Sacramento car enthusiasts want to rename scenic street Lowrider Lane
SACRAMENTO — Joe Moreno said it's always been his dream to drive Sacramento streets in a lowrider.
"It's a good feeling to have the top down and cruise around the city," he said.
For more than 30 years, that was illegal under an ordinance that banned cruising. Then, two years ago, Sacramento helped set a trend by repealing the cruising ban.
Since then, several other cities and the State of California followed their lead by taking anti-cruising laws off the books.
"Being a part of the repeal was huge," Moreno said.
Sacramento's Miller Park has been the traditional gathering spot for lowrider enthusiasts, and now they're asking for a name change.
"Hopefully, we get to see 'Lowrider Lane,' " said Vic Vargas with the Sacramento Lowrider Commission.
The street that runs through the park is named Marina View Drive, but Sacramento's lowrider community has raised more than $10,000 to rename it.
"The application is submitted for the street name change and it's in the city's hands now, and it's a waiting game," Moreno said.
There are no homes or businesses there that would need to change their addresses.
Supporters say lowriding is a family-oriented hobby and naming a street Lowrider Lane will help highlight the generations that made cruising part of Sacramento's car culture.
"My mother and father, my uncles and aunts, they've been coming here since the 70s and 80s," Vargas said.
"Kids grew up in this. I grew up in this. A lot are filled with pride," said Francine Mata with the lowrider commission.
The city council would have to approve the name change.
The Sacramento Lowrider Commission said it is also working with the city to fix the park's snack shack and install a playground.