Council members and community members alike gathered on the Sacramento River Parkway Friday morning, at the Le Rivage Hotel trail entrance, to celebrate the first in a series of new signs to officially “brand” the parkway.

The completion of the project was heralded by many as the beginning of a campaign to bring more public awareness to the Sacramento River Parkway Plan. First adopted by the city in 1975 and revised in 1997, the plan seeks to extend the trail along the Sacramento River levee in the Pocket area, where it is currently closed to the public.

“It’s a way for people to enjoy our lovely riverfront,” said Councilman Rob Fong.

City Council members Angelique Ashby, Rob Fong and Darrell Fong attended, along with members of Friends of the Sacramento River Greenway and Sacramento Area Bicycle Advocates.

“It’s important to raise public awareness of the parkway and that there is a city plan for it,” said Dan Gorfain of Friends of the Sacramento River Greenway.

The Sacramento River Parkway is a 13-mile stretch of trail measured from Discovery Park to the south end of the Pocket, though the last six miles that run through the Pocket area are currently closed to the public.

The Parkway currently is open to the public from Discovery Park, where a connection can be made to the American River Trail, travels south along the Sacramento River, and is cut off once the levee reaches the Pocket area.

The trail then leads out to a network of trails throughout the southern end of the Pocket where the trail can be accessed again at Garcia Bend Park and taken to the end of the Freeport Water Intake Facility.

If access is acquired to all parts of the levee, including those behind riverfront properties in the Pocket, the 13-mile stretch of trail would serve as a commuting corridor for those traveling from one end of the city to the other.

“It’s something we have worked toward for a long time,” said Anne Rudin, former mayor of Sacramento and founder of the Friends of Sacramento River Greenway.

Friends of the Sacramento River Greenway is a volunteer, community-based organization that has been working with city officials to ensure continuous public access to the river and its levee’s since 1991.

“The plan was made decades ago to turn the American River trail at Old Sacramento and follow the Sacramento river to the south,” Rudin described. The organization has been working in collaboration with city officials since bike trails were adopted by the city.

“I think it’s necessary and overdue, “ said Tricia Hedahl, executive director for the Sacramento Area Bicycle Advocates. “The trail system serves as a highway for bicycles, and that’s the goal - let’s connect our bikeways.”

Though many who would commute along the parkway from the neighborhoods in the south to downtown would most likely do so by bike, the trail is meant for multi-recreational use.

“People found it useful as a commuting corridor. We think it’s important to keep working on it - it belongs to the public and we want them to be able to use it,” she added.

The completion of the Parkway has been long delayed since the beginning of the project due to a lack of funding sources, and a resistance from Parkway trail neighbors.

“One of the reasons why not a lot happens with the implementation of this plan is that the city doesn’t have regular funding for the project,” said J.P. Tindell, park planning and development manager for the Department of Parks and Recreation.

As stated within the 1997 update of the Sacramento River Parkway Plan, residential property owners along the levee are concerned about privacy and security as the parkway is developed further in the Pocket area. Increased trespassing and loss of privacy to trail neighbors is a major concern, and many property owners claim private ownership of the levee.

“You have to have willing sellers if you want to apply for a grant,” Tindell said, “The city has not acquired rights to build a trail or easement through their property.”

Gorfain, who has been working with the city on this project since 1999, said he believes the solution to the property conflict may involve some type of compensation to the property owners. He says that the city may wind up building some type of vegetative screening or fence along the backyards of property owners along the levee for privacy protection.

It seems the plan may be deferred a bit longer in that case, according to Noah Painter, district director for Councilman Darrell Fong.

“The parks department is trying to identify any grant funding as well as having numerous community meetings, but as for right now, the project is at a standstill,” Painter said.

The amount of funding needed to complete the parkway is unknown, though Tindell said it could go into the millions of dollars. The only closed section of trail currently runs behind about 100 houses in the Pocket neighborhood.

Council members Ashby, Darrell Fong and Rob Fong could not be reached for comment regarding the next steps for the project.

“The main thing is to have an open dialogue with property owners,” Gorfain said.

Tindell said that aside from the funding for the signs, no more funding is available right now for the continuation of the project.

Some are still happy with the progress that has been made, however. The Tower Bridge Promenade has been extended to Miller Park, connecting the path to downtown with a spur over Highway 5 at R Street. Le Rivage Hotel, located at 4350 Riverside Blvd, will soon allot a section of their parking lot for a “park-and-ride” feature to the parkway. Several acres of wildlife habitat have been purchased and will be preserved along a bend in the river in the Pocket area.

“This is an example of all parts of the Sacramento government doing something great for the community,” Hedahl said. “We’re creating a community where people can go around with any mode of transportation they choose.”

The $10,500 signage project will place 30 trailhead signs at every public entry to the Parkway and mile markers every half mile for the sections that are currently open to the public.

Though the trails do not currently connect in a continuous stretch along the entire parkway, there is a network of on-road trails that weave throughout the Pocket area for those who wish to commute from the neighborhoods in the South to the central city.

For a map of open trails along the Sacramento River Parkway: Central City Map, Land Park Area Map, Pocket Area Map