Dixieanne neighborhood birds eye map view. open_in_full

Background

Dixieanne Neighborhood Clean & Green Alleys is a project to clean and beautify at least 3,000 linear feet of public right-of-way on any of 23 residential alleys in the community of Old North Sacramento with permeable interlocking pavers, fencing repairs, shade trees, and public art in order to enhance the neighborhood and to encourage community gathering and active transportation. While the primary function of alleys throughout Sacramento is to provide access to the rear of properties, the low volume of traffic and narrow widths allow alleys to also function as safe, low-stress corridors for pedestrians, bicyclists, and even casual play.

The Dixieanne Clean and Green Alley Project is moving forward with exciting developments that underscore our city’s commitment to innovation, sustainability, and community enhancement. Here’s what’s happening:

  • Artistic Collaboration: A collection of artists, brought together by our partnership with Graffiti for Good, has been selected to enrich our alleys with unique paver and bollard designs. These functional art pieces are soon to be a reality as we finalize contracts with a top-notch paver art company.
  • Bollard Acquisition: The city is in the final stages of purchasing bollards to replace the existing gates that will continue to restrict vehicular traffic for safety but also add a visual flair to our neighborhood alleyways.
  • Community Event in January: Get ready for a showcase event where we will present the proposed art concepts. This will be a fantastic opportunity for community members to see the future look of our alleys. More details to follow.
  • New Fences on the Way: In partnership with Sierra Service Project and the Sacramento Resgional Conservation Corps, we are preparing to to replace damaged and aging fences for several residential properties adjacent to the alleys set for rehabilitation.
  • Spring Installations: With the arrival of spring, we anticipate the beginning of paver installation, taking advantage of the better weather conditions for construction.
  • Tree Planting Initiative: Thanks to our collaboration with the Sacramento Tree Foundation, up to 20 lots will be beautified with new, climate-appropriate shade trees.

For the most current updates on the placement of bollard art and alley resurfacing, be sure to check out our website’s interactive map.
Stay tuned for more updates as we continue to transform our shared spaces!

Alley clean ups, community workshop and "Map Crawl"

A special thank you to Sacramento Picks It Up, the Sacramento Regional Conservation Corps, and the Dixieanne neighbors that joined us for the two clean up events to remove trash from the alleys, a community workshop to inform residents of the project, and a map crawl to collect feedback from residents on the proposed improvements to the alleys.

Dixieanne community cleanup efforts in a neighborhood alleyway. open_in_full
Dixieanne community cleanup efforts tabling. open_in_full
Dixieanne cleanup efforts with trash truck pick up members. open_in_full

Staff recommendation

The City of Sacramento has been collecting feedback since August of 2022 through an online community survey on the Dixieanne Clean and Green Alleyways project in North Sacramento. 68 surveys had been collected by March 14, 2023 with 52 self-identifying as residents or property owners in the area.

Survey participants shared their preferences for various project components, including paver installation, alleyway gate removal, shade trees, fence improvements, and art installations. Interestingly, there was a near-even split among respondents for replacing existing gates with bollards and keeping the existing gates. A similar trend emerged for artistic options, with decorative pavers and mural installations garnering comparable levels of support.

The most notable finding from the online survey responses was the pressing need to take action and enhance the condition of residential alleyways in the Dixieanne neighborhood.

To facilitate further community engagement, City staff organized a series of eight 30-minute pop-up mapping events on Saturday, January 28th, held on major residential alleyways throughout the Dixieanne neighborhood. Residents were informed in advance by mail and signage was posted days before the event to encourage participation. Sacramento Regional Conservation Corps members also knocked on doors immediately prior to each pop-up to remind neighbors of the event. At each location, residents were encouraged to discuss their specific alley and pinpoint significant areas on an oversized plotted map dedicated to that alley. This interactive exchange allowed residents to offer more nuanced and detailed perspectives, leading to a richer understanding of the needs and preferences of the community.

During the pop-up mapping events, residents expressed their views on a variety of topics, including gate-to-bollard conversions, prioritizing pedestrian access over vehicular traffic, the heat island effect resulting from paver installation, and the resilience of paver art when subjected to car-related impacts.

Taking into account the feedback received, the soil conditions determined by core sampling, and established best practices in alleyway activation, City staff has developed recommendations for paver installation, paver art locations, gate-to-bollard conversions, and bollard artwork installations as indicated in the subsequent map. Property owners along the recommended alleys will also be contacted to potentially receive grant-funded shade trees and fence repairs as part of the beautification effort. Finally, signage discouraging illegal dumping will be installed throughout the neighborhood.

Status

Design - Updated November 1, 2023

Dokken Engineering has been contracted to complete the Final Design for the alley improvements by Fall 2023. Construction is tentatively scheduled for Spring of 2024 with completion prior to June 30th. In order to reduce costs and construction time, the alleys south of Calvados Avenue previously proposed for improvement have been removed from the project. Opportunities for additional artwork on the remaining alleys will be pursued.

Fence Repairs and Backyard Trees

The City is actively seeking participants along the subject alleys for FREE fence repairs and backyard shade trees to compliment the new pavers, bollards, and artworks. Please follow the link below for more information. Please email Rachel Patten if you are interested.

Art - Updated November 8,2023

The local non-profit, GraffitiForGood has been contracted as the Artwork Consultant. Artists have been chosen by a Selection Panel to create vectors images that will be turned into cut pavers to be inlaid onto the alleyway surface as well as to create and apply images onto the bollards that will be installed in the alleys. Rough concepts created by the selected artists will be displayed for public review at an upcoming community event.

 

Bollards

 
  • Mercy Hawkins
  • Ryan (Leaveswell) Stark
  • Brenyanna Harris-Hill
  • Larry Rodriguez
  • Christine Shields

Pavers

 
  • Amber Rankin
  • Brenyanna Harris-Hill
  • Christine Shields
  • Aman Smith
  • Daniel Pedersen
  • Ten Blair
  • Barbara Church
  • John Connolly
  • Austin Blue
  • Leon Willis

A community open house was held on December 30, 2023 to provide an opportunity for the public to get a first look at the preliminary art concepts and provide feedback. Comments were received through January 6, 2024 and shared with the artists. The artists were given an opportunity to revise their pieces based on the feedback received. Paver art designs are being shared with manufacturer for production and bollards should arrive for painting in-house by February.

 

Please share this information with friends, family, and neighbors who might be interested. The more community involvement, the better our project will be when complete!

Contact the project manager

Fedolia "Sparky" Harris, Principal Planner
fharris@cityofsacramento.org
(916) 808-2996

ON THIS PAGE