Long-Stalled Petaluma Trestle Revival Launched

PETALUMA, CA — A renewed campaign to transform the city’s deteriorating railroad trestle into a public promenade and gathering space kicked off Thursday — again.

The event marked the launch of a public engagement effort that supporters hope will lead to a community-backed design capable of attracting outside funding for the trestle.

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Standing with the dilapidated riverfront landmark in the background, organizers repeatedly returned to one message throughout the evening: the city must stop debating competing visions long enough to agree on a plan that can finally move forward.

The engineering is the easy part, Petaluma Mayor Kevin McDonnell said. “The vision is the thing we want to solve."

Supporters described the structure as both a historic artifact and a missed economic opportunity.

Rosemary Hart, one of the speakers leading the kickoff, traced the 1922 trestle’s roots to Petaluma’s agricultural boom years, when rail lines connected local mills, hatcheries, and warehouses to shipping routes serving San Francisco and the wider Bay Area.

“Our riverfront trestle is more than just an eyesore,” Hart told attendees. “It’s a surviving symbol of the agricultural and commercial life that made this city prosperous.”

She is a member of Petaluma Trestle Promenade Now, a group steering the effort to renovate the 104-year-old railroad bridge.

Instead of carrying cargo, the trestle would carry people visiting or living in Petaluma.

Rick Burg, said the site could boost tourism, increase downtown foot traffic, and strengthen nearby businesses.

“This project is a key pillar to furthering the economic development of our town and increasing community vitality,” Burg said Thursday. “Great public spaces actively strengthen local businesses, attract new investment, and create a vibrant downtown environment where people want to spend time.”

The proposed public process comes after years of failed starts, funding setbacks, and disagreements over what the trestle should become.

Some residents want the historic structure preserved and restored. Others support removing portions of it and building a modern promenade.

More ambitious ideas floated Thursday included entertainment spaces, expanded pedestrian access, and public gathering areas.

Elece Hempel, one of the project organizers, said the lack of consensus has repeatedly slowed progress.

“Everybody’s got a different vision,” Hempel said. “You can’t get anything done if you don’t have a consensus.”

The consultant will guide residents through several workshops, aiming to create a shared vision. After these workshops, city officials and the committee will use this plan to pursue grants and other funding.

Organizers emphasized that no final design has been chosen, and public feedback will continue to influence next steps.

“This is the starting line,” speakers told the crowd. “This is not the vision.”

Greg Sabourin, executive director of the Petaluma Small Craft Center, said riverfront construction projects face significant permitting and engineering hurdles, especially on the water.

He pointed to the years-long effort required to complete the downtown float house project as an example of the persistence needed to finish large waterfront improvements.

Still, he said the boathouse and similar projects around California and the country prove the concept is possible.

Katherine Gregor, who has worked on large infrastructure projects in other states, highlighted similar riverfront redevelopments in Napa, Santa Cruz, Fort Bragg, and Pennsylvania.

Gregor said the common ingredient behind successful riverfront redevelopments was broad community support.

“Funding follows vision, not the other way around,” Gregor said. “None of these cities had the money when they started. What they had was a defined vision.”

Ownership questions, permitting challenges, and funding issues have for decades complicated efforts to redevelop the site.

In 2011, the city had a planning grant from the California Coastal Conservancy. The financial crash froze the project, McDonnell said. Now the city is ready to move forward once there is a concrete plan supported by Petaluma residents.

Public support is necessary to raise the funds needed for the project, whatever that may be. Several ideas are circulating, including a promenade. But the steering committee is trying to remain focused on the process rather than the product.

The unspoken fear if the campaign fails is seeing the trestle demolished or left to slide into the river below.

Petaluma Councilmember Alex DeCarli said the trestle remains an important piece of the city’s identity and industrial history.

That identity is based on industries that have largely shifted into tourism. But the tourism is driven by Petaluma's history, DeCarli said. "And that's a piece of it right there," he said, gesturing to the trestle.