Sacramento, California – A morning trip along Arden Way or Auburn Boulevard can reveal much about how a street serves its community. Riders waiting for transit, pedestrians crossing broad intersections, bicyclists navigating traffic and drivers moving through busy corridors each experience the same roadway in different ways.
This week, those daily experiences became part of a larger conversation as AIM Consulting joined staff from the City of Sacramento Public Works Department for morning outreach focused on the Arden-Auburn Mobility Plan.
The team spent Wednesday morning speaking with riders and community members until 9:30 a.m., inviting people who use the area to share what they see, what concerns them and what improvements they believe could make travel safer and easier.
The outreach was part of Sacramento’s effort to build a plan shaped not only by technical study, but also by the people who walk, bike, drive and take transit along these streets.
The Arden-Auburn Mobility Plan covers Arden Way from Del Paso Boulevard to Ethan Way, as well as Auburn Boulevard and Harvard Street from Marconi Circle to Arden Way. Together, the corridors form an important travel area where transportation needs, neighborhood access and future growth meet.
They are also streets where safety has become an urgent concern. The project area is included in Sacramento’s Vision Zero High Injury Network, identifying it among the city’s corridors with some of the highest numbers of fatal and serious crashes. Supported by a Caltrans Sustainable Transportation Planning Grant, the City is examining practical, community-supported approaches that could reduce injuries and fatalities while improving access for people of all ages and abilities.
The plan is intended to look beyond a single type of traveler. Its goals include making walking, biking and public transit more accessible, addressing challenges identified by community members, supporting future housing and job growth, and improving air quality while reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
That work began with listening. In March, the City hosted a community workshop to hear about people’s experiences traveling through the project area. An online survey, offered in English and Spanish from March 9 through March 31, drew responses from more than 130 community members. The City also held pop-up workshops at Arden Fair Mall and the Swanston Light Rail Station, bringing the conversation to places where residents and riders were already moving through their day.
The current phase shifts the discussion toward possible improvements. During a second community workshop in May, the City and project team presented draft ideas for safety and access changes and invited residents to respond. The recent morning outreach with AIM Consulting continued that effort in a direct way, meeting people near their routes rather than asking them to come to a meeting room.
Residents still have an opportunity to review and comment on the draft concepts. The City is accepting feedback through June 13, 2026, and project information, documents and opportunities to participate are available on the Arden-Auburn Mobility Plan webpage.
Read also: Sacramento Councilmember Phil Pluckebaum invites Sacramento families to make a splash for Pride
Another in-person opportunity is scheduled for Saturday, June 6, from noon to 4 p.m. during Celebrate North Sacramento at Robertson Park, located at 3525 Norwood Avenue. Community members will be able to connect with the project team and City staff as the planning process continues.
By spring 2027, Sacramento expects to complete a safety and mobility plan tailored to Arden Way and Auburn Boulevard, along with conceptual designs for priority safety and access improvements and a record of how public input shaped the final direction. For now, the project remains grounded in a simple principle: the people who travel these streets every day should have a voice in what those streets become.