Elk Grove’s city council is set to consider a plan next month to expand public transportation options in the city that has been discussed for around 20 years. If approved, Sacramento Regional Transit would be one step closer to extending service further into the city.
The city, along with SacRT, released an implementation plan asking for public feedback until March 30th. According to the city, the public comment period gives residents a chance to weigh in on parts of the plan. Feedback can help determine whether the city should pursue light rail or bus rapid transit, where stations could be located, and what impacts the project could have on neighborhoods.
City spokesperson Kaley Lyons said the current plan is still in an early phase and is focused on determining whether a project is feasible.
“This implementation plan is still early-level planning. It’s essentially a feasibility study to determine if a project can move forward,” Lyons said.
If the current proposal goes through, it would extend Sacramento’s light rail service beyond the current southern end of the Blue Line, which stops at Cosumnes River College. The proposal outlines multiple options, including a cheaper bus system option, given that funding remains uncertain.
The current proposal would extend Sacramento’s light rail service beyond the current southern end of the Blue Line, which stops at Cosumnes River College.Courtesy of The City of Elk GroveThe proposal is not a guarantee and is still an early stage in the project; if passed, it would approve the study and endorse an option. The decision the city council will make in April will not fund construction, approve a final design, or commit to building anything yet. The city and SacRT’s implementation plan only outlines how the project could be designed, funded, and built.
If approved, the plan would determine a preferred design, but additional funding and environmental review would still be needed before construction could begin. Lyons said that even if a proposal is approved, construction likely wouldn’t come anytime soon.
“Best case scenario, it would be about 10 years. And so it is really a long-term project, and the planning study we're in now is pretty early in the process,” Lyons said.
In a written statement, Elk Grove Mayor Bobby Singh-Allen said the city has long planned for this project and remains committed to advancing it as funding opportunities present themselves.
The plan evaluates several options, including light rail, bus rapid transit and a combination of both. It also looks at factors such as traffic impacts, travel times, ridership projections and operating costs.
Lyons said each option would improve mobility in the city, but the city sees a bus expansion as less viable.
“The ridership projections for light rail are much higher than bus rapid transit, and it provides a one-seat ride into the Sacramento region,” she said. “Bus rapid transit is the lower cost option, but we don’t anticipate it to be as impactful in terms of getting riders onto the system.”
City staff is recommending a light rail extension as the preferred option. The proposal would extend service from Cosumnes River College to Kammerer Road and be built in phases.
Mayor Singh-Allen says the city has already been setting aside land, which could make future construction easier, and is pursuing transit-oriented development near potential station sites.
SacRT, in a written statement, said the plan was developed in partnership with the city and a consultant team. The agency emphasized the need to secure a dedicated local funding source to support both construction and long-term operations.
Funding remains one of the biggest questions as the project moves forward. The project would likely rely on a mix of federal, state and local funding sources and could take years to fully secure.
She said while a local tax measure is not part of the current plan but it could play a role in the future.
“If there is a future sales tax measure for transportation, that could be used to help fund future phases of the project,” Lyons said.
Sacramento County Supervisor Pat Hume, who represents Elk Grove and serves on the SacRT board. He said the expansion itself is not in question, but whether it will become a bus or light rail expansion should hinge on feasibility.
“It absolutely needs to happen,” Hume said. “The question is whether that is bus rapid transit, which I happen to be a big fan of because it’s a lower cost to entry from the agency, as opposed to the heavy infrastructure burden of putting rail in the ground.”
Hume said rising construction costs have made that decision more complicated.
Hume said that, despite the challenges of keeping costs affordable, expanding transit into Elk Grove could improve access to jobs and connect the city more directly to the broader Sacramento region.
“You’re not just talking about getting people from point A to point B,” Hume said. “You’re talking about connecting people to jobs and making sure that as Elk Grove grows, it’s connected to the rest of the region in a meaningful way.”
Follow us for more stories like this
CapRadio provides a trusted source of news because of you. As a nonprofit organization, donations from people like you sustain the journalism that allows us to discover stories that are important to our audience. If you believe in what we do and support our mission, please donate today.
Donate Today
