If you could take a trolley from Fairfax to San Rafael, would you use it?
Efforts are moving forward to look into just how rational it is to have a trolley - or some other sort of public transportation such as a light rail - connecting Fairfax, San Anselmo and San Rafael.
The San Anselmo, San Rafael and Fairfax councils have all shown support for the Transportation Authority of Marin to apply for One Bay Area Grant funding for a feasibility study for the Fairfax to San Rafael transit corridor.
Transportation Authority of Marin Executive Director Dianne Steinhauser outlined the project details to the San Anselmo council at its Oct. 23 meeting.
The municipalities wouldn’t pay for the study, expected to cost $100,000, but each town would have a staff member serve on a technical advisory committee.
The TAM board will vote on which applications, including the Fairfax to San Rafael corridor study, will ultimately be submitted for the OBAG funds, awarded by the Oakland-based Metropolitan Transportation Commission.
The route is currently proposed as running from White’s Hill in Fairfax to the future SMART station in San Rafael, or possibly to the Montecito Shopping Center, according to Steinhauser.
It could provide much traffic relief to Ross Valley, Steinhauser said.
The study, which will be done by TAM with San Anselmo, Fairfax, San Rafael, Marin County, the local nonprofit Marin Trolley and Marin Transit, would look at:
- Evaluation of route options, including assessment of traffic and parking impacts
- Cost estimates for vehicles, capital improvements, maintenance and storage
- A preliminary business plan for operation of the line, including estimated ridership and potential user groups
- Revenue options, including fare revenue, advertising, private funding options and grants
The TAM board will vote on which project applications it will send to the One Bay Area Grant Program at its Nov. 29 meeting.
SAN ANSELMO COUNCIL SHOWS A FEW CONCERNS
The San Anselmo council members generally expressed support for TAM to pursue the study, but they also shared some concerns they have with a trolley vision.
“The trolley is a wonderful and romantic idea, but they are expensive,” said Councilman Jeff Kroot.
Councilwoman Lori Lopin asked if the transit would include portions of Sleepy Hollow.
Vice Mayor Kay Coleman asked why the funds couldn’t be used to augment the bus service.
“We’re looking for a transit type that may attract more users to transit,” Steinhauser said. A trolley could be appealing because of the uniqueness of the vehicle and consistency of where it’s going, she said.
Of the 58 people who voted in our unscientific poll on the subject in June, 86 percent said there should be a trolley linking Fairfax to the San Rafael transit center.
Transportation officials were originally looking into a trolley system between downtown Sausalito and downtown Mill Valley. But after efforts began in 2007, it was determined it was too costly a venture for its limited destinations and usage.
The Fairfax to San Rafael corridor is better to study for a trolley, Steinhauser told the San Anselmo council.
Steinhauser also said they want to ensure that a trolley or any other type of new public transit doesn’t prevent bicycle and pedestrian access to the communities.
Later this week, we’ll look at what kind of vision those involved with the nonprofit Marin Trolley have for Marin.
What's your reaction? Do you like the idea of a trolley or light rail connecting the towns? Tell us below in the comments!
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I don't really care if it's a dedicated bus lane (cheaper, less sexy than rail) or a 'trolley', but we need a way to get from Fairfax to/through San Anselmo and San Rafael to the transit center that eliminates the possibility of being stuck in traffic. Transit first means dedicated roadway or tracks for transit and emergency vehicles only. No 'green cars', no Lexus lanes. Get on the bus/train if you want to be to work on time. Do it. Now..
1. Make it reliable and consistent. 2. Make it as fast or faster than driving. If you achieve those two things, people will use it. If either of those two things are missing, they won't in any great number.
