane to turn. -Lori Jaquess, Fair Oaks
Temp changes on Old Auburn Road are unsafe I live on Hanson Ave which is already used as a ‘short-cut’ through to Sunrise – the increased traffic has already made our street unsafe for walking and biking.
We have people that think this is a freeway as it is. Drivers have been clocked at 50+ mph on this quiet residential street. At least 40% of cars using Hanson and Wonder chose not to stop at the 4-way stop sign and we also have at least one moron that thinks its fun to spin donuts in the center of the 4-way stop. The increased traffic that this ‘experiment’ will bring will cause unsafe conditions to the residents of the area.
Currently the residents of Hanson and Wonder are in the process of trying to get the city to install speed bumps to try to slow these people down some. –Lana Crum, Citrus Heights
Why waste money? Why did the city spend so much time and money on a nine-day temporary experiment? They painted permanent markings and installed flexible lane dividers! Not cheap by no means!
Also, how and when are they observing the effects of this so called “improvement!” Friday, even before it was official, one accident occurred at 3 p.m. They need to be there during rush hours 6:30-10 a.m. and 3-7 p.m. to see the true effect! -Christopher E. Gonzales, Fair Oaks
Changes don’t increase safety Are you kidding me with the reallocation of one lane of Old Auburn Road to multi-use pedestrian/bicycle use in the name of safety? Isn’t this right where the planter box is located?
Do you know how many times that planter box has been hit? Someone with a sense of humor keeps putting up a sign noting how many times cars have won (the last time I looked it was up to 20) versus how many times the wall has won ( last count 0).
Does the city want to see that sign changed to cars=20, humans=0? Don’t see how that is helping to increase safety? -David M. Smith, Citrus Heights
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