ABA NEWS
Autonomous Shuttle Sets Future Path for Sac State
Have you ever ridden in an autonomous vehicle, shuttle, or any form of driverless transport? University Transportation & Parking Services (UTAPS) is looking to bring such technology to the campus of Sacramento State.
Still in the early planning phase, UTAPS is exploring the possibility of adding an autonomous shuttle that would transport students from the 65th Street light rail station to campus via the Hornet Tunnel that travels under the existing railway.
Senior Director of UTAPS, Tony Lucas, explains: "We need to create a better way to connect Sac State with the light rail." The 65th Street drop-off is the closest Sacramento Regional Transit light rail station to Sac State. An autonomous vehicle would carry up to 10 passengers at a time.
Lucas has personally ridden in a shuttle of a similar style that could be used on campus and is already in use at the University of Florida and in the city of San Ramon.
The project involves many moving parts, organizations, municipalities, and the city of Sacramento. Fortunately, there is momentum behind such a project. Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg, Congresswoman Doris Matsui, and State Senator Richard Pan, all support autonomous vehicle testing and future implementation in Sacramento.
Lucas stressed the opportunity such emerging technologies granted our students as an academic project. "This gives our students and engineers the chance to work on something unique. Not many graduating students will have an autonomous shuttle on their resume."
Currently, the Sac State Hornet Shuttle services the 65th Street drop off location, but an autonomous shuttle would allow for more frequent and consistent pickups.
Police Department Provides Safe Space for Private Sales
In February, the Sacramento State Police Department announced the creation of a "Safe Exchange Zone." This new Safe Exchange Zone will provide a safe environment for people to buy, sell, or trade items in private party transactions, this is especially helpful when trading or selling with people one doesn't know, such as with Craigslist or eBay transactions. Additionally, the area can be used as a safe and neutral site for child custody exchanges.
The Safe Exchange Zone is set up in the front of the University Police Department and includes several marked parking spaces, which are available and free, on a first-come, first-served basis. Most importantly, there are two dedicated cameras recording 24-hour hours a day. The goal of the Safe Exchange Zone is to help reduce and deter fraudulent transactions, thefts, robberies and violent custody disputes.
Chief of Police Mark Iwasa recounted that several non-sworn staff members have personally experienced or know family that experienced a private party sale turn into a robbery. The new Safe Exchange Zone helps "create a place where people feel confident they are safe," said Chief Mark Iwasa. Lieutenant Christina Lofthouse helped champion the project, which has thus far received numerous positive comments in feedback.
"Someone would be a fool to commit a robbery in this location," explained Chief Iwasa. "Because we are going to catch you." Since opening in February, there have been no incidents reported at the Safe Exchange Zone.
The Sacramento State Police Department recommends all private party transactions adhere to the following safety tips:
• Only conduct transactions with local buyers/sellers
• Insist on meeting in a public area, like our safe exchange zone
• Do not go to a transaction alone; bring a friend or family member
• Take your cell phone with you
• Complete transactions during daylight hours
• Be extra cautious in buying/selling valuable items
• Trust your instincts; if it sounds like a scam, it probably is
• If somebody is not willing to come to the Police Department to do a transaction, it is probably not a legitimate transaction
While the Safe Exchange Zone is available to complete your exchange, Sacramento State Police Department personnel may not participate or act as official witnesses to the transactions, nor are they available for legal advice or allowed to settle civil or pricing disputes between parties involved in transactions occurring at this location. Additionally, the exchange of drugs, weapons, alcohol, and/or any illegal items is not permitted and may result in prosecution.
Hornet Crosswalk Ensures Pedestrians Have Right-of-Way
After returning from winter break, pedestrians and vehicles alike were greeted with a new LED lighted crosswalk along College Town Drive.
The improved crosswalk is the result of a successful partnership between University Transportation & Parking Services (UTAPS) and VIMOC Technologies, utilizing their “Rosella Platform.” The partnership helped solve a problem: how to help increase pedestrian safety along one of the busiest crosswalks around campus.
The solution involved the installation of finely-calibrated cameras that can accurately detect a pedestrian or cyclist approaching the crosswalk. The cameras alert drivers via LED flashing lights installed on both signs, and in the road along the crosswalk itself.
As their website states, the “Rosella Platform executes deep learning neural networks at the edge of the network and provides highly accurate intelligence for smart applications requiring real-time decision making capabilities.”
What does this mean? It means the cameras are able to detect and differentiate between pedestrians and cyclists, and are calibrated to prevent false-positives by only activating the LED lights once the pedestrian or cyclist approaches the crosswalk threshold. Passersby who are not utilizing the crosswalk will not trigger the camera's sensors.
