Officials broke ground Monday on the city's newest light-rail line. The first segment of Sacramento Regional Transit District's "green line" will run just more than a mile, from downtown north to the River District. Eventually, the line will carry public transit riders to Sacramento International Airport. "It's the first great step to a complete transportation system. This is going to connect everything together," said U.S. Rep. Doris Matsui, standing at the future site of the line's initial... Suzanne William Burg 2009-10-14T00:53:42Z 2009-10-14T00:53:42Z

Part of the reason for that is because funds for new construction comes from a different source than funds for operation--they have plenty of new construction funds, but operating funds keep getting cut. In some ways, now is the time for public-works construction projects: it keeps tradespeople working during an era when there is little demand for construction, and builds infrastructure in an area where development is expected to occur in the next 5-20 years--one hopes, beyond the end of the current economic hard times.

William Burg 2009-10-14T00:53:42Z Steven Bourasa 2009-10-13T21:43:13Z 2009-10-13T21:43:13Z

Wow, it's hard to understand the foresight of this System of Things. During the hard economy of RT and it's towering losses, funds are provided to extend a line to an industrial part of town; Richard's Blvd. I guess it should be no surprise that city development is the priority for Sacramento. Here's to the future! Alas, the riders of today face over-priced fares and service cuts.

Steven Bourasa 2009-10-13T21:43:13Z William Burg 2009-10-13T20:06:14Z 2009-10-13T20:06:14Z

Look at Portland's "Pearl District" for an example of why this is the way that transit works. Build the transit first, THEN the neighborhood. This is what Portland did in 2001--they opened a streetcar line when the neighborhood was almost uninhabited. Today it is one of the most densely populated parts of downtown Portland, with less requirements for parking than other parts of town. Fixed transit promotes economic development--waiting for the development first is a fool's errand, because you're sabotaging the biggest attractor of investment--transportation infrastructure. Plus, as in Portland, if there is public transit, you don't need to build as much parking or car-centric stuff in a project, which makes it easier to pencil.

William Burg 2009-10-13T20:06:14Z William Burg 2009-10-13T20:03:32Z 2009-10-13T20:03:32Z

Yolobus and the Capitol Corridor trains already run from Davis to Sacramento. Building a light rail line to Davis would be comparable in expense to the airport line. A better option might be a more-frequent BRT or express bus between Sacramento and Davis, or a DLR (Diesel Light Rail) operation using Union Pacific's tracks between Sacramento and Davis to supplement the Capitol Corridor trains (or more Capitol Corridor trains.) Save yourself about a quarter-billion in infrastructure costs by using what is already there.

William Burg 2009-10-13T20:03:32Z Ben Ilfeld 2009-10-13T19:49:53Z 2009-10-13T19:49:53Z

I wonder how Davis feels about it.

Ben Ilfeld 2009-10-13T19:49:53Z Suzanne Hurt 2009-10-13T18:40:57Z 2009-10-13T18:40:57Z

Later yesterday, the mayor held a meeting to discuss downtown and the JKL corridor with business and property owners. One person at the meeting suggested light rail to Davis to make it easier for UC Davis students to party, shop and eat downtown.

Suzanne Hurt 2009-10-13T18:40:57Z relentlesscactus 2009-10-13T18:32:40Z 2009-10-13T18:32:40Z

Unless and until the economic development actually occurs, this line will be known as the Homeless Express. Running empty trains back and forth from an abandoned industrial area will only serve to drive up RT operating costs. The best idea is to mothball the sucker until they can extend it.

relentlesscactus 2009-10-13T18:32:40Z William Burg 2009-10-13T07:01:33Z 2009-10-13T07:01:33Z

Elk Grove is no longer part of Regional Transit at all--they formed their own "e-tran" transit line and told RT to hit the highway. Davis is outside of Sacramento County and so is unlikely to be included as part of a Sacramento County light rail line--unless they were willing and able to subsidize the cost of a line. The main problem is the Causeway itself--the line would be almost entirely elevated to keep it above flood waters, with no potential for future growth. That's an expensive proposition, especially since there are already transit options like the Capitol Corridor trains and Yolobus buses.

William Burg 2009-10-13T07:01:33Z Kassandra Perlongo 2009-10-13T05:38:50Z 2009-10-13T05:38:50Z

I am so happy to hear they are finally working on this! I am a little disappointed it will take up to 10 years for it to get to the airport though. Did they mention anything about when it will eventually be expanded further into Elk Grove? Or heck, even Davis? That might be their 20 year plan if I remember correctly.

Kassandra Perlongo 2009-10-13T05:38:50Z