Sacramento's Horse-Friendly Urban Planning

Alleys will be getting troughs and hitching posts in effort to reduce crime

Looking to revitalize empty alleys in Midtown Sacramento and cut down on crime, locals have come up with a novel solution.

By adding hitching posts and water troughs for horses in neighborhood alleys, the city is hoping to encourage more visits by the Sacramento Police Department's small mounted unit.

The unit only has two full-time officers and a stable of five horses, and patrols a limited area of Sacramento.

The first pilot stop will be paid through private funding. If it proves successful, property owners would be asked to build more every few blocks.

Currently mounted officers have only two watering locations near their patrol areas. Adding more would make it easier on the horses and their riders to make pit stops and expand patrols.

And maybe, just maybe, an enterprising tour guide could offer a day in Old Town riding horses learning state history while stopping at "watering" holes around the city.

Photo by Flickr user Rojer.

Jackson West would love, just love, to commute to work on horseback.

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