Urban Design Projects Small Towns

Petaluma’s New SMART Station Master Plan and Code Receives Unanimous Approval

On June 17, the Petaluma City Council voted unanimously to adopt a Master Plan and SmartCode written by Opticos, connecting the city’s new Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit Line (SMART) station with the downtown core of Petaluma, CA. A new urban district with a pedestrian connection will rejuvenate the Petaluma River waterfront and introduce a series of visually engaging experiences—an outdoor amphitheater, a civic center, and a clock tower—along the route, promoting a walkable and livable environment in the area.

City of Petaluma Pedestrian Bridge
View from Pedestrian Bridge toward the new plaza

Opticos led a large team of consultants that included Nelson\Nygaard, Lisa Wise Consulting, Urban Advisors, and Carlile Macy and enlisted community participation through a series of workshops and meetings with a citizen advisory committee. The entire plan could take several years to realize, but Opticos’s Dan Parolek told The Press Democrat, “Key pieces of the project will be happening in the next few years, but instead of having a project pop up all at once and become sterile, the long-term nature of this project will allow it to reflect the uniqueness of the city over time.”

The project was funded through a grant from the Metropolitan Transportation Commission and the Association of Bay Area Governments’ Station Area Planning Program. The process will also update the SmartCode for the Central Petaluma planning area, which was the first SmartCode adopted in the United States.

More information here.

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