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City presents draft Arden Way–Auburn Boulevard mobility concepts, seeks feedback on possible lane reductions
Summary
City staff presented three draft concepts for Arden Way and Auburn Boulevard that would add separated bikeways and other safety treatments; staff emphasized traffic analysis is ongoing and will return in the fall with a preferred alternative before a 2027 council submittal.
City of Sacramento staff presented Phase 2 of the Arden Way–Auburn Boulevard Mobility Plan to the Active Transportation Commission on June 18, 2026, outlining three corridor concepts and a toolbox of safety treatments that could include lane reductions to accommodate protected bikeways and pedestrian refuge islands.
The plan covers Arden Way between Del Paso Boulevard on the west and Ethan/Arden on the east, and extends along Harvard Street and Auburn Boulevard up to Marconi Avenue, a corridor that includes Arden Fair Mall, multiple light-rail stations and freeway interchanges. Liza Welsh, associate transportation planner, said the project is funded by a Caltrans Sustainable Communities grant and that phase 1 identified wide roadways, sidewalk gaps, inconsistent bicycle facilities and concentrations of fatal and serious-injury crashes on the city’s high-injury network.
Staff described three Arden Way concepts and two concepts for Harvard Street and Auburn Boulevard, plus a mixed “treatment toolbox” with crosswalk visibility upgrades, median refuges, signal adjustments, bus-stop amenities, lighting and landscaping. Welsh said the team received broad community input through focus groups, pop-up events, a month-long virtual workshop and more than 120 comments to date, and that it will bring a refined preferred alternative back to the commission in the fall and to the City Council in early 2027.
Public commenter Dan Allison, a District 4 resident, said he had not yet reviewed the plan on the ground but called Arden Way a “high stress location” and argued that nearby streets do not provide parallel capacity for traffic to shift onto. Commissioners pressed staff on whether the city still applies thresholds or traffic-volume tests before pursuing lane reductions. Vice Chair Gibson and others said they support lane reductions where feasible to create space for trees, biking and walking; staff replied that traffic analysis (volume, queuing, vehicle-to-capacity ratios and modeling of queuing impacts) is being performed and that level-of-service is only one of several factors considered.
The commission debated whether to retain Rectangular Rapid Flashing Beacons (RRFBs) in the toolbox; staff said RRFBs remain an option but their appropriateness depends on corridor context, lane counts and crossing geometry. No vote was required — staff received the item for comment and will return with additional traffic-impact analysis and refined designs.
Next steps: staff will continue community engagement through the virtual board (open for final comments), synthesize feedback, complete traffic studies and return with a preferred alternative in the fall, followed by a planned Council submittal in early 2027.
