Sacramento's sustainable mobility hub gets the green light
by SmartCitiesWorld news team | 19 April 2021
The Sacramento Valley Station Area plan bids to turn the station into one of the most sustainable public places in California, and has already been granted a certification for environmental innovation.
Sacramento City Council has approved plans to turn its historic train station (401 I Street) into an environmentally friendly regional mobility hub.
The Sacramento Valley Station Area plan bids to turn the station into one of the most sustainable public places in California, and has already been granted a certification for environmental innovation – the Living Community Challenge Vision Plan.
The Living Community Challenge (LCC) provides a framework for master planning, design and construction and rewards plans that are socially just, culturally rich and ecologically restorative.
“This plan is more than four years in the making,” said project manager Greg Taylor. “The plan positions Sacramento as a regional centre for sustainable transportation and a leader in sustainable design technologies, which will help combat climate change.”
He continued: “Achieving this certification aligns our significant city and regional resource with the mayor and City Council’s agenda on climate action,” Taylor said. “Sacramento is the first city in the world to achieve this recognition.”
The plan is designed to connect pedestrians and transit users to infill development areas within the Central City and provides a mix of uses including residential, hotel and offices. All the buildings within the development will run on 100 per cent renewable energy. The new station will provide Sacramento with new civic open spaces for everyone.
“The placement of market-rate and affordable housing, office space, hotel, community spaces, and amenities like restaurants, shops, pedestrian plazas and bike trails complement the convergence of trains, regional and local buses, light rail and micro-transportation offering at this regional multi-modal hub,” added Geeti Silwal, a principal and urban designer at Perkins&Will.
“The goal is to make the Sacramento Valley Station area more than just a point along a journey, but a destination of its own.”
The design team involved the community in the process through numerous public meetings with more than 50 stakeholder groups. The plan is led by the City and global design firm Perkins&Will in partnership with Arup, and Grimshaw Architects, EPS, and Aim Consulting.
The City is actively seeking funding for the first phase, which involves the construction of the bus centre which could begin in 2026.
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Cover Photo by Perkins&Will: The mobility hub aims to become a destination in its own right.