As for cost, we can estimate based on similar projects. It would be a 3.9 mile line from the Parkade to the Transit Center, presumably double-tracked, and presumably with service every 10-15 minutes. Similar projects as extensions to existing systems cost between $35 million to $50 million, so for the infrastructure alone our system would cost $140 million to $200 million. The cost of the car barn and cars themselves would probably add at least another $20 million. To be as cost-effective as SMART it would need triple the ridership of Route 23, which should be enough to cover most of its operating cost. In contrast, running the 23 every 15 minutes every day from 6 to midnight would cost $2.8 million more than what we currently spend. Dedicated lanes would cost about $12 million. If they wanted, the lanes could be made "rail-ready" for when the buses become too crowded and they need an upgrade.
For this trolley corridor, that would mean upzoning the highway commercial areas to be 3-6 stories, depending on location, and allow them to have mixed uses. It would be much more holistic than a typical housing element, and I just can't see either San Anselmo or San Rafael willing to do that.
I don't disagree, I just fear the wrath of the solitarians. That's my completely invented term for those opposed to any change in Marin from how it was 30-40 years ago. I think we who read the Patch on a regular basis know who they are..
$220 million could buy us 15 minute frequency on SMART ($120 million), SMART to Larkspur, a cycle track from Manor to San Rafael High, cycle tracks on every arterial in Novato, signal priority for the San Rafael-Fairfax corridor, 15 minute frequencies on Route 23 for 10 years and still leave a bit of money on the table. In essence, almost every transit and bicycling project I've mentioned on my blog could be bought by the sum likely being contemplated. So before we jump onto the trolley, we need to ask ourselves some serious questions about what problems we're solving and whether rails are the most cost-effective way to do it.
Dave's right though - not enough people to make it work. "Build the density & they will ride" also needs to happen here to make it feasible. I'd rather stick the 5-6 story apartment buildings on Center Blvd though - so we don't give everybody asthma next to the highway. Who cares that there's not enough water to sustain this "sustainable development" - we can go desalinate. But if SMART is now your barometer for profitability, then this project isn't even worth the One Bay Area study. I love the trolley on St. Charles Ave in New Orleans, but Center Blvd isn't remotely the same. With that money, couldn't we do better? I'd rather buy every household in San Anselmo & Fairfax a plug-in Prius. But since our Governor is blackmailing us by putting our schools on a fiscal cliff, while going forward with the bullet train, then this trolley makes perfect sense. Who cares that our pension liability is unsustainable...let's build another train! Let's not forget that the state of our bus transit has recently been quite shaky. We're already diverting some of that money to one train when we shouldn't be...maybe we can just spread it around a bit more. I can't wait to see the traffic on SFD into Fairfax, after Center is closed.
Center through San Anselmo is actually the least useful place to upzone - Yolanda and Lansdale both still have their TOD zones from the 1930s (the "neighborhood commercial" zones around those intersections) and there are a number of apartment buildings near the Hub. Around Good Earth and Fair-Anselm Plaza, sure, but otherwise it's the highway commercial zones from the Hub to West End that would need it. For the record, though I'd personally be okay with that I'd be surprised if the towns would be, hence my skepticism.
The idea of buying everyone in Ross Valley a plug in Prius fundamentally misrepresents the problem of sclerotic commute traffic. It won't help. If you actually build a better mousetrap, the little devils will in fact beat a path to your door.
The amount of people needing to go from Fairfax to San Rafael is of a very high volume, but I would say that more than half of the people are not going to San Rafael, many more are using Sir Francis Drake Blvd. to go to the shopping centers like Bon Aire, Larkspur Landing, the Village and the Town Center Corte,Madera. Then, there are students going through the Ross Valley corridor who many are coming from west Marin in their autos to College of Marin, commuters who work in all the office buildings in Greenbrae, Larkspur, Corte Madera, all in south central Marin.There are many commuters and patients who go to MGH and the host of other medical and dental facilities in Kentfield, Greenbrae, Larkspur and Corte Madera. There also many commuters going to southern Marin to work in offices, restaurants, retail stores and medical- dental facilities in Mill Valley, Tiburon and Sausalito. Also, the Ferry terminal in E. Larkspur If the goal is to get people out of using their own personal transportation, then the efforts would be better spent putting the trolley underground, right under SFD all the way to the Larkspur ferry terminal, and then continuing the subway under 101 to Sausalito. The whole project should pre-paid for by the people who agree to buy ticket books in advance for 5 years. The costs of this project should not forced on everyone in Marin.
