On August 16, 2016,  the California State Transportation Agency announced the selection of the Downtown/Riverfront Streetcar for $30 million in funds from the Transit and Intercity Rail Capital Program to advance the planning and construction of the streetcar.

The Transit and Intercity Rail Capital Program (TIRCP) is one of several state programs funded by auction proceeds from the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund of California’s Cap and Trade Program. These programs invest in projects that increase transit ridership and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The TIRCP funds are administered by CalSTA.

This award completes the capital funding for the base streetcar project – one of the region’s highest priority transit projects. The Downtown/Riverfront Streetcar is a critical infrastructure component in the region’s plan to meet mobility needs, reduce car congestion, and to reach the region’s greenhouse gas reduction and air quality targets. The project also adds local revenue. An independent economic analysis conducted for the streetcar demonstrated that the project conservatively would generate over $2.7 billion in the first 20 years of the project,and conservatively over $70 million in new local tax revenues.

The Downtown/Riverfront Streetcar planning team, a partnership of the cities of Sacramento and West Sacramento, Yolo County Transportation District, Sacramento Regional Transit, and SACOG submitted an application for $30M to implement the Downtown/Riverfront Sacramento-West Sacramento Streetcar.

The capital work to be funded under the grant include:

• construction of the initial 3.3-mile loop (6.24 track miles) of the Downtown/Riverfront Streetcar;
• construction of 19 streetcar stops on the expanded streetcar route; and
• purchase of six streetcar vehicles.

This new funding is designated for capital construction costs for the streetcar. The project sponsors anticipate using this funding to leverage additional funds that could go toward relocating light rail vehicles off of K Street to improve multi-modal transportation efficiency, to extend the project in West Sacramento, and to construct the infrastructure to allow light rail vehicles to Raley Field and the River District of West Sacramento during high occupancy events.  It will help meet the needs of an increasing number of downtown destinations, large regional events, and a growing population in the downtown core of Sacramento and West Sacramento, with its projected population growth from 8,200 people to 34,500 over the next 20 years.