Legislature advances proposal to name tunnel after Robin Williams

Robin Williams probably would have found rich humor in having his name grace a tunnel near San Francisco that some refer to as the Waldo but almost everyone knows because of the rainbow painted above the entrance on one side.

The tunnel connecting the Golden Gate Bridge to the North Bay, like Williams, has always defied easy explanation. But to fans of the late comedian, naming the Highway 101 tunnel for him makes logical sense.

“To name the tunnel after him is a way to remember the life he (Williams) lived and the community he came from and gave to throughout his life,” Assemblyman Marc Levine, D-San Rafael, said Monday.

Levine’s resolution advocating for the name change has so far sailed through the state Legislature, clearing the Assembly’s transportation committee two weeks ago on a unanimous vote.

Barring unforeseen bumps in the road, motorists in the very near future will travel between Sausalito and the Golden Gate via the “Robin Williams Tunnel.”

The tunnel currently has no official designation. Many know it as “the Waldo Tunnel” because it traverses the Waldo Grade, which was named after William Waldo, known for his work rescuing immigrants who were stranded by winter storms in the Sierra and for his unsuccessful bid for California governor in 1853 as a member of the Whig Party.

Others know it as the “Rainbow Tunnel” because of the artwork Bob Halligan, a former Caltrans engineer and spokesman, commissioned at the southern entrance.

It’s not clear why Halligan, who died in 1999, advocated for the rainbow, other than it fits the contours of the tunnel entrance quite nicely. Halligan’s other exploits included having an airplane land on a new freeway and celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Bay Bridge by stringing lights on the cables of the suspension spans.

Fans of officially naming the Highway 101 tunnel for Williams see an obvious tie-in with the rainbow motif and the comedian’s role as an alien in the TV show “Mork & Mindy,” which ran from 1978 to 1982 and sparked a huge fashion trend with rainbow-colored suspenders.

Williams routinely traveled from his Marin County home to San Francisco to perform at comedy clubs. The city also was the setting for perhaps his most enduring character, the incomparable “Mrs. Doubtfire.”

The grassroots effort seeking the tunnel name for Williams includes an online petition that as of Monday had garnered more than 61,000 signatures.

The petition’s creator, Tiburon resident Julie Wainwright, said Monday she often ran into Williams at coffee shops and other places around the community. She said naming the tunnel after Williams would be a way of honoring him outside of the mainstream but still in a visible way.

“I thought he needed to be honored someplace between San Francisco and Marin County,” said Wainwright, founder and CEO of The RealReal, an online luxury consignment store. She said the tunnel “felt like a great connection between the two.”

Although there has been no formal opposition to naming the tunnel after Williams, supporters acknowledged it might make some people feel uncomfortable simply because of the manner in which Williams died.

Williams, who suffered from depression and was in the early stages of Parkinson’s disease, hanged himself at his home on the Tiburon peninsula on Aug. 11, 2014. He was 63.

From Levine’s perspective, naming the tunnel for Williams would be a way of “addressing mental health issues that affect so many of our community members.” Wainwright agreed, saying Williams was “incredibly human and had a struggle.”

The resolution appears headed to a full vote in the Assembly and from there to the state Senate. It does not require Gov. Jerry Brown’s signature to take effect.

The official name designation, which would require Caltrans to install new signs at the tunnel, is estimated to cost about $5,000, all of it to be raised through private funds.

Wainwright said she’d be willing to cut the check herself.

You can reach Staff Writer ?Derek Moore at 521-5336 or ?derek.moore@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter ?@deadlinederek.