All Aboard! CITY PUTS BEST FOOT FORWARD ON DEL RIO TRAIL
Scott Burns Photo by Aniko Kiezel
S
acramento is getting good at building bike paths. This news may surprise cynics who think the city’s recreational talents range between mediocre and none, but it’s true. The proof is the Del Rio Trail project. Running nearly 5 miles between Sutterville Road and Bill Conlin Sports Complex on Freeport Boulevard, Del Rio shapes up as a positive jolt to the city’s quality of life. Cyclists and runners will love it. The trail follows an abandoned Sacramento Southern Railroad route through some surprisingly lush
RG By R.E. Graswich Pocket Beat
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suburban landscapes. In the fine railroad tradition, it passes along the backside of South Land Park neighborhoods and offers vistas impossible to see from city streets. Del Rio rediscovers a forgotten, hidden page of the community. It’s a treat for urban explorers. The trail will serve as a transportation asset that’s more than the sum of its parts. It’s not just a 4.8mile folly for Land Park, South Land Park, Greenhaven and Pocket residents. Del Rio will hook up with the Sacramento River Parkway and create a loop that safely carries cyclists, runners and walkers from the levee near Pocket Road to the zoo and William Land Park. From there, enthusiasts can pedal to Old Sacramento or even Folsom. “Once it’s completed, people are really going to be excited,” says Scott Burns, a board member with the South Land Park Neighborhood Association. “We polled our community and received about 600 responses, which is pretty good. The neighborhood is very much in support, by about 90 percent.”
Unlike the Sacramento River Parkway, which was promised by the city in 1975 and won’t be finished for another three or four years, the Del Rio Trail has advanced with lightning speed. The idea was launched about five years ago. The City Council quickly approved the new trail. Funding was secured and final designs should be ready this fall. With luck, the $20 million Del Rio experience will open by late 2022. As always, there’s controversy—this time an ironic twist on the Not In My Backyard disease. Backyards are the problem. About 60 homeowners along the Del Rio route mysteriously extended
their yards into the old rail right of way. Maybe they assumed nobody would notice. When the city surveyed property lines for the Del Rio Trail, the encroachments were exposed. The city sent demand letters to property owners, who responded with predictable representations of shock and disbelief. My backyard? How could that be? Most pleaded innocence, swearing they had no idea how those bigger yards came into their possession. “To the city’s credit, it’s working with the property owners on an individual basis,” says Burns, who knows about such matters. He’s an
DEL RIO WILL HOOK UP WITH THE SACRAMENTO RIVER PARKWAY AND CREATE A LOOP THAT SAFELY CARRIES CYCLISTS, RUNNERS AND WALKERS FROM THE LEVEE NEAR POCKET ROAD TO THE ZOO AND WILLIAM LAND PARK.
