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Sacramento advisory committee asks city council to consider not allowing cars on Truxel Bridge

Advisory committee asks Sacramento city council to consider no cars on city's next bridge
Advisory committee asks Sacramento city council to consider no cars on city's next bridge 02:12

SACRAMENTO –  An advisory committee is asking the Sacramento City Council to consider not allowing cars on the city's next bridge. 

The proposed Truxel Bridge would connect south Natomas with downtown and offer a new route directly to and from the city center.

It's a new vision for Sacramento's next bridge that would keep the cars from crossing it.

"I don't see it as banning cars," said Isaac Gonzalez, the vice chair of the Active Transportation Commission. 

That commission voted 9-0 to recommend no cars on the proposed Truxel Bridge over the American River.

"There's 10 lanes of I-5 that gets you over the river, and from Natomas to downtown right now, there are no lanes exclusively for the safe travel of pedestrians cyclists or light rail," Gonzalez said.

"We are trying to take back our riverfront," said Devin Strecker with the River District.

A new bridge connecting consumers to downtown would mean more incentive for developers to build up this area in and around the railyards.

"But as long as we're building this bridge and spending all this money, we do also need a vehicle connection," Strecker said.

Estfania Garcia lives in south Natomas and says the bridge would change how she thinks about getting downtown.

"So if a bridge were right there and I could do it walking or biking, I wouldn't even think of that barrier of like, 'Oh I need a car,'" Garcia said.

Now a push by the Sacramento Transportation Commission to keep cars off this bridge and aimed at making a safer place for cyclists and pedestrians.

"One more lane has never solved traffic congestion, ever," Gonzalez said. "So let's not create induced demand let's look at some new ways to do this and think about the communities we want to build."

Sacramento has not built a new bridge in 50 years.

The traffic advisory commission's decision goes to the city council for their vote next.

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