Just Picture It...

Downtown Sacramento and West Sacramento bustling with retail shops and restaurants. High-rise condominiums and offices.
The hot spot for sports-fans, lunchtime travelers and tourists on-the-go.

All that from a streetcar?

It's possible. And now we’re one step closer.

 

New Video Footage

The concept of Streetcar, like the cars themselves, brings us full circle. The Streetcar is designed to generate activity within the heart of a community and extend the energy outward to outlying areas served by transit.

 

	The Tacoma, Washington streetcar system served two million riders in 2006, just two years after opening.

Project Description

The Cities of West Sacramento and Sacramento, Yolo County Transportation District and Sacramento Regional Transit worked together to successfully complete the Downtown/Riverfront Streetcar Feasibility Study. The Study determined that a streetcar IS a feasible option for this region. With many redevelopment projects in the planning and construction phases, and with more exciting community destinations in the downtowns of Sacramento and West Sacramento, determining that a streetcar system is a viable option to bridge and connect this community is critical.

The Study evaluated factors to help determine whether a streetcar system is technically and economically viable for our community, including the following:

• Identified possible streetcar routes and key destinations
• Analyzed potential ridership, development impacts, traffic, parking, and utilities
• Outlined cost estimates, financing options, and how to build, operate and manage the system
• Recommended further design and engineering if the project is deemed feasible

Now that the streetcar has been deemed feasible, and all appropriate elected bodies have approved the study, the project team is wrapping up Phase II, which includes a detailed environmental analysis and additional community involvement.

 

Project Alignment

Downtown Riverfront Streetcar
The Streetcar would serve as an urban circulator, connecting workers, visitors, and recreation-goers with key development planned in West Sacramento and Downtown Sacramento. The proposed project would initiate streetcar service, using modern streetcars, in the public right-of-way connecting the West Sacramento Civic Center and Raley Field with Downtown Sacramento. Streetcar service would operate daily from 6:00 a.m. to midnight with service at 10- to 15-minute intervals.

The project would install new track and stations in the existing street right of way on West Capitol Avenue, Tower Bridge Gateway, Tower Bridge, and Capitol Mall. It would then share existing track and stations with RT light rail along 7th, 8th, and K Streets, terminating in a new one-way loop (via 13th, J, 15th, L, and 13th Streets, including two new stations) around the Sacramento Convention Center.

Click On Above Thumbnail To Enlarge

Need for Transportation Improvements in the Corridor

It is anticipated that the development plans and growth projections for West Sacramento’s redevelopment areas and downtown Sacramento will generate greater travel demand for local mobility and roadway capacity than is currently available, especially given the projected traffic congestion scenarios at Tower Bridge (SACOG, 2008).  West Sacramento is undergoing rapid urban development that would introduce a high concentration of new residential, commercial, civic, and cultural land uses.  This intense development is projected to increase the number of residents and workers who will live and/or work in this area.  The City of Sacramento has an established downtown that caters to high-density residential and office development, currently planned and under construction.  The proposed streetcar service would provide additional capacity between the two cities by supplementing existing transit operations, which primarily consist of intercity service provided by Yolobus.

 

Streetcar is Generating Interest

Recently, the Sacramento Bee and the Sacramento Business Journal featured articles about the impact of Streetcars.

Download Sacramento Bee Article

Download Sacramento Business Journal Article

Download CAC briefing packet April 2008