Apr. 24—Visitors to downtown Santa Rosa will be able to hop aboard a new trolley service connecting Old Courthouse Square and Railroad Square beginning next month.
Rose-E, an electric trolley, will roll onto city streets May 15 and provide stops at shopping and dining destinations, hotels and at the Sonoma-Marin Area Rapid Transit station.
It will operate five times a week and run through Sept. 29 as part of a pilot program launched by the Downtown Action Organization, which oversees the city's downtown community benefit district, aimed at improving connectivity in the city's urban center which is bisected by Highway 101 and Santa Rosa Plaza.
"We're excited to give this a shot," said Cadance Allinson, executive director of the Downtown Action Organization. "One of the biggest complaints we get is that the downtown is divided, so we're exploring the possibility of whether this type of transportation is a good way to get people around."
The trolley can seat 12 passengers and will be free to ride.
The organization hinted at the news in a cryptic social media post Tuesday.
Big News Coming Soon to Downtown Santa Rosa
Something big is headed to Downtown Santa Rosa! Stay tuned!
#roseE #downtownsantarosa #santarosacalifornia #visitisantarosa #sonomacounty
Posted by Downtown Santa Rosa on Monday, April 22, 2024
Service will start ahead of the highly anticipated return of the Luther Burbank Rose Parade & Festival on May 18 and as the summer events season that typically takes over Courthouse Square kicks off.
It will operate 5 to 9 p.m. Wednesdays through Fridays, 1 to 4 p.m. and 5 to 9 p.m. Saturdays and 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sundays. More details about the route and program can be found online at downtownsantarosa.org/trolley.
The pilot will cost about $80,000 and is being paid for through contributions from Sonoma Clean Power, the city of Santa Rosa, Visit Santa Rosa and SMART, Allinson said.
The trolley service is one of the latest efforts to improve connectivity between the squares and encourage locals and visitors alike to explore downtown.
The organization in November started hanging wayfinding signs across the district east of Highway 101 to guide visitors to nearby civic attractions, parks and other sites. They also point pedestrians to public restrooms and drivers to electric vehicle charging stations.
A wayfinding sign in downtown Santa Rosa on B Street. (Annika Toernqvist/The Press Democrat)
"We felt it was important to help pedestrians navigate throughout the district and to highlight some of the elements that exist downtown that people don't often think about whether that's the plethora of parking, the central library or the museum," Allinson said. "We really wanted to point out the things that sometimes get overlooked."
The signs are in English and Spanish and include directional markers. The placards can be changed to highlight new attractions coming downtown and events happening at Courthouse Square.
And city officials in recent weeks have again floated a proposal to temporarily close a portion of Fourth Street to vehicles to create a walkable and bikeable path that council members hope helps draw more visitors to the area.
The various ideas come as city leaders, downtown officials, merchants and residents debate how to revitalize Santa Rosa's urban core as it grapples with an identity crisis fueled in part by boarded up shops and less foot traffic following the COVID-19 pandemic.
Allinson said the Downtown Action Organization first discussed the prospect of a connector service like the trolley in early 2023 and earlier this year found an operator, Brewen's Empire Trolley of Temecula, that had a smaller, electric trolley available, which officials felt "was a good fit."
Santa Rosa used to provide a free shuttle service to and from the SMART station to parking garages east of Highway 101 and the Transit Mall on B and Second streets but the program was discontinued in 2019 following low ridership.
The Downtown Action Organization envisions the trolley will operate differently than the shuttle service, offering locals something fun to do on weekends and a unique way for people to explore downtown without a car, Allinson said.
Officials will gather ridership data and feedback throughout the pilot to assess if it's a good option moving forward to make it easier for people to get to destinations on each side of the highway.
"We're hopeful that there's a good response and that we get lots of locals but that also SMART riders and tourists take advantage of it as they visit," she said.
You can reach Staff Writer Paulina Pineda at 707-521-5268 or [email protected]. On X (Twitter) @paulinapineda22.
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