Fuzzy Math lives! Priority Projects update provides 'fuzzy' information on Elk Grove Light Rail extension

To use an analogy popularized during the 2000 American presidential election, some fuzzy information was provided to the public during the Wednesday, August 15, Elk Grove City Council meeting.

That fuzzy information was provided during an update on the Elk Grove City Council's priority projects. The information pertained to the long-sought Sacramento Regional Transit's Light Rail extension into Elk Grove.

The report was by management analyst Aishwarya Kumar on behalf of the city's Innovations Department. While Ms. Kumar did not provide inaccurate information, she also did not paint a thorough picture.  

The staff report for the agenda item said the following about the long-discussed Light Rail Extension:

"Continuing work on the corridor master plan/precise plan for future extension of Light Rail into Elk Grove. The alignment, visions for the station areas, ridership projections, and traffic analysis are near complete. Public outreach is anticipated August/September 2025 with plan adoption in Spring 2026."

If one were to read this report or listen to Kumar's 30-second commentary as seen in the video below, it could easily be interpreted that Elk Grove's Light Rail was a certainty. Unfortunately, this is not the case with the Light Rail extension. 

The only thing accomplished by 2026 is more studies and "visions for the station areas, ridership projections. Put another way, these "visions" are aspirational - a wish list. 

With clever wording, not only was Ms. Kumar and the Innovations Department trying to deceive the public, she seemingly deceived at least one City Council member. As seen in the video, following her presentation, Councilman Darren Suen was flummoxed.

If Councilman Suen, who has over 10 years of experience on the city council, other bodies such as the Sacramento Area Council of Governments, and, as he will tell you, is highly educated, was unclear about the information being presented, what about the unsuspecting public who casually hear this presentation?

Not only is it deceptive, but it also further tarnishes Elk Grove's already damaged credibility. This report has further affected the credibility of elected officials and high-ranking city officials, including Jason Behrmann and Christopher Jordan.

You would think they would know better. Apparently not. 

Furthermore, until Development Services Manager Christopher Jordan responded to Suen's query, Kumar's report implied Elk Grove's mass transit was Light Rail. Mr. Jordan acknowledged the omission and noted that bus rapid transit (BRT) would be part of the transit plan. 

The video also includes comments Mr. Suen made before the Sacramento Local Agency Formation Commission in February 2018. The councilman noted the BRT will be part of the city's transit plan. When Light Rail reaches Elk Grove is anyone's guess.

However, you can be assured that it will not occur within the next two years, as implied at the Elk Grove City Council meeting. 

Google Gemini was asked to conduct deep research on the following question: How likely is the City of Elk Grove to be part of the Sacramento Regional Transit Light rail system, and if it's expected, what is the earliest possible project for the start of construction for the system?

The lengthy and ofter repative report concluded by saying: "This realistic timeline places the earliest construction start in the late 2020s, more realistically extending into the early to mid-2030s."

The infographic report can be viewed here, and the accompanying PDF text is provided below.