When Mayor Christopher Cabaldon envisions the future of West Sacramento, he sees a sleek yellow streetcar gliding over the Tower Bridge.

The proposed streetcar would connect what Cabaldon hopes will be thriving areas of the city with Raley Field and downtown Sacramento.

Riverfront workers, including those employed at the new California State Teachers Retirement System building, would be able to jump on the streetcar and head for lunch, he said.

Residents of both cities could ride the streetcar for an afternoon of shopping or an evening out.

Before that vision can become a reality, however, West Sacramento residents will vote Nov. 4 on Measure V – a proposal to extend an existing quarter-cent sales tax until 2033, generating about $1 million a year.

They also will cast advisory votes on whether city officials should spend the sales-tax revenues on the $69 million streetcar project and on levee improvements for flood control. The advisory measure is listed as Measure U on the election ballot.

In their ballot argument, opponents asked why West Sacramento would spend so much on a streetcar line that would travel only a short distance and have little effect on daily commutes. They also questioned why the city needs to extend a sales tax that isn't set to expire until 2013.

"I feel the City Council is expecting people to vote for it without adequate knowledge," said Ardeene Westvik, a retired school principal.

Cabaldon said the ballot measure is necessary to show that if the streetcar line gets built, the money will be there to operate it for years to come.

The mayor said streetcar projects, adopted by dozens of cities nationwide, are used to promote urban redevelopment. "They become the defining characteristics of an exciting, dynamic urban core," he said.

In West Sacramento's case, Cabaldon said, it will "bring a brand and a character to the waterfront," encouraging businesses and residents to locate there.

His mayoral opponent, City Councilman Mark Johannessen said he also supports Measures U and V that would support the streetcar plan. Transit and the streetcar is " critical for denser urban development," he said.

Last week, Portland, Ore. planners gave a presentation to West Sacramento planning commissioners about their streetcar program.

The proposed West Sacramento streetcar route would start at City Hall and travel down West Capitol Avenue.

City planners want the long-troubled thoroughfare to become West Sacramento's main street – with shopping, wider sidewalks and leafy landscaping. A new library, community college campus, senior center and transportation hub already are in the works across from City Hall.

A streetcar traveling the 2.5-mile route would go to Raley Field and cross Tower Bridge, stopping at Old Sacramento and along Capitol Mall. It would make a jog onto K Street and circle the Convention Center before heading back to West Sacramento.

Consultant Charles Hales, who helped plan Portland's streetcar system, told the commissioners that streetcars ran in American cities, including Sacramento, during the first half of the 20th century.

The streetcars led to denser urban development and lively downtowns, he said. Riders, hopping on and off during frequent stops, used them to get to work, to go shopping and to circulate downtown.

Most communities got rid of their streetcars about 50 years ago, Hales said. That included a line that once connected Sacramento and West Sacramento over the Tower Bridge.

The tracks were removed, but the underlying support structures remain. That would make it easy to lay new tracks down the middle of the bridge, he said, and the streetcar could use existing light-rail tracks in Sacramento.

Cities are restoring their historic streetcar lines in what Hales called an "American streetcar renaissance."

In West Sacramento, major hurdles still remain. The biggest likely will be financing and cooperation with Sacramento.

Call The Bee's Hudson Sangree, (916) 321-1191.