SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A plan to revitalize Broadway in Sacramento is getting closer to breaking ground.
The Broadway Complete Streets Project has been years in the making, with the first vision plan created in 2012, according to the city.
Construction is set to begin in Spring 2023 and will focus on adding enhanced pedestrian crossings and new bike lanes to a stretch of Broadway between 3rd Street and Franklin Boulevard. The city will also repave and improve roads.
Residents at a community meeting for the project Thursday night said this has been a long time coming and is much needed for the area.
“The traffic here in the Broadway corridor is pretty bad and pedestrian walkways, forget it," said Randall Rodda, a Sacramento resident.
“Yeah, you don’t bike on Broadway because it’s two lanes of traffic that are too fast for bikes to mix with," said Steve Schweigerdt, who lives in Curtis Park, a neighboring area to the improvement project.
He rode into Thursday’s community meeting on his bike.
“I’m excited to see construction actually happen and make Broadway more pedestrian and bike friendly," said Schweigerdt.
The city will be adding new bike signals and lanes with a buffer between bicyclists and moving traffic. Broadway will be reduced from four lanes to two lanes.
“One lane in each direction, a two-way left turn lane in the middle and a whole host of updates for bikes and pedestrians," said Philip Vulliet, project manager for the Complete Streets Project.
Pedestrians will have access to extended curbs, ramps and flashing crosswalks, among other safety features.
Residents have had concerns about the area over the years, which has seen a history of crashes, crime and businesses moving out.
Just a few months ago, the Starbucks on Broadway closed due to safety concerns and neighboring Jamba Juice closed just weeks before. A Walgreens remains open in the plaza.
In August, a person who was shot was found across the street at the Tower Café.
“Told them, ‘I’m glad you guys are still here, because a lot of the businesses are leaving' and they said, 'Well, we don’t know how long we’re going to stay because there’s shoplifters all the time.' The city needs to do something about that but this is an important piece," said Schweigerdt.
The city hopes to address concerns with the project.
Schweigerdt also hopes more folks and businesses will come into the area after the improvements has been made.
“Once you fix the street and make it more friendly, it takes turning over those vacant lots and buildings and making sure they’re active. That’s how we need to turn it around," he said.
Construction on the part of the project between 3rd Street and 24th Street will happen in Spring 2023. The project manager told ABC10 traffic will be shifted to one side or the other during construction but there won’t be a full shutdown.
The city is hoping to launch construction for the last phase in 2024.
For more information on the project, click here.
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