By Jennifer Sawhney

A new Petaluma group hoping to transform downtown Petaluma’s deteriorating historic railroad trestle into a "vibrant, iconic riverfront promenade” will kick off the effort with a public event on Thursday, May 28.

The 104-year-old trestle, which once sustained the weight of train cars and their cargo, is now largely fenced off. It is considered an eyesore by many and remains a recurring talking point at city council meetings. Even as others have taken steps to fix the deteriorating structure over the last two and a half decades, the newly formed Petaluma Trestle Promenade Now steering committee intends to revive the effort and involve the community in shaping a plan for its future.

The steering committee is led by Mayor Kevin McDonnell and includes several other prominent figures: Katherine Rinehart, Bill Rinehart, Rosemary Hart, Rick Burg, Greg Sabourin, Katherine Gregor, Warren Drannit, and Elece Hempel.

Its first goal is to hire a consultant that “will do community outreach, engagement, and help the community envision what they want,” said Hempel, the former longtime head of Petaluma People Services Center.

“We don’t want to impose our bias on anything,” she said. “Nobody on the committee has a true vision of what we want it to be, but we just want to get something done and the city agrees.”

City staff reportedly continue “to work hard behind the scenes” on the trestle, according to a May 2026 update on the city’s website.

Last year the city allocated an additional $500,000 toward continued analysis of the trestle, bringing its total funding for the upcoming fiscal year to $1.27 million, according to the latest budget documents. Of this, $113,000 comes from Transient Occupancy Taxes, $813,000 from the General Fund, and $343,000 from Measure U funds via the General Fund.

These funds are being used to explore and better understand available options for the trestle, city budget documents reveal, including “identifying the regulatory, legal, technical, and financial factors” that may determine the structure’s future. In particular, staff are investigating issues related to ownership, permitting, state environmental impact documentation, and flood and climate resiliency requirements.

Information gathered in this phase is intended to guide the decision-making process, which will also be impacted by the availability of funding and the council’s direction, according to the city.

The trestle was built by the Petaluma and Santa Rosa Railway in 1922, the same year that the turning basin was created. While pedestrians today can still walk on the wharf that juts out from nearby buildings, the trestle itself has been closed since the 1990s “due to advanced deterioration,” according to the budget.

An October 2023 staff presentation to Petaluma City Council noted that the structure’s condition varied in different sections from excellent to requiring repair. Notably, all piles – the wooden columns forming the structure’s base – required repair or replacement. 

The steering committee’s current task is straightforward, Hempel said: “What we have to do is come up with a vision to get grant funding to get it moving forward."

Transparency note: Elece Hempel is Petaluma Voice’s board chair.