Sacramento, California, plans to add more protected bike lanes to its midtown and downtown districts, according to a city press release issued last week. The announcement came after the City Council unanimously approved the measure on Nov. 29.
The plan, dubbed the Central City Mobility Project, will connect existing protected bike lanes and expand them to P Street, Q Street, and 10th Street. It will also add new protected bike lanes to Ninth Street and I Street and convert parts of Fifth Street to two lanes “to improve north-south mobility and reduce vehicle speeds,” the press release said. The improvements should make it easier for people to access a proposed midtown train station, part of the San Joaquin Regional Rail system, that could open as soon as 2024.
Through the project, the city aims to boost transportation connections between neighborhoods and improve safety for cyclists, pedestrians and children at play. About 6 in 10 Sacramento residents say they are interested in biking but worry about riding in traffic, according to the city.
“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,” Mayor Darrell Steinberg said in a statement. “Protected bike lanes reduce the risk of traffic collisions and make people feel more comfortable cycling on our streets.”
A $5 million grant from the California Transportation Commission funded the project.
Chicago, New York City, Washington, D.C., and other cities have added protected bike lanes in recent years, aiming to reduce traffic congestion, lower emissions, improve road safety and provide residents with more transportation options. Some cities have paired these efforts with other goals, such as increasing the amount of available public space.
