Sacramento — Streetcar Link

Rail Transit Online, May 2006

A proposed 2.5-mi. (4 km) modern streetcar line connecting Sacramento with West Sacramento received another significant boost on Apr. 17 when state transportation officials declared that Tower Bridge, which spans the Sacramento River, would be safe for rail vehicles.  The drawbridge carried passenger and freight trains from 1935 to 1941.  Most of the local governments participating in the $50-million project have already signed a memorandum of understanding for the project, with the Sacramento City Council expected to vote on May 16.  “It appears that all the political parties are in favor of it and are working together,” Sacramento Regional Transit District spokesman Don Smith told The Sacramento Bee.  The streetcar would link planned high-density housing and office development in West Sacramento to job centers, West Sacramento's City Hall and terminate at a proposed transit center near the Amtrak station that will be served by light rail and numerous bus lines.  The MOU creates a four-member project steering committee charged with selecting the exact route and developing capital funding sources.  More than $3 million for planning and environmental work has already been raised from public sources plus an additional $200,000 from a private-sector developer.  Sacramento Mayor Heather Fargo described streetcars as “…not so much…a transportation tool but an economic development tool.  It really makes a lot of sense.”