Roseville Mayor John Allard has a passion for public service that surfaced soon after he graduated from Sacramento State in 1981. The Turlock native took the opportunity to work on a state-wide campaign for the Lieutenant Governor, which kick-started his interest in politics that has remained strong ever since.
In 2003, Mayor Allard was chosen to serve on the Roseville City Council and was reelected in 2008. When term limits ended his service in 2012, Allard thought he was finished working within the City’s government. But it turned out, his drive for public service did not die easily.
“Frankly, I missed being involved in that level, having the opportunity to guide and improve our City, so I decided in 2016 to run again – and was elected again! I was further honored to be selected by colleagues in February of this year to be mayor.” His strong interest in transportation led Allard to serve several times “on and off” on the PCTPA Board of Directors during his tenure on the City Council.
Working on the PCTPA Board, Mayor Allard has been most excited about the opportunity to improve the transportation network in the region, with the biggest focus being the improvements to the I-80 / State Route 65 Interchange. This first phase of this project includes the addition of a third lane on northbound Highway 65 from Interstate 80 to Pleasant Grove Boulevard and improvements to the Galleria Boulevard/Stanford Ranch Road Interchange. This past September, the ribbon cutting to celebrate the completion of the first phase of the project was held, marking an important milestone for improving traffic flow in South Placer.
But Mayor Allard knows more is needed, as he notes his “focus moving forward is to do what I can to address more of the transportation needs in the South Placer area. The only way that we will address those is finding a new local funding source that has been adopted in 26 other California counties and puts Placer at a significant disadvantage when competing for state and federal funding for transportation infrastructure. I worked in 2016 to get Measure M passed which was narrowly defeated on a countywide basis; I’m committed to doing everything I can to get another measure passed – this time for South Placer County… that’s the only way we will raise the funds we need to address our transportation issues.”
Mayor Allard recognizes that his role as a representative for both PCTPA and the City of Roseville have an overlap of responsibilities, particularly to make the future transportation improvements to the South Placer Region a reality. “The South Placer economy is a driver for the region: it attracts new residents and helps companies of varying sizes looking to expand and grow their businesses and retain and attract employees. We need to have the transportation system that supports the vitality of our economic future,” notes Allard.
Relieving congestion in the region will not only continue to make Placer County an economic driver but will also help create more efficient goods movement in the region and create a less congested – and safer – pathway for the region’s emergency access vehicles.
Mayor Allard believes that one of the most important aspects of what the Agency does is overlooked. That is, PCTPA brings the elected officials all around the county together to address issues, starting with transportation and extending to other shared challenges. Building those relationships is a crucial part of improving the transportation network in the region because mobility doesn’t end at jurisdictional boundaries. With companies and people moving from all over the state to Placer County, Mayor Allard feels strongly that all of Placer needs to work proactively to address and improve the transportation issues that come with a growing economy and region and maintain the region’s high quality of life.
“I want to add that I was born and raised in a family where community service was just something we did – my parents were involved in the community, at our church. Public service is something natural to me. I was raised with the expectation that you give back to your community, and I love having the opportunity to do that.”