But I totally disagree that everyone should pay for these special train projects that may not even reduce any auto traffic at all and only serve a small percentage of the urban population in central Marin. As for doing studies, OBAG and the MTC would do better to do a complete analysis of ALL the traffic going from Fairfax to San Anselmo. That should include; the point of origin of the trip, the final destination, the purpose, the frequency and the timing. That way the transportation officials , politicians, developers and taxpayers will have an understanding of what is really going on, and have a better understanding of prioritizing and allocating funds. I don't believe in the automatic socializing of funding train projects. The Sonoma Commute (SMART) train fiasco is a classic example of socialism gone bad- creating a special train tax district to force taxpayers from all corners of Marin to fund a train to serve Sonoma county. Once a truthful accurate study is done, then the people who claim that they will use any trains should pay for them well in advance, put their money where there mouth is. And remember, the Puerto Suello tunnel is essential to getting the Sonoma train (SMART) to downtown San Rafael. There are no studies or funding to rebuild that tunnel.
The trolley study will be a measure of what it will take to bring rail back to the corridor, and that's going to be useful in and of itself. San Anselmo is mulling updates to its general plan; if a long-term goal is a trolley line, then the study will help inform the town how to proceed. At the same time, these kinds of projects should be socialized. It's the same reason the whole country subsidizes everyone else's road and transit projects, why Marin's carless still subsidize Highway 101, why GGBHTD subsidizes its bus service - good networks help everyone, not just those who use the system in question. There are ways to move the county beyond the automobile, and those need to be investigated to the benefit of the entire county and region.
Personally, I was talking about the socializing of "special new train projects", not all existing public transit and roads. That corridor from Fairfax to San Anselmo has a very high volume of vehicular traffic, and while it would be nice to eliminate some of the congestion, I doubt any new train would eliminate any of the personal transportation vehicles through that area. Most of the traffic does not even go to San Rafael, much of the private vehicle trips through there originate beyond Fairfax in west Marin. People needing to drive from west Marin through the Ross Valley could park their autos and ride a bus (if they really wanted to), but that might not be very convenient, and where would all those people park in Fairfax ? The same would apply if there was an additional mode added, the trolley. The trolley would require luring passengers off of the existing buses, something that may not happen. Either way, it won't reduce the people that use their personal transportation, not in Marin. There are too many people that live far from the transportation corridor here. Some may think that is a bad thing, but most who live here like it that way. The only to way change that is to condemn all the thousands of houses not on or near a main artery. Marin really is much different than the rest of the region. Sorry, but we don't need to conform or transform into another urbanist's vision.
One fallacy in evaluating public transit is to make it all about accessibility (If people have a car available to use, they won't take the bus). It's mostly about convenience. If it were markedly less convenient to drive or more convenient to take the bus or train then you would see people switching to use the more convenient mode of transportation. You see the elevation of convenience in so many people's choices - those who own a car in metropolitan areas and rarely if ever use it. They keep it around for those times when it's convenient to use, regardless of whether it actually makes sense financially to own it. The insurance, registration, upkeep, etc. of owning a car are really a hedge against the inconvenience of wanting to drive somewhere and not having a car available. I know, you can rent a car, but it's just so.. inconvenient!
