North-South Greenway Update Summer 2007
By Deb Hubsmith, MCBC Advocacy Director
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Just imagine if you could bike from Novato to Sausalito on a mostly flat pathway, a beautiful and direct route separated from cars. This dream came leaps closer to reality on April 17, 2007, when the Marin County Board of Supervisors adopted final project allocations for the federal Nonmotorized Transportation Pilot Program. There will now be planning or construction on all segments of the sought-after North-South Greenway corridor. The path provides an important alternative to Highway 101 and helps serve emergency access needs.
In 1998, when the Marin County Bicycle Coalition (MCBC) was founded, our Board made the long-awaited North-South Greenway a top infrastructure priority for our organization. Nearly 10 years later, MCBC continues to work diligently with the Mill Valley-based non-profit Transportation Alternatives for Marin to hold the vision of a pathway that will become a “linear park” with access to transit, cities, shopping, schools, parks, and major employment centers.
To complete this corridor pathway, MCBC is actively working with the Transportation Authority of Marin (TAM), the County of Marin, local cities and towns, the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, state and federal officials, and other public, nonprofit and private partners. We navigate through planning studies, environmental impact reports, engineering concerns, timelines, deadlines, public meetings, stakeholder meetings, funding shortages, legislation, and a maze of multi-jurisdictional entities that govern the future of this right-of-way. Here’s an update on the Greenway’s progress, traveling from north to south, segment by segment.
1- SMART Rail with Trail
Sonoma Marin Area Rail Transit (SMART) has been working since 1999 to plan, engineer and build passenger rail service along the former NWP right-of-way for 71 miles from Larkspur Landing to Cloverdale. The MCBC has been collaborating with SMART since its inception to ensure that a multi-use pathway parallel to the rail line would be included as part of SMART’s plans.
SMART placed a 1/4 cent sales tax to fund the
project on the ballot in November 2006; with a combined total of 65.4% of the vote in Marin and Sonoma
counties, Measure R fell only 1.3% short of achieving victory.
MCBC endorsed the project and helped to run the
grassroots campaign in Marin. The District is expected to
bring back another rail-with-trail measure to voters in 2008.
The SMART sales tax will fund 70-75% of the costs of the
pathway, and will include funds to maintain the facility. If
the ballot measure is approved by voters, SMART officials
say, the train and pathway could be up and running within
three to four years after the vote.
2 - Lincoln Hill Segment
In 1998, MCBC submitted comments that a bicycle and pedestrian pathway should be included by Caltrans as part of the HOV gap-closure project (widening Highway 101 to include carpool lanes) through the stretch that connects downtown San Rafael with Terra Linda. At the time, we were told that we were too late, since the project had been in the works for decades. We persisted however, and kept working with Transportation Alternatives for Marin (led by Patrick Seidler), to indicate that this pathway is a key element of the North-South Greenway and an essential component of the Lincoln Hill neighborhood, and that it must be built concurrently with the highway project to ensure that the highway design would accommodate the path within the available narrow right-of-way.
When the Transportation Authority of Marin adopted its final expenditure plan for the 2004 local transportation sales tax, we worked with San Rafael Mayor Al Boro and Marin County Supervisor Susan Adams to get this pathway element included as part of Measure A. The $10 million pathway project will now break ground in 2007 and should be open for use by the end of 2008. It will include a breakaway path to Linden Lane for community access, as well as a mini-tunnel at the top of the hill to allow riders and pedestrians to avoid the dangerous on-ramps and off-ramps. New bike lanes that will be constructed on Los Ranchitos Road will connect with the pathway and are being funded by the Pilot Program. The project also entails moving the railroad tracks to preserve the ability for SMART to run passenger rail.
3 - Cal Park Hill Tunnel Rehabilitation
In the year 2001, MCBC stopped a “temporary” parking lot from being constructed at the southern portal of the Cal Park Hill Tunnel. We argued that more people would get to the ferry car-free if the tunnel were open to bicycle and pedestrian use. We succeeded in stopping the parking lot project, and today, $24 million in funding has been secured for the Cal Park Hill Tunnel, which will create a pathway on the east side of the tunnel corridor and accommodations for future rail on its west side. SMART and the County of Marin are splitting the costs for the project, and the tunnel will be owned by SMART.
The Cal Park Hill Tunnel is expected to go out to bid this fall, with construction beginning in 2008 and an expected grand opening date 15-18 months after construction starts. The MCBC is advocating for 24-hour access to the tunnel, which will be an important transportation link to the Larkspur Ferry Terminal and the downtown San Rafael Transit Center. Our thanks go out to everyone for keeping this complicated project moving toward construction, especially project manager Bill Whitney and TAM Chairman Supervisor Steve Kinsey.
