The Sacramento City Council approved a project that would relocate the city’s Greyhound terminal outside of downtown Sacramento.
“What stimulates the move now is in December 2006, the city purchased property on Richards Boulevard in the River district, which is where Greyhound will be moving to and is what has made the move possible,” said senior project manager Rachel Hazlewood.
Greyhound’s current location is very congested, which causes difficulties for bus drivers, said Lezlie Frietzche, downtown development manager.
“The location downtown is antiquated and a challenge in terms of getting in and out of the terminal,” Frietzche said. “They have long hoped they can move out of downtown.”
In addition to providing facilities for the buses, the new location will have many new amenities.
“The new facility will be designed [to be] more efficient, a lot more comfortable for passengers who are waiting to be picked up, a lot safer and a lot easier to get in and out of the site,” Hazlewood said.
A large problem with the Greyhound terminal on L Street in the downtown area is the issue with loitering, Hazlewood said.
“[The Greyhound terminal] is an attractive nuisance, which means that it attracts behavior that you don’t necessarily want in that area,” she said. “The problem with the terminal isn’t the people who use Greyhound but rather the people who take advantage of the situation by loitering out front. Businesses are excited because it’ll be clear who has a purpose downtown.”
Aside from the foreseen benefits for Greyhound, the city of Sacramento remains hopeful about what the terminal’s move will do for downtown Sacramento, Frietzche said.
“The owner of the property has plans for the under-utilized prime location for a mixed-use tower that could potentially be residential,” Frietzche said. “If residential, it will liven the downtown by bringing residential activities, property revenues and sales tax revenues to the city.”
The move is expected to be beneficial for business owners and downtown economy, said Keith Kaplan, development director of Westfield LLC at a City Council meeting last week.
“The relocation of the Greyhound terminal is of paramount importance to the rejuvenation of retail activity in the city’s core,” Kaplan said. “Greyhound stations and the issues that go along with it, both perceived and real, have also led retailers to leave the mall, and the same sentiment is shared by most of our shoppers.”
Hazlewood said the move will take a little over a year, but the city will see results with respect to improvements in business sooner. The downtown Sacramento community is also appreciative of the Greyhound terminal’s move.
“Thank you to all of you for your hard work who are finally getting projects like this moving,” said Steve Hanson, a downtown Sacramento resident, at the meeting.
ALEX BULLER can be reached at city@californiaaggie.com.
