As part of the city’s ongoing effort to enhance infrastructure in underserved areas, at the end of September, Sacramento announced the completion of the South Sacramento River Parkway Trail West.
The trail spans just over a half-mile and connects Meadowview to Freeport Boulevard, the Sacramento River, Garcia Bend Park and the soon-to-be-finished Del Rio Trail.
The South Sacramento River Parkway Trail West enhances accessibility for South Sacramento residents, according to Sacramento’s Transportation Planning Manager Jennifer Donlon Wyant.
“Having something like a shared use path that provides for walking, bicycling, scooting, if you have a disability and you're using an assisted device, you can use that away from vehicular traffic or feel safer,” Wyant said.
Fawn Garcia, a Meadowview resident, said she’s been using the trail as a safe travel path to get to her high school on Freeport Boulevard.
“I believe it provides safer travel, and [for] people who don't have cars, it's much more sensible,” Garcia said. “If they want to take a bike, scooter, without having to waste gas … it’s better economically.”
Construction of the trail cost $1.3 million and a portion of its funding came from federal grants, according to city officials. The project is also a part of the city’s Transportation Priorities Plan, which seeks to center equity and enhance accessibility in communities lacking basic infrastructure, Wyant said.
An estimated $5 billion is needed to fund all the infrastructure projects — like road improvements, trail construction and pedestrian crossings — identified in the city’s 20-year projection of the Transportation Priorities Plans, or TTP. However, the City of Sacramento only has $42 million to spend on transportation infrastructure each year.
According to Wyant, the limited budget has prevented basic improvements to transportation infrastructure throughout Sacramento. And over 700 transportation improvement projects have been approved over the last 20 years. Wyant said that’s created a need for meticulous prioritization.
The plan to build the South Sacramento River Parkway trail had been in consideration for several years as a part of the city’s bicycle master plan. The city said it decided to go forward with this project in response to the TPP’s recommendation to prioritize underserved areas that lack amenities like sidewalks, street lights, crosswalks and bike lanes. It also reviewed responses to a transportation survey from residents in the area.
"We define equity in two ways,” Wyant said. “The first one is investing in communities that lack basic transportation infrastructure … and the second piece is investing in communities that are the new recipients of racism and bias, specifically communities that are majority Black, Latino, Asian, Pacific Islander or Indigenous.”
In the TPP engagement summary, feedback from residents in the community expressed not feeling acknowledged by city officials. Many participants asked for an equitable and considerate process.
City staff and partners conducted virtual gatherings, youth engagement events and community surveys. According to Wyant, outreach in Meadowview has included city staff visiting local events and community centers and engaging with neighborhood associations.
“There are other communities that maybe have been hit by government decisions in the past that don't feel that they are heard by [the] government and therefore don't connect with us or contact us,” Wyant said. “So we've been working really hard to build those relationships.”
The South Sacramento River Parkway trail network project also follows the city’s Vision Zero initiative — which aims to prevent car crashes — by providing a safe corridor for pedestrians and cyclists.
Wyant added that it’s a vehicle for mobility, creating more access to educational and economic opportunities.
“As we build our network, we are building the [connecting] Del Rio Trail, which will get those [people] close to [Sacramento] City College, to high school, to night school, and also downtown,” she said.
Garcia said she uses the trail primarily to get to school or bike with friends for leisure, but added that it provides her safer access to coffee shops and stores further north of Meadowview.
“If there is a trail, [people] know it leads somewhere, and it is going to come back,” Garcia said. “If you're just walking [without a guided path], you might not know where you’re going … with a trail, you can just take it back.”
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