The Obama Administration renewed its commitment to the Downtown/Riverfront Streetcar Project, designating $75 million in federal funding in the President’s proposed budget for Federal Fiscal Year 2017.

If approved by Congress, the Small Starts Federal Transit Administration (FTA) grant would provide 50 percent of the funding for the $150 million project. 

The streetcar was identified in the President’s Fiscal Year 2016 budget for accelerated project delivery and the streetcar met a number of significant milestones in 2015, including full clearance under the California Environmental Quality Act and completion of 30 percent of the project’s design and engineering.

The cities of Sacramento and West Sacramento, along with Sacramento Regional Transit District and Yolo County Transportation District have been working with the Sacramento Area Council of Governments (SACOG) over several years to secure this federal funding.

In 2015, the FTA also awarded the Sacramento Area Council of Governments a $1.1 million grant to study and promote transit-oriented development along the streetcar route. The funds will help the cities of West Sacramento and Sacramento create a toolkit for land use development that focuses on revitalization and increased density in the region’s urban core. Coordinated land use and transportation planning and investment is integral to a thriving urban core, which also supports housing and transportation choices in the Sacramento region’s suburban and rural communities.