A Final Box To Check Before Petaluma Moves On Riverfront Changes

PETALUMA, CA — It’s just a checklist. But on Wednesday night, that checklist could quietly move one of Petaluma’s most ambitious riverfront dreams a step closer to becoming real.

On Wednesday, the city’s Pedestrian & Bicycle Advisory Committee will take up a deceptively technical item that could shape how residents one day walk, bike, and gather along the Petaluma River: a proposed multi-use pathway through the long-anticipated Petaluma River Park.

The committee, meeting at City Hall’s Council Chamber on English Street, is set to review the Metropolitan Transportation Commission’s Complete Streets Checklist for the project.

The Complete Streets Checklist is required for any transportation proposal seeking regional funding or endorsement when costs exceed $250,000, ensuring that projects are accessible and safe for all users, including pedestrians, cyclists, and people with disabilities.

For a park pitched as a generational investment in Petaluma’s waterfront, Wednesday’s checklist review may seem procedural. But it marks another step toward an ambitious riverfront vision

Beyond the paperwork lies a sweeping vision years in the making.The proposed 35-acre Petaluma River Park would turn a stretch of riverfront into a public destination with art installations, river access, multi-use courts, a playground, and gathering areas.

A new promenade and bridge would connect the east and west sides of the city, while linking downtown to public transit and tying into the Bay Area Ridge Trail and other regional trail networks.City leaders describe the project as a “transformational model of community-driven park development,” combining tidal marsh and riparian habitat restoration with riverbank stabilization designed to be climate-smart and resilient to sea-level rise.

The conceptual dreaming phase now complete, what comes next is more concrete: formal design, construction planning, habitat restoration details, cost estimates, material selection, hiring a general contractor, and launching a fundraising campaign. Construction is anticipated to be completed in 2028.

Before shovels hit the ground, however, the project must satisfy the MTC's Complete Streets policy requirements.

The committee will also review the Caulfield Lane and Ely Boulevard South safety and pavement upgrade projects.

Meeting: 6:30 p.m. March 4
City Hall Council Chamber, 11 English Street.