The Sacramento City Council in California has approved the Sacramento Valley Station Area Plan, a bid to turn the city's historic train station into a regional mobility hub for trains, buses, light rail and micromobility.
Sacramento Valley Station project manager Greg Taylor says: “The plan positions Sacramento as a regional centre for sustainable transportation and a leader in sustainable design technologies, which will help combat climate change.”
The plan is expected to connect pedestrians and transit users to infill development areas within the central city and provides a mix of uses including residential, hotel and offices.
Global design firm Perkins&Will is leading the project in partnership with Arup and Grimshaw Architects, EPS and Aim Consulting.
Geeti Silwal, principal and urban designer at Perkins&Will, says: “The placement of market-rate and affordable housing, office space, hotel, community spaces, and amenities like restaurants, shops, pedestrian plazas and bike trails complement the convergence of trains, regional and local buses, light rail and micro-transportation offering at this regional multimodal hub.”
“The goal is to make the Sacramento Valley Station area more than just a point along a journey, but a destination of its own,” Silwal adds.
Earlier this month, the plan earned a certification for environmental innovation – the Living Community Challenge Vision Plan Certification.
The challenge provides a framework for master planning, design and construction and rewards plans that are ecologically restorative.
The city is actively seeking funding for the first phase, construction of the bus centre, which could begin in 2026.
