It is a good idea to keep discussing this and allow all stakeholders input before proceeding with the bridge that all agree is needed, as is one or two more across the American River.
Bridge plans put on pause
Neighbors complain, and city agrees to study alternatives to a Broadway span.
By Tony Bizjak - Bee Staff Writer
Published 12:00 am PDT Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Sacramento officials have backed off plans to focus solely on Broadway as the site of a new Sacramento River bridge.
Planners instead agreed to explore the entire riverfront for what they say is a much-needed crossing.
The move came after neighborhood groups complained a Broadway bridge would flood residential streets with cars, and after two legislators sent a letter urging the city to study a bridge designed more for mass transit than cars.
City officials acknowledged they had jumped the gun by focusing only on Broadway.
"There has been no analysis done to say Broadway makes the most sense vs. other locations," Assistant City Manager Marty Hanneman said. "We also need to look at what type of bridge this should be -- for cars, or for bike and pedestrians only, or streetcars some day."
City officials had launched a $400,000 study, jointly financed by the city of West Sacramento, of a four-lane bridge connecting Broadway in Sacramento with South River Road in West Sacramento.
The bridge would allow residents of the two cities to get across the river more easily between homes and jobs, and would boost riverfront development, officials said.
