More protected bike lanes coming to central Sacramento streets after Council vote
Parking protected bikeway on J Street, Image courtesy of SACOG
Sacramento, CA (Nov. 29, 2022) - More protected bike lanes are coming to midtown and downtown Sacramento after the City Council Tuesday approved plans in a unanimous vote.
Funded by a $5 million grant from the California Transportation Commission, the Central City Mobility Project will create a network of protected bike lanes that links existing protected lanes and extends them on P Street, Q Street, and Tenth. New protected bike lanes will be added on Ninth Street and I Street. Portions of Fifth Street will be converted to two-way traffic to improve north-south mobility and reduce vehicle speeds.
“Making it easier and safer for people to bike improves our quality of life and is also one of our main strategies to address climate change,” said Mayor Darrell Steinberg. “Protected bike lanes reduce the risk of traffic collisions and make people feel more comfortable cycling on our streets.”
Mobility project goals include enhancing commercial corridors for safe cycling and walking while accommodating both through and local traffic; protecting neighborhood streets as places where parents feel safe for their children to walk and bike; and improving connections between neighborhoods and the downtown core for biking, walking, and transit.
According to research provided by the City, approximately 60 percent of people are interested in traveling by bikes but are concerned about riding next to moving traffic. The creation of a network of separated bikeways will open bicycling and the use of scooters to a wider audience of all ages and abilities. More people potentially choosing to use a bike or scooter instead of their car will also reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the central city.
Draft rendering of station, subject to change. Image courtesy of ACE, SJRRC
These bikeway improvements will also improve access to a proposed train station in midtown planned for the San Joaquin Regional Rail system. The new station platform, expected to open for service in 2024, will run between P and S streets near 20th Street.
4LEAF, Inc., a construction firm from Pleasonton, will be providing engineering and construction management services for the mobility project, which will begin in early 2023.
