NEW, ETC.
SPORTS
Undefeated Bruin booters to swap green for pink.
Union Mine teen has Hollywood dreams. B1
A7
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Placerville 3961 El Dorado Rd
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 29, 2020
mtdemocrat.com
VOLUME 169 • ISSUE 12
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Council winds way through traffic report Pat Lakey Staff writer In a discussion that ended up as twisting and winding as traffic escaping Highway 50 to find a shortcut around Placerville’s infamous signal lights, the City Council during a recent meeting took a circuitous route to ultimately telling staff it looks forward to a citywide, comprehensive traffic study coming in late March. That’s after the council ruminated over ideas such as
turning Coleman Street into one-way only, speed bumps being placed at strategic locations on Clay and other streets and the “Trip to Green” project that would
letting traffic flow to Tahoe and back to Sacramento and the Bay Area unimpeded. The discussion came after the panel received a study by the city’s Engineering
“It’s amazing what lengths people will go to, just to keep moving.”
— Mark Acuna, Placerville city councilman
have the three Highway 50 traffic signals that bring vehicles to a stop as they pass through the city switched wide-open for four hours,
Department regarding whether Clay Street residents were statistically accurate in their concerns about speeding and congestion there being
problems needing official attention. While the numbers provided by City Engineer Rebecca Neves showed such problems are within acceptable parameters, according to engineering standards, anecdotal “data” showed quite a different situation. With most speakers, public and council members alike, saying they recognize the hard work and professional report coming from the city Engineering Department,
several also pointed out that comparing Clay Street with Green Valley Road (the section within city limits) might not provide an accurate picture. “Comparing Clay (to Green Valley Road) … they are very different,” said Jennifer Chapman, who lives on Clay. “You’ve spent an enormous amount of time putting together a traffic manual … (but) I feel like you need to hear from more people living n
See CLAY STREET, page A3
DISTRICT 1 RACE
Paulsen looking to step up Dylan Svoboda Staff writer
Democrat photos by Kevin Christensen
Marshall Gold Discovery State Historic Park’s lead historian Ed Allen gives a lesson on the history and people of the Gold Rush era to a group touring the Gold Discovery Museum Saturday as the park celebrated the 172nd anniversary of James Marshall’s discovery of gold in the tailrace of Sutter’s Mill. Docents opened up historical buildings and gave presentations throughout the park to celebrate the occasion.
GOLD DIGGERS 1848 discovery relived at Sutter’s Mill
Dressed in period attire, Tina Becker and Tina Eagar, from left, left photo, both from Cameron Park, welcome Gold Discovery Day attendees into one of the Gold Rush-era buildings where pioneers of the day hung their hats. Park visitors watch as docent Mark Eagar, right photo, demonstrates how people living during the Gold Rush used a draw knife to create wooden pegs used to hold log cabins together.
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El Dorado Hills Community Services District Board of Directors President Ben BEN PAULSEN Paulsen has announced his candidacy for an El Dorado County supervisor seat in 2020. He is running to represent District 1, which encompasses most of El Dorado Hills. While Paulsen didn’t originally see his position as a member of the EDHCSD board as a springboard to a county supervisor seat, he said a lack of representation from the sitting members has prompted him to throw his hat in the ring. Though he’s undecided whether El Dorado Hills should formally become a city, Paulsen shared his opinion that the area is thoroughly missing a voice in local government. “Here in El Dorado Hills we don’t have the power that a city has,” he said. “The (community services district) feels that the best way to represent and serve the community is to move to the county level.” Through his experience as the EDHCSD president, Paulsen said he’s best suited to represent the region. He noted his frustration with the outsized effort El Dorado Hills has put forth in building for commercial and residential needs in the county. “(District 1) is the smallest district and yet we’re absorbing something like 80 percent of development in the county,” Paulsen said. “We’re tired of bearing the impact for what other districts refuse to accept.” Specifically, Paulsen has remained against rezoning of the old executive golf course. n
See PAULSEN, page A3
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