David - We don't need an upzone anywhere in Marin. We don't have the water, or need. This is not D.C., where you're living - think of it more like Potomac. We are suburbia, so why does it make any sense to bring the big city to Marin? Marin fought the development of West Marin 40 years ago, but now it's ok, because it's "green" since it's big apartments on the highway. It doesn't make sense to me. This "new urbanism" is calling for a forced urbanization of our suburbia, all in the name of reducing GHG & forcing people to ride transit which they don't currently & won't. I find it ironic that this One Bay Area plan calls for reducing GHG by 15% from automobiles only, by pushing these high densities onto communities that don't want it; while Obama's new CAFE standards, technological development & consumer demand are going to reduce these numbers anyway. And just because I disagree with you, don't think for a minute that I don't want MTC to pay you. Also, don't fret yourself about your dichotomy of agreeing with both John & Ricardo. It doesn't mean you're schizo. After all, I really love trains. Let's not forget also, that we can not afford even our current bus system.
No, the "upzoning" I'm thinking of isn't to make it like my DC neighborhood (that would be awful!) but to make the corridor more like downtown. Maybe call it cross-zoning? Basically, keep limits on form (height, setback, design review) but remove the limits on use (parking, use, unit density) so we get a boulevard that feels like a boulevard and less like a giant tree-lined strip mall. More Cheda Building, less Walgreens.
How long has public transit been available in Marin ? And how long have you lived in Marin ? I know that you grew up on the east coast in a big city where they have subways and other forms of public transit, but that doesn't mean that people everywhere live the same way as you did or do now. Back in the old days of Marin, we had a small train line, it was owned and operated by private for profit corporations, like all trains were out here. We also had the Greyhound buses, also run by a private corporation. The reason the trains went the way of the dinosaur is that Marin evolved and grew out of a very limited mode of transpo. People got tired of hoofing up and down the hill to catch trains to commute to the ferry boats. Buses filled the need , but were not profitable so now the buses are publicly funded. Buses are also limited in Marin. The people that need public transpo have been using it for decades, but that is not everyone in Marin. To compare Marin and the transportation needs to anywhere else is not very smart, and makes no sense to us. It is not so much about accessibility here, it is much more about availability. Why drive to a bus stop, park a car in a lot or on the street and ride a bus or train because there is no public transit anywhere near where people live ?. No, I don't need to rent a car, I have a car and a truck of my own. If you east coast trainhuggers love trains so much, build your own subway system right here.
You talk about 'us' when you should probably understand that you're talking about you. I'm simply making the point that we have a public transportation system already built - it's called the roadways. There may be a better, more efficient way to use that system than is currently in use. Now we have traffic gridlock at certain times of the day because everyone is going the same direction at the same time and almost everyone is taking up more space than they need to in an optimally designed system. I liked playing with trains as a kid, but I have no special affinity for them now. Perhaps the only thing I share with others on this topic is that I dislike spending more time than I need to sitting in traffic, so being someone that likes to solve problems rather than complain about them, I'm seeking a better way. This seems like something you might not have any concept of, so I can understand your confusion.
Druids: (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Druid). Christians and Muslims are remarkably similar to those who are neither. They worship the same God (with a capital 'G') and they share a remarkable number of the same prejudices. Life moves on, people and places change and there's very little that you or anyone else can do about it. Good luck with your attempts to paint Marin as a starving backwater incapable of and fiercely resistant to change. It's a rubbish argument..
Of course many people (especially seniors) rely on public transportation, my mother does not own a car, she uses the GGT buses that run right in front of her house. And I sport her to run errands in my car for trips to the library and shopping because she cannot use buses for hauling heavy books and bags of groceries, and the buses don't go everywhere either. And a trolley doesn't even go to one quarter of the places that a bus does, and would not help her at all because she lives in Larkspur. When we already have a good public transportation, but that system is struggling now and talking about cuts to service and layoffs, what are these people thinking when they talk about financing another new system (trolleys) ? Where is the money going to come from, the east bay ? I think before wasting any more money on studies for trolleys, we should work with what we have and improve it before doing any more lavish spending of money that we do not have on "special pet train projects". Look what happened with the trolley study in southern Marin. They found out that the trolley did not go to where most of the people live in Mill Valley and Sausalito and not many people would ever use it. I know that Marin is considered a wealthy county, but not everyone who lives here has more money than they know what to do with.