Healdsburg considering three sites for future SMART extension

Healdsburg City Council is considering three sites for its future Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit train extension after funding became available to continue construction north.

Healdsburg’s current railroad depot along Harmon Street, on the south side of the city, has long been the planned location of the city’s SMART depot, according to a city staff report.

In 1997, city leaders first adopted a plan to establish the railroad depot as a multi-modal transportation hub, Mayor Ariel Kelley said during council’s discussion on Aug. 21. .

Since then two station locations have been proposed. Each is close to downtown, one north of North Street and Grove Street and the other south of North Street and Vine Street.

The city previously considered a downtown station location adjacent to the future Foley Family Pavilion at 3 North Street, but SMART staff determined the area was “not adequate for the station,” which led to the two proposed downtown locations just north and south of the future pavilion, according to a staff report.

The recent conversation about the new train station took place after SMART announced in early July that it had secured $30 million to cover the remaining cost of finishing the $70 million extension to Windsor, which is about one-third of the way constructed, according to a SMART news release.

The regional transportation district is governed by a 12-member board that oversees passenger train service and corridor maintenance from Larkspur to Cloverdale. It currently has 12 stations operating from Larkspur to the Charles M. Schulz-Sonoma County Airport.

The 5-mile Windsor to Healdsburg extension, coming in at $160.5 million, currently has $78.1 million in funding, which will allow SMART to “make significant progress,” said Eddy Cumins, SMART general manager.

That includes designing the rail and pathway from Windsor to Healdsburg, replacing the Russian River Bridge and construction on a pathway between Front Street and Bailhache Avenue, Cumins said.

SMART still needs $82.4 million to complete the extension, Cumins said.

During last week’s council session, city staff presented preliminary pros and cons for each site, with the two downtown sites being considered together.

The railroad depot site is a roughly 2,000-foot walk to Healdsburg Plaza, or slightly more than one-third of a mile from that area, said Curt Bates, public works engineer for Healdsburg. The surrounding land is primarily residential.

“The existing location clearly is closer to more residential neighborhoods than a downtown location would be and vice-versa,” Bates said.

The railroad depot site has about 50 parking spots, is the lowest cost option and would present fewer temporary construction impacts, plus there’s opportunity for a pedestrian crossing and redevelopment at the former Healdsburg Lumber Company site, he added.

The downtown station locations are about a 700- to 1,000- foot walk to the downtown core, less than a quarter-mile, which has the potential for increased downtown ridership, Bates said.

There are currently 78 public and private parking spaces in SMART’s right-of-way at the downtown sites. Though further studies are needed to assess parking impacts, “we’re presuming all will be impacted and all could be lost,” Bates said.

The city also hasn’t found funding to relocate the station to downtown, Bates said.

Other major cons were construction impacts to the Foss Creek Pathway, removal of existing trees on Vine and Grove streets and temporary construction, Bates said.

SMART plans to extend north to Cloverdale, so regardless of the Healdsburg station location, at some point in the future trains will pass through the city via the roundabout at the intersection of Healdsburg Avenue, Mill Street and Vine Street.

A recurring topic between the railroad depot location and the downtown locations was ridership numbers.

“I can just tell you from my time in the transit business, anytime you can be closer to where people actually want to go and where they're headed, generally the more attractive the service is,“ Cumins said.

But, “wherever the community decides they want (the station), we’ll help make it happen,” he said.

Members of the community had mixed reactions, with a number asking the city to establish a multi-modal transportation hub.

"I admire SMART but a train station in the city limits isn't going to fix traffic or congestion, but a well coordinated transit system with buses and trains and being able to transfer between the two will,“ said one unidentified speaker.

Another speaker said she supported a downtown site for “business reasons,” and others said they wanted to see the station at the original railroad depot for its historic and nostalgic qualities.

Monday’s meeting was merely an informational presentation to show “some of the pros and cons of the locations,” said City Manager Jeff Kay.

“We’re also proposing that we’ll do a community meeting to gather information in a more informal setting from the community,” which will be held “in the coming months,” he said.

You can reach Staff Writer Jennifer Sawhney at 707-521-5346 or jennifer.sawhney@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @sawhney_media.