Your daily briefing Yuba City receives grant for bike path extension project

Yuba City plans to create a feasibility study for converting an abandoned railroad track into a new trail that would extend the current Sutter Bike Path to the Feather River.

The city recently received a planning grant from the California Department of Transportation to conduct the study for the 2.8-mile stretch of abandoned railroad.

Yuba City Mayor Shon Harris said the trail has the potential to bring positive change to Yuba City and its surrounding neighbors.

“A trail like this will not only bring new ways to get around within the community, but it will also connect us to the greater region as a draw for people to explore and experience the communities of Yuba City and Marysville,” Harris said in a press release.

As part of the study, staff will conduct walking audits, community engagement efforts, a benefit-cost analysis for alternatives, early design plans and recommendations for how to fund the project. The study is necessary before the city can break ground. The trail is already in Yuba City’s Bicycle Master Plan and the region’s Sustainable Communities Strategy.

Harris said the hope is to eventually construct a trail that can be directly connected to the city of Marysville. The current thought is to use the Union Pacific Railroad trestle that crosses the Feather River.

Marysville Mayor Ricky Samayoa said trails provide residents additional transportation options and promote active and healthy lifestyles.

“They can also become and help create destinations that support our local economies,” Samayoa said in a press release. “From helping to reduce congestion and greenhouse gas emissions by creating a more active and healthy community, to spurring and supporting economic development, trails can change our communities for the better.”

Harris said the city hopes to begin the study as soon as possible.