Is a street car really desired by DT businesses?

It’s more than a streetcar:  It’s the Downtown Riverfront Streetcar Project (DRSP) and it’s about connectivity.  Connecting people to businesses and entertainment events – think baseball at Raley Field, a concert or basketball game at the ESC - be it the Kings or College March Madness! Or even an event at the Community Theater/Convention Center.

Are DT business leaders really supportive of DRSP?

So far, local business leadership – in the form of Downtown Sacramento Partnership (DSP) has been seen as neutral although behind the public scenes they certainly have been actively studying and discussing how the project might get financed and how it could affect Downtown property owners.

And a SACOG committee has been focusing on a detailed economic study done in 2013 that showed that the cost to affected property owners was about 1% of the value of a building or 1% of rents on an annual basis.  The benefit to property owners was 3-5 times the cost at a minimum; and that does not include potential benefits to individual retailers and businesses into the future.

It was also recently reported that the City and SACOG had hired a consultant to work on public and business outreach about the Project and outreach meetings have been scheduled.

Meanwhile, DSP staff, have been drafting guiding principles that include moving light rail off of K Street (to accommodate a Streetcar), and a cap on private property owner assessments among other issues.  These principles will be presented to the City for consideration and shows that the downtown business community does indeed support the concept of a streetcar to improve connectivity to the city’s core business districts.