It is obvious we need more full-purpose bridges over the rivers in our community.
The concept of restricted use bridges, for bikes and/or pedestrians, is also a good idea and one that could be realized most effectively through a nonprofit which could fund raise to build those type of single or double use bridges through those who most care about them, while leaving the funding of the full-purpose bridges to public funding sources.
All bridges should be structured on the principle that they are crossing, particularly in the case of the American, one of the most beautiful and historic rivers in the country and be designed with the beauty and grandeur—on a human scale—that status so richly deserves.
Burdened bridges
Worsening traffic flow at river crossings spurs calls for new spans
By Tony Bizjak - Bee Staff Writer
Published 12:00 am PDT Monday, May 7, 2007
One in an occasional series on Sacramento's transportation future
Dustin Teichman's recent move to West Sacramento from Davis had been easy street.
The price was right on his stylish tri-level condo. He's energized by the urban lifestyle. And work in downtown Sacramento is just three miles away.
The problem is, a river runs through his commute, and there is no good way to cross it.
The nearest bridge is a major interstate freeway crossroads where commercial trucks, commuters from distant cities, and short-distance drivers jostle daily for limited lane space.
Some days, Teichman can't get to his exit. The commute, at its worst, can hit a half-hour.
"It's more complicated than it needs to be," he has concluded.
Teichman's troubles are not unusual in River City. As the Sacramento region grows, hundreds of thousands of drivers, bus riders, cyclists and pedestrians are becoming familiar with the old admonishment, "You can't get there from here," at least not directly.
The Sunrise Boulevard bridge over the American River is a notorious bottleneck. Old Fifth Street Bridge connecting Marysville and Yuba City is overwhelmed. Fast-growing Folsom, which added a bridge in 1999, is again gridlocked. And the Yolo Causeway is straining, with worse to come.
With 1.4 million vehicles funneling through each day, river crossings have become the worst traffic choke points of the area's transportation system.
By 2027, daily vehicle numbers will jump to 2 million, according to projections from the region's transportation planning agency, the Sacramento Area Council of Governments.
Given that forecast, transportation leaders are saying the question no longer is whether we should bulk up our river crossings. The question is where should we do it, how quickly, and what kind of bridges? Should they be designed for cars, or for buses, light rail and bikes?
