Sentinel staff report–
A six-minute informational video was released by the city on Monday, highlighting various aspects of a 2.9-mile paved trail planned in the northeastern area of Citrus Heights.
The trail is planned to begin on Wachtel Way, pass through C-Bar-C Park, travel into a portion of Orangevale, continue through Tempo Park, and conclude at Arcade Creek Park Preserve on Sunrise Boulevard, near Greenback Lane. The trail will largely follow an existing SMUD electric transmission corridor, leading to the project being called the “Electric Greenway Trail Project.”
The video includes interviews with City Manager Chris Boyd, police, and other representatives involved in the trail project, which will largely be funded by grant money. According to a resolution approved by the City Council last year, $5.86 million of the estimated $7 million project will come from an SB 1-funded grant.
“For the past several years the city staff has been hard at work looking to dedicate a paved trail system for a variety of purposes and improvements here in our city,” the city manager says in the video, noting a goal to improve walkability and separate cyclists from busy roadways. The video also includes examples of paved trails in place at Arcade Creek Park Preserve, as well as elsewhere, showing multi-use trail’s accessibility for wheelchairs, families, bicyclists, police, joggers, and dog walkers.
The trail was approved as a “priority 1” project in a Creek Corridor Trail plan approved by the City Council in 2014 and was also included in a Pedestrian Master Plan approved in 2016. According to the video, the project is expected to begin construction in 2021 and will also include a new signalized crossing on Fair Oaks Boulevard, pathway lighting, sidewalk and gutter installation along a segment of Oak Avenue, drainage improvements, traffic signal modifications, and landscaping.
The city also held its first openhouse event for the trail project on Tuesday, which drew interest and support from some residents, along with strong opposition from residents on Olivine Way who don’t want the trail going through an existing easement in their backyard. A full report on the openhouse event will be published this Sunday in The Sentinel’s Weekend e-Edition.
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