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Richard Hall
SMART Cannibalizes Funding for Novato Narrows
Today the Marin IJ published an article...
Marin commuters benefit from $18M funding deal after political dustup
http://www.marinij.com/general-news/20160727/marin...
While it is good that the IJ captured the controversy, instead of making the funding all sound great, a more accurate headline would have been "SMART cannibalizes funding away from fixing the Novato Narrows."
Years ago $18.2 million was allocated to build a new ferry terminal at Black Point near Novato. These plans were dropped freeing up the funding. Now $15 million will go to the Novato Narrows, and $3.2 million will be diverted to reconfigure the Bettini Transit center in San Rafael so that SMART can safely pass through this location.
SMART Fails to Pay Foreseeable Costs, Again
SMART promised voters it would deliver a line from Cloverdale to Larkspur for 1/4 cent sales tax. It promised never to raid funding from other transit projects. Time and time again SMART has been unable to fund foreseeable costs to deliver on its promise.
The Bettini transit center in San Rafael services 9,000 daily trips - it is well used. But it's current configuration mean that many of its platforms are placed right where the train will pass through. Of course all of this should have been foreseeable. The center is owned and operated by Golden Gate Transit - so SMART conveniently assumed someone else would pick up the tab for this direct train imposed cost.
Costs and Benefits
Here are some stats to help readers understand the impact of SMART and this diversion of funding:- 9,000 daily trips through the Bettini transit center in San Rafael will now be disrupted by the reconfiguration to accommodate SMART
- 182,000 car occupants daily will continue to be inconvenienced by delays in funding for the Novato Narrows (source Caltrans 2014 car counts, count at 101 Atherton Ave of 109,000; US Department of Transportiation National Household Travel Survey 2009 showing average vehicle occupancy of 1.67)
- According to SMART ridership projections in the Larkspur Extension Environmental Impact Report, fewer than 44 daily riders will benefit from the extension to Larkspur, and this isn't until the year 2035! That's a tiny number. (See table on page 264, with / without project figures)
http://www2.sonomamarintrain.o...
So net net many tens of thousands of Marin and Sonoma commuters lose, but a tiny number of train riders "win".
Sonoma County Supervisor David Rabbit was right to be furious about this diversion of funds away from critical projects intended to genuinely benefit Sonoma commuters.
Proving Out SMART's Funding Cannibalization
This diversion of funds continues to prove out the Planning for Reality article penned by former Southern California Transit CFO Thomas Rubin:
Rail - The Transportation Cannibal
http://www.planningforreality.org/rail-the-transpo...