David Moore, community planning specialist and Kiara Reed, executive director of Civic Thread, on Friday, April 21, 2023, talked about their hopes for improvements on Stockton Boulevard that will make it safer for pedestrians and bicyclists. Their hope is for wider bike lanes and slower vehicle speeds that can prevent accidents.
Hector Amezcua
hamezcua@sacbee.com
A series of improvements aimed at making key Sacramento roads more accessible to bicyclists, pedestrians and transit riders will be discussed Thursday at a city commission meeting.
The Active Transportation Commission will provide feedback on four ongoing projects related to Fruitridge Road, one of Sacramento’s most dangerous thoroughfares; Arden Way and Auburn Boulevard; Stockton Boulevard, including bus routes along the roadway; and bike lanes on T Street.
Two of the projects — along Fruitridge Road from South Land Park to Lemon Hill and in the Arden Way-Auburn corridor near Swanston Estates — each received nearly $400,000 in Caltrans grant funding in January 2025 to develop plans to slow traffic and address safety issues, especially for pedestrians and cyclists. One of the recommendations being evaluated is the creation of separated bike lanes along Fruitridge Road between Riverside and Stockton boulevards, according to a document submitted to the Active Transportation Commission.
“These efforts are still early in the planning process and staff are focused on gathering feedback on values, goals and challenges for the people who live, work and travel along these corridors,” said city spokesperson Gabby Miller. “Once the listening phase is completed staff will use that feedback to design draft alternatives of what the corridors could look like in the future and continue community engagement.”
The department will hear public comments for the Arden-Auburn plan during its 5:30 p.m. community workshop at the Reason Center, 1300 Ethan Way and two pop-up workshops on March 21 at Arden Fair mall and March 24 at the Arden-Del Paso Light Rail Station. An online survey remains active through the end of the month.
Feedback for the Fruitridge plan, which runs between Riverside and Stockton boulevards, remains open through April 4.
Final plans for both projects are due in spring 2027. The two align with the City Council’s 2017 “Vision Zero” pledge to eliminate all traffic fatalities and severe injuries by 2027. There have been at least 10 people killed in crashes within city limits so far in 2026.
The T Street Bikeway Gap Closure project, meanwhile, aims to improve bike lanes along T Street between 34th Street and Stockton Boulevard. Many recommendations in this plan relate to the intersection of T Street and Stockton Boulevard, which is a “multi-legged, skewed” intersection where motorists may not clearly see pedestrians crossing, according to a city staff report. Some of the ideas to improve the Elmhurst neighborhood intersection include restricting parking, creating continuous bike lanes and eliminating the signal phase for Gerber Avenue, which also is a part of the complicated intersection.
At its current timeline, the project is set for construction beginning in fall 2027.
The project along Stockton Boulevard — stretching 5½ miles from Alhambra Boulevard in East Sacramento to Florin Road — has two goals: creating a safer corridor for multiple modes of transportation and increasing transit ridership, according to city documents. The project is currently funded through the preliminary engineering and environmental clearance stages with federal and state funds.
The city is working with Sacramento County and Sacramento Regional Transit to identify safety improvements along the road, including possible dedicated bus lanes and pedestrian upgrades.
After the final design is completed and funding is secured, construction could begin as early as 2030.
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Madison Smalstig covers transportation for The Sacramento Bee. Before joining The Bee, she reported on breaking news, focusing on crime and public safety, in the North Bay for three years. Smalstig is a born and raised Hoosier and earned degrees in journalism and Spanish at Indiana University.