Sacramento County presents Sailor Bar ADA concept as debate grows over reopening Gravel Road A

Sacramento County Regional Parks presented an early-concept accessibility plan for Sailor Bar on Feb. 24, 2025, while saying it intends to reopen one gravel interior access known as Gravel Road A after completing environmental paperwork and installing gates and signage.

The department asked for feedback on a three-part ADA concept that would create new and modified accessible trail segments linking parking areas, the river and Turtle Pond, and would add wayfinding and audio interpretive aids. Director Liz Bellas told the Recreation and Parks Commission the department has budgeted $209,513 to address accessibility needs identified in the 2019 Sailor Bar ADA accessibility review report and that “we are requesting feedback and input as well as conceptual approval during closing remarks of the commission members.”

Why it matters: the proposal touched off hours of public comment because reopening any interior gravel roads has long been controversial. Regional Parks told the commission it plans to reopen one gravel alignment—Gravel Road A, about 0.35 miles long—to provide closer vehicular access for people with limited mobility, while keeping roughly 2.93 miles of other interior gravel roads closed to public vehicles except for maintenance and emergency use. Staff said the county prepared a CEQA addendum to the American River Parkway Plan EIR and will file a notice of determination; a reopening would happen sometime after those administrative steps and the planned installation of a gate east of Gravel Road A and educational signage about nesting birds and archeological features.

Details and objections: the concept plan identifies three accessible trail components (a short Turtle Pond connection, a modified shoreline trail linking existing parking to River West, and a new loop) and proposes testing an audio wayfinding product described to the commission as “Right Here.” The department also referenced the American River Parkway Community Wildfire Protection Plan and other studies in its packet. Public commenters from dozens of organizations and neighborhood groups — including the Disability Advisory Commission, Save the American River Association, Friends of Sailor Bar, the Sacramento Audubon Society and equestrian groups — urged the county not to reopen interior roads to general vehicular traffic. The Disability Advisory Commission provided a motion asking that the county “continue the closure of all existing maintenance and emergency vehicle roads in Sailor Bar that are proposed to be re‑opened” and prepare a comparative evaluation of the county plan and alternative accessible‑trail proposals before any decision.

Speakers at the meeting repeatedly raised safety, wildlife and air‑quality concerns. Multiple speakers urged that opening the road would increase dust and accelerate erosion into salmon spawning areas and noted the presence of a heron rookery and bedrock mortar sites; county staff referenced prior sampling and consultant reviews and told the commission their geologist and others concluded the reopening is unlikely to release asbestos or mercury from the soils. Wildfire risk was also a recurring theme: speakers and several staff referenced the new community wildfire protection plan for the Parkway and warned that vehicles (and e‑bikes) can introduce new ignition sources near steep bluffs.

Commission procedure and next steps: the Recreation and Parks Commission did not take a formal vote on the ADA concept at this meeting; commissioners were asked for input and to identify issues the department should address as it refines designs and pursues grant funding. Staff said they will finalize CEQA steps, bring any plan or area‑plan map amendment to the Board of Supervisors for consideration, and later return to the commission with final construction drawings and an American River Parkway consistency determination. Director Bellas clarified that an earlier media report announcing a Saturday opening was incorrect and that no reopening date has been set.

Community response: dozens of residents and organization representatives delivered public remarks — several said a petition of roughly 6,000 signatures opposes reopening interior roads. Disability advocates emphasized that many access alternatives exist and urged the county to evaluate multiple designs, including surfaced trails, rest areas and volunteer or adaptive‑equipment programs, rather than reopening a gravel road to general vehicle traffic. Friends of Sailor Bar and other groups called for additional environmental review and for the county to consider non‑vehicular solutions to improve river access for people with mobility limitations.

What’s next: staff said the county will complete the notice of determination for the CEQA addendum and continue design work; they expect to return to advisory bodies and the commission for a formal consistency determination and final approval of plans before construction. The department has not scheduled a reopening date for Gravel Road A.