Steinberg's First Day: Seek Quick Solutions To Small Problems

Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg says he hopes to achieve a series of small victories in his first days in office.

He started his first full day on the job with a tour of Oak Park Wednesday morning.

Barbara Range told the mayor she's been pushing for safety improvements to the area of Broadway and 36th Street for several years.

"To be told that well, it's too expensive to put a push-button light like you have on Stockton Boulevard or you have on 33rd Street Bistro when you have families...now you have more families coming through here. You have  families walking through that cross walk area."

Ryan Moore is an engineer from the transportation department who was touring the area with the mayor. The two negotiated a compromise: a safety measure now and upgrades to the Broadway corridor later.

Steinberg said, "Sometimes what we do is spend a lot of time studying and planning and that's important because you have to get it right. But I think we also need to just get going. So, If there is one place to crosswalk with flashing lights, it would send a signal that the rest is coming. Let's do it. OK?"

Moore says he likes the idea of quickly solving many small problems. 

"It's nothing but good news. Having boots-on-the-ground leadership that's out here that's looking at these small issues. Because the devil's in the details. That's been the struggle forever."

Micah Baginski owns a real estate company in Oak Park. He presented the mayor with an opportunity: McClatchy Park.

"It got $3 million two years ago and that was amazing," Baginski began.

"I remember," said the Mayor.

"But, when a tree limb falls in the park, it sits there for a couple of weeks," Baginski continued, "When the grass grows it grows a lot longer than it does at McKinley or Curtis Park."

The mayor brought several city department heads and interim City Manager Howard Chan with him as well. Chan had never been on a tour of an area with any previous mayor.

"Having the community weigh in with what they would like to see is just phenomenal," says Chan.　

Steinberg says he picked former Mayor Kevin Johnson's neighborhood for a reason. 　

"This is a neighborhood that is changing and changing for the better and you see it here in the boutique stores and the coffee houses and the theater and yet there are still a lot of challenges. So I wanted to come out here to send the right message that we intend to connect the economic growth of the city -- including the central city -- to the neighborhoods."

Steinberg is visiting about a half-dozen locations in four neighborhoods on the first two days of his neighborhood tour.

He will visit more neighborhoods after the new year.