Sacramento details Franklin Boulevard complete‑street project; $9.3M ATP grant among funding sources
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Summary
The City of Sacramento is rebuilding Franklin Boulevard with lane reductions, separated bikeways, wider sidewalks, lighting and trees to improve safety and heat resilience in a historically disadvantaged corridor.
Megan Johnson, senior engineer with the City of Sacramento Public Works Department, described the Franklin Boulevard Complete Street project as a community‑led effort to address safety, heat exposure and lack of tree canopy in a historically disinvested corridor.
Johnson said Franklin Boulevard runs through neighborhoods shaped by post‑war displacement and redlining, and noted the corridor had been “labeled the ugliest street in Sacramento” before community planning efforts. The Franklin Plan (commissioned by the Franklin Business District and UC Davis) and a subsequent Transformative Climate Communities grant informed a vision that prioritized lane reduction, shade, safety and economic revitalization.
The proposed and now‑under‑construction design replaces the existing 4 lanes plus center turn lane with one lane in each direction, adds separated class 4 bikeways with raised islands and planters, realigns and widens sidewalks with pedestrian‑scale lighting, and increases landscaping and street trees. Intersection improvements include protected intersection treatments, pedestrian refuge islands and rapid flashing beacons at key locations.
Johnson described early and ongoing partnerships with local advocates, the Franklin Business Improvement District (PBID), La Familia Counseling Center and Caltrans. To address maintenance burdens in a community with limited budgets, the city worked with the small PBID to assume selected planter upkeep and sought grant funding to cover near‑term maintenance costs. La Familia is developing an Opportunity Center next to the project, intended as a hub for resiliency, services and education; the two groundbreakings (Opportunity Center and the complete‑street) occurred earlier in the year.
Funding and status: total construction cost is about $20,000,000 with approximately $18,000,000 in grant funding lined up; Johnson cited a $9,300,000 Active Transportation Program grant and thanked Caltrans and the California Transportation Commission. The project is under construction and Johnson reported early signs of community enthusiasm.
Why it matters: the project ties infrastructure improvements to community goals including shade, safety and local economic revitalization and leverages partnerships and grant funding to reduce upfront city costs and support ongoing community services.
What was not decided at the plenary: the presentation summarized design, funding and partnerships; it did not create new funding commitments or policy changes at the session.
