Smart Slows Down; an Eir for the Proposed Commuter Rail System Is Way Overdue
Linked as:
Summary
"At the last [board] meeting, [SMART general manager] Lillian Hames said the draft is not done yet," says Pat Eklund, a Novato city councilwoman and SMART board member. Hames told the board she could not say specifically when the draft report would be finished. "Staff cannot tell us when it's going to be, released," says Eklund. "I have not been informed, and it's very disconcerting."
When the draft report is finally released, opponents of the rail project are ready for a strong fight. One of their main arguments: A new train system will drain the life out of the current bus systems that already serve the two counties, as well as local runs within the counties. "The rail measure actually will lead to increased traffic congestion," says Mike Arnold, co-chair of Marin Citizens for Effective Transportation and a member of Citizens Opposed to the SMART Train Tax. "The trains and the buses would operate in the same corridor, so they would compete in large part for the same passengers." If the train draws passengers from the bus system, Golden Gate Transit will have to reduce service, "and that has far greater implications for congestion management than a rail system that might not ever go south of San Rafael."The large numbers of riders on Golden Gate buses coming from the Richmond and El Cerrito BART stations to Marin for their jobs shows that those buses serve a specific demographic that a train "with three runs a day" cannot match. The heavy ridership on the GGT's Canal district bus route also demonstrates the need for local bus service that a commuter train system may not match. "Local buses serve people who don't have cars and need this transportation." Bus service within Marin County should be the focus of any tax money raised here, [Joy Dahlgren] and other local SMART opponents say. "Nobody is looking at who is going to benefit from [the train system] in relation to what it is going to cost."See the full content of this document
Extract
Smart Slows Down; an Eir for the Proposed Commuter Rail System Is Way Overdue
When news broke this summer that key railroad rights of way would be transferred to the Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit District, plans for a commuter rail project between Sonoma and Marin counties seemed to be picking up steam.
But a few months later, some people are wondering why SMART has been haying such a hard time staying on schedule to unveil an Environmental Impact Report for the project.The Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District and the Marin County Board of Su...See the full content of this document
Sponsored links
