PD Editorial: Accelerating decisions as SMART nears

The day that passenger rail service resumes in Sonoma County - after a 50-year hiatus - is fast approaching.

Soon, one won’t have to look hard to see the signs. Recent developments include:

The Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit authority board has upgraded the design for commuter rail platforms that will soon be built along the initial 43 miles of the rail corridor. The board voted early last month to go with the alternative look, which includes Victorian-style light poles and signs, after taking heat that the previous design was too spartan. The platforms also will include a traditional shelter with a peaked roof and a wide bench - more of a classic rail station look and feel.

SMART also is making headway on plans for a pedestrian-bike path from Golf Course Drive in Rohnert Park to the Cotati rail station. Funding for the 2-mile section of pathway will come from $4 million in federal highway funds recently obtained by the Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit system. This will be just one piece of what ultimately will be a 70-mile-long pathway that will run the entire length of the rail line from the Larkspur ferry terminal to Cloverdale.

The transit authority is eagerly awaiting the arrival of its first commuter train later this month. The first of seven green-and-silver trains was built in Illinois, tested at Transportation Technology Center in Pueblo, Colo., and is expected to arrive on March 31. The car will be stored on a side track at Fulton Road and River Road while the SMART maintenance and operations center at Airport Boulevard is built. That is expected to open in July while SMART service is expected to begin in late 2016.

Meanwhile, SMART contractors have rebuilt 40 miles of track in Sonoma and Marin counties and are nearing the end of their work. The final track work involves replacing the 102-year-old Haystack Bridge over the Petaluma River. SMART plans to replace it with a 30-year-old span the agency bought from Galveston, Texas.

With the beginning of commuter service just 18 months away, the decision-making will accelerate. The SMART board will need to make some final decisions about fares, schedules and, of course, hiring of people to run the trains.

North Bay residents will need to make some decisions as well, concerning not just how they will use but how they will adapt to having passenger rail service cutting through the county.

Among SMART’s safety measures is a program to educate drivers, most of whom are unaccustomed to living in areas where trains, both freight and commuter lines, are regularly passing through.

Pedestrians who use the railroad tracks now for walks, runs or just hanging out will need to adjust as well and move to other areas. It’s not too early to begin changing patterns.

The SMART system will include a state-of-the-art anti-collision system designed to regulate train speeds and prevent the deadliest accidents. SMART officials also are looking into using video monitoring as a way to alert engineers in areas that have heavy pedestrian traffic.

But the burden of responsibility for safety ultimately will fall to the general public. Those on foot, bikes or cars have countless ways to get through the county. The SMART trains has but one. And, like it or not, it’s fast approaching.