Kristi Matal figured fast cars, soccer kids and dogs made a bad combination. Kids and dogs were fine. Speeding drivers meant trouble.
She decided to do something about it.
The problem roared into Matal’s view as she visited the dog park at Bill Conlin Youth Sports Complex on Freeport Boulevard. Dog owners were frustrated by motorists flying past Conlin on the rural, two-lane highway that borders the park.
“I was talking with my friend Lydia, and she said, ‘People just drive so freaking fast.’ Freeport is 50 mph there, but people go faster,” Matal says. “When you turn left to go into the park, they speed past you on the right. It’s dangerous.”
Some residents might have ended the discussion there, shrugged and moved on. An existential dilemma beyond remedy in a conflicted world.
But Matal had an idea. Why not ask the city for help?
Think about it. Conlin is a city park. Green sports fields, picnic tables and barbecues attract hundreds for youth soccer and baseball games and weekend parties. Lynn Robie Dog Park is among the city’s most popular canine sites.
Thus began Matal’s two-year plunge into the depths of city bureaucracy. She learned about speed trap legislation, traffic engineering, service priorities and budget restrictions.
And she learned humans within city bureaucracy can be responsive and efficient, especially when dealing with a concerned citizen who is reasonable, polite and patient.
“I tried to act as a partner and not become a pain in the ass, because then, for sure they aren’t going to help me,” Matal says.
Her first call brought positive results, though not a solution. She cold called the city in February 2022 and requested caution signs near the park entrance on Freeport.
Five months later, two small blue signs with the label “Bill Conlin Sports Complex” and an arrow appeared on the boulevard. Highway rumble strips materialized near each sign.
“That was great, but my concern was still safety because people were driving so fast,” Matal says. The Hollywood Park resident sent several emails seeking to lower the 50-mph speed limit. No response.
In September 2022, Matal asked people at the dog park to sign a petition requesting lower speeds and more warning signs around Conlin. Gratified by 30 instant signatures, she sent the petition to the public works and engineering departments and City Councilmember Rick Jennings.
“The next day I got an email from the city saying they were opening an investigation into the possibility of lowering the speed limit and adding signage,” she says.
Two months later, the city emailed Matal to say the speed limit was enshrined at 50 mph because Freeport is part of the state highway system and there are no homes or businesses near Conlin. But new signs were possible.
Matal called managers in the city’s public works and engineering departments. She found the bosses polite and generous with time.
They discussed speed limit warning signs with flashing lights—impossible, given the lack of accessible power on that stretch of Freeport. And solar-generated lights? Too unreliable.
Yet two traditional signs soon appeared. They read, “Cross Traffic Ahead—Playground.” A reflective 50-mph sign reminded drivers to keep it under 70.
More phone calls and emails followed. Matal described dangerous righthand passing. She repeated her talking points: This is dangerous. Somebody is going to get hurt. Maybe killed.
“I understand the difference between stuff we’d like to have and stuff that’s an emergency,” she says. “This is about preventing an emergency.”
This summer, two “No Passing Zone” signs went up near Conlin.
In 28 months, Matal’s phone calls and emails produced nine new signs for the two-lane straightaway that runs past the park.
Matal is pleased. She stays in touch with city officials. “They taught me a lot, but they are under a lot of constraints. They are very busy. But they do care.”
Bill Conlin Youth Sports Complex honors the late sports editor of The Sacramento Bee and Sacramento Union. The park is at 7895 Freeport Blvd.
R.E. Graswich can be reached at regraswich@icloud.com. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram: @insidesacramento.
