If the only thing you knew about the SMART passenger train and pathway project was what you read in the opinion pages of the local newspaper, you might think there was a political campaign going on.
Some, apparently, would like that. Folks such as Fred Levin ("SMART's charade of accountability," Close to Home, May 13) and Larry Rogoway ("End the charade," Letters, Saturday) apparently would like a "re-do" of the November 2008 election that approved a quarter-cent sales tax increase to pay for the train and pathway from Cloverdale to Larkspur.
But while a few might want to turn back the clock, the great majority is looking toward the future. Based on the message delivered by the nearly 70 percent of Marin and Sonoma county citizens who voted yes on Measure Q, the Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit District is busy building this project.
Most of the effort that has taken place these past 20 months isn't the kind of bricks-and-mortar work you can see as you drive along the rail line. But that doesn't make it any less critical to getting the trains running. Detailed and exacting design and engineering work is needed to turn this century-old rail corridor into a state-of-the-art transportation system, and that's the effort now under way. Construction is not scheduled to begin in earnest for another 18 months, and passenger trains are scheduled to begin service in late 2014.
That's the schedule SMART set prior to the 2008 election, and it is the schedule SMART is working on right now.
Engineers, surveyors, geotechnical investigators and bridge specialists are in the field, measuring and inspecting the existing rail line and bridges in advance of the rehabilitation and replacement work to come. SMART staff and consultants are working with representatives from each city and county to collaborate on issues ranging from underground utilities to transit coordination. The bicycle coalitions of each county are advising SMART engineers on issues concerning the multi-use pathway. Real estate for station sites and a maintenance facility is being acquired and secured. Environmental permits are being pursued. Bids on rail vehicles are due this summer.
Designs for the line's 14 stations are beginning to take shape. Citizens of all 10 cities along the corridor took part in public workshops on station design in February and April. A slide show of station design concepts can be found at www.sonomamarintrain.org. Much more information about the project is available there. Interested citizens can sign up to receive updates.
It will cost an estimated $590 million to build the SMART project, and most of that will be funded by the Measure Q sales tax. While the sagging economy has presented financial challenges to the project, SMART's senior staff and members of the board of directors are working with other agencies to identify other funding sources. These challenges have not changed our schedule or our purpose.
Meanwhile, Measure Q money is being collected and put to work in the North Bay, providing its own localized stimulus package. Measure Q has produced jobs as SMART staff has expanded to meet the needs of the project. It provides work for dozens of North Bay firms involved with SMART's professional services contracts. It pays rent on SMART offices in San Rafael and Santa Rosa. It finds its way back into the economy in a hundred ways every day, from the coffee shops patronized by our employees in the morning to the cleaning service that vacuums our offices late at night.
Most importantly, it is building the passenger train and pathway system that voters asked for in 2008. The political campaign surrounding that issue is over. The work to make it a reality is well under way.
Valerie Brown is the 1st District supervisor for Sonoma County and a member of the SMART board of directors.
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