SacRT is submitting a grant application for Transit and Intercity Rail Capital Program (TIRCP) for funds to double-track the Green Line light rail to the River District, and to make modifications at Sacramento Valley Station (SVS). These are STAR’s thoughts about the project.

Light Rail double-tracking

Beyond the Gold Line double-tracking to Folsom, which we fully supported, we will not support any further extension or double-tracking of light rail lines until a comprehensive study of all possible extensions and enhancements is completed. The primary goals of light rail should be ridership and network optimization. If it also serves development purposes, that is fine, so long as it is infill development and not greenfield development. In the absence of such a study, light rail extension and double-tracking will be determined by political aims, and not these important goals. Though we do not know the highest return investment in light rail, we are particularly concerned that extension of light rail to American River College seems to have been dropped from consideration.

The desire for double-tracking to the River District seems premature. We are guessing that development in the Railyards will largely precede, and in fact draw development away from, the River District. We understand the desire for double-track to the Railyards and the new Railyards station, with proximity to the soccer stadium and Kaiser facility, but don’t see the value in the near future of double-tracking to the River District.

Double-tracking to the Railyards will require almost complete reconstruction of the Seventh Street underpass. It is unfortunate that a lack of foresight by the city constructed this underpass in this way, and we understand that it will need to be modified, but the cost of this makes it imperative that the values to be achieved by double-tracking provide immediate return on the investment.

Rail to West Sacramento

The diagram provided by SacRT shows a ‘Proposed Light Rail Connector’ from the SVS area to Tower Bridge and West Sacramento. We understand the desire for rail connection to at least a few locations in West Sacramento. However, the connection at SVS seems to be missing. The diagram shows the green line (not the Green Line) branching off before the SVS station. This makes no sense. Perhaps there is something missing on the diagram, but it greatly concerns us that there might not be a station at SVS, or that there might be two separate stations.

Low-floor Rail Cars

We fully support the purchase and placing in service of low-floor, level-boarding light rail cars, and the platform modification necessary to accommodate these modern cars, in transition and in final configuration. We will of course support these rail cars and platform modification in grant applications.

Sacramento Valley Station Mobility Hub

Though the current city plans for Sacramento Valley Station are a considerable improvement over the initial plans, which were completely unacceptable from a transit perspective, we still have concerns about the design. It is constrained by having to fit in between developments, and there is a lack of innovative thinking about how to best connect the various modes. We do see SVS as being critical to the county and regional transportation network, and want to see the best design possible. When we see an optimal and effective design, we will of course support grant applications for SVS.

Value Capture

We are concerned about the amount of investment made by SacRT, the City of Sacramento, and the state (TIRCP) without any mechanism in place for recapturing the value of the development that light rail supports. Though there are minor amounts of transportation development impact fees that return to SacRT and the city, these fall far short of compensating for the expense of light rail construction and operations. STAR feel that it is time for all parties to discuss mechanisms for capturing value from the developments that will occur in the Railyards, and eventually the River District.

• Sacramento Valley Station
• SacRT