Such improvements allow for greater pedestrian safety as vehicles are alerted sooner and more consistently than before. Previously, pedestrians had to press a button to activate a single light. "A button doesn't work if no one pushes it," said Senior Director of UTAPS, Tony Lucas.
The project took just a few days to install, and a similar project has been completed at Santa Clara University.
In the picture above, notice the lights within the crosswalk sign, and the lights on the street as well. The LEDs installed illuminate when pedestrians or cyclists approach the crosswalk.
Budget Update
The President has just issued the campus budget call for 2018-2019 where campus divisions had until March 30 to submit their documents to the University Budget Advisory Committee (UBAC). UBAC will meet with the head of each campus division in April, with the goal of formulating 2018-19 recommendations to the President by the end of the spring semester.
There is a lot of angst since the governor’s initial 2018-2019 budget, issued in January, proposed that the CSU would receive only a 3% increase in state funding. Since we are funded approximately half from the state, and half from student fees, the 3% increase equates to a 1.5% increase overall unless Sac State raises student fees. Note
that a 1.5% increase is less than inflation which is around two percent in California. Fingers are crossed that the governor’s budget revision in May will include more than a 3% increase on the state side, as raising student fees would be the last resort.
The big news for the 2017-2018 budget, is that we had monies to cover all of our mandatory cost increases (e.g. raises given per bargaining agreements), so campus divisions actually received a few million dollars in increases. For ABA specifically, that meant we received a $250,000 increase to improve safety on campus, including more security cameras and increasing Community Service Officer coverage. This is a big deal, since UBAC recommended cuts to divisions based on the information they had at the end of 2016-2017.
One can make the claim that Governor Brown is rather fiscally conservative because he continues to allocate funds to the state’s rainy day reserve in the event of an upcoming recession. But what comes next? The May revise will give us a better picture, in terms of the State’s 2018-2019 budget. Typically, the final state budget is passed by June 30, and then the CSU will allocate funds to campuses in the following weeks. Typically, the campus budget is NOT finalized until these higher levels are done. Sometimes the President will purposely wait until the beginning of the fall semester, since the majority of faculty are not here in the summer.
Water Update Bubbles Up Positive Change
This message appeared curtesy of Dr. Ming-Tung "Mike" Lee, Vice President for Administration/CFO. It first appeared on the Sac State news website at http://www.csus.edu/sacstatenews/campusupdate/.
I would like, first, to thank you for your patience as we have worked to complete the testing of 782 sources of drinking water on our campus. It took a few weeks longer than expected, but I am happy to share the results of that testing with you today. Additionally, we will host another open forum on Monday, May 15, at 3 p.m. in Mendocino Hall 1003 with Dr. Olivia Kasirye, the public health officer for Sacramento County, to discuss the testing results in greater detail. I encourage you to read through the reports below and bring your questions to the forum.
You will find links below to two separate sets of information. The first is the report completed by California Industrial Hygiene Services Inc., a neutral, third-party service that conducted testing and analysis on all drinking water sources on campus with the exception of those in buildings owned by University Enterprises Inc. (UEI). Some drinking water sources and all campus dining-related sources fall under the purview of UEI, the nonprofit auxiliary organization that provides vital services such as dining at Sacramento State. The UEI water sources were tested by California Laboratory Services, another neutral, third-party service, and the results of those tests can be found in the second document.
California Laboratory Services Report of Findings (campus dining-related sources)
As you will see in the reports, and as published by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in the Drinking Water Requirements for States and Public Water Systems, the action level for lead concentration in drinking water is set at 15 ppb. In January, we shut down some drinking water sources that were below 15 ppb out of an abundance of caution when we first heard about potentially high levels of lead. Many of those sites have since been confirmed through further testing by California Industrial Hygiene Services Inc. to be below 15 ppb. Those drinking water sources will be returned to service.
The 43 units (5.5 percent) that tested over 15 ppb were closed immediately after we were made aware of the results, and they will remain closed until they are repaired or permanently removed. The drinking fixtures that will be replaced will have their water quality retested after the new fixtures are installed. We have ordered the new fixtures and will begin replacing the identified units as soon as the new fixtures arrive. None of the dining-related sources tested over 15 ppb. As mentioned in prior messages, bathroom sinks and showers were not tested, and we continue to advise you not to drink from them. (The California Plumbing Code states: “Drinking fountains and portable water dispensers shall not be located in toilet rooms.”)
The safety of our campus is our top priority, and we will provide you with additional updates once we have completed the replacement or removal of the affected fixtures. Thank you again for your patience, and I hope to see you at the forum.
