Roseville prepares to join 70-mile bike trail to Sacramento

Over the years, the city of Roseville has created a massive network of paved trails that allow community members to be connected and active. Now the city is working to expand the trails even further. For several decades, there have been talks of a 70-mile or so bike loop that would connect south Placer County and Sacramento County. To date, about half of the total loop is complete with 30 miles of the American River Parkway Trail and other portions of the trail being completed throughout Placer and Sacramento counties. Roseville has now begun the very early stages of its small portions of the trail with the Dry Creek Greenway system. The trail's proposed path would take it from Cook Riolo Road in unincorporated Placer County to Riverside Boulevard in Roseville. Currently, there is the Dry Creek Greenway West and East portions of the trail, the latter of which is a little farther along in planning and development. Roseville Alternative Transportation Department administrative analyst Jeannie Gandler is in charge of the Dry Creek Greenway West development. "This is just a preliminary study," Gandler said. "This is not an approved plan for a specific alignment. This is a suggested alignment based on the study." According to Gandler, the Greenway West trail is only at 10 to 15 percent completion and is not yet near breaking ground. "It definitely is going to connect communities, retail areas, employment centers," Gandler said about the Greenway trail system. "It would be a really important connecting piece for people who are interested in using alternative methods of transportation." The proposed budget based on the least expensive alignment would be about $16 million. Gandler's team is trying to get grant money in order to continue with completing environmental impact studies and other essential steps before construction can begin. "I just think the possibilities would be endless and I think it would be a great recreational amenity for our city," Gandler said.