4 - Central Marin Ferry Connection Project
South of the Cal Park Hill Tunnel, the Central Marin Ferry Connection Project (CMFCP) will provide a much-needed crossing of East Sir Francis Drake Boulevard and Corte Madera Creek. The CMFCP plan (completed in 2004 by the City of Larkspur) calls for a new fixed bridge to be constructed with an off-ramp to provide access to the north side of Drake. Once across Corte Madera Creek, the pathway would continue south along the right-of-way to the intersection of Redwood Highway and Wornum Drive, linking up with the existing path.
The CMFCP has now been turned over to TAM and is being incorporated as part of the comprehensive Greenbrae Corridor Improvement Plan (GCIP), a major project that is based on principles of context-sensitive design and that will result in highway safety improvements, local road improvement, and safer bicycle and pedestrian access. MCBC is advocating for the CMFCP to be separated out of the larger highway project so that it can be completed in the near future. There has been a lot of support for this idea at public meetings.
Approximately $9 million in construction funding for
the CMFCP has already been designated from Regional
Measure 2 (bridge tolls), and from highway mitigation funds.
In addition, the Board of Supervisors allocated $2 million
from the Pilot Program for study and design. It’s likely that
the project will be segmented, with a phase 1 crossing of
East Sir Francis Drake to connect the Cal Park Hill Tunnel
with the Larkspur Ferry Terminal. MCBC hopes that phase
1 will open within a year of the Cal Park Hill Tunnel, but
there will be many meetings between now and then.
5 - Sandra Marker Trail
Bicyclists and pedestrians have a smooth ride along the North-South Greenway on the Sandra Marker Trail, which was paved during 2003 and 2004 and boasts a stunning view of Mount Tamalpais. After the Pilot Program award was announced in August 2005, a press conference was held on this pathway, providing a glimpse of what could be possible for the entire North-South Greenway corridor. The Sandra Marker Trail provides access to several nearby schools, including Redwood High School and Neil Cummins Elementary School.
6 - Alto Tunnel Rehabilitation
MCBC made it a top priority to seek funds for a rehabilitation study of Alto Tunnel as part of the Pilot Program allocations. More than 140 people wrote letters and attended public hearings to show their support for this project as a Countywide priority. Through the campaign, we connected with many new people and groups in support of the Alto Tunnel project including neighbors, seniors, and advocates for emergency access. The Board of Supervisors decided to allocate $250,000 for a Mill Valley-Corte Madera Bikeway study, which will assess three possible routes: Alto Tunnel, Horse Hill, and Camino Alto. MCBC is advocating for the study’s scope of work to include an engineering analysis of Alto Tunnel, cost estimates for improvements to all routes, and numeric projections for use. We express our thanks to Supervisor Charles McGlashan, who has led the charge to get the Alto Tunnel study back on the table as a priority for the County of Marin.
7 - Mill Valley Pathway and Gate 6 Road
Supervisor McGlashan has been working with the County’s
Parks and Open Space District staff to repair specific areas
of the Mill Valley-Sausalito multiuse path that are most
susceptible to flooding. In addition, Pilot Program funds
will be used to improve the intersection of the Mill Valley
pathway with Gate 6 Road and Bridgeway, and to construct
the Tennessee Valley Pathway, which will connect to the
Greenway.
8 - Sausalito Bridgeway Bike Lanes and Pathway Construction
The popular bike lanes on Bridgeway opened to the public in the fall of 2003. Thanks to Pilot Program funds, planninggrant funds will allow for a study to determine an alignment for the North-South Greenway multiuse path along the railroad right-of-way from Gate 6 Road south to the Sausalito Ferry Terminal. In a recent poll, a whopping 80% of Sausalito residents indicated a waterfront pathway as a top priority for their city.
9 - Vista Point and the Golden Gate Bridge
Vista Point (on the Marin side of the Golden Gate Bridge) was recently reconstructed with bike racks, bicycle warning signs, speed tables, and safer pathways. Since 2003, the Golden Gate Bridge has also included a safety railing separating the sidewalk from the roadway.
CONCLUSION
When completed, the North-South Greenway will provide an environmentally sound transportation route that will be a national model for alternative transportation and reduction of greenhouse-gas emissions.
MCBC is working to maximize every opportunity to work with our government partners to build the North-South Greenway as quickly as possible. We have come a long way, but there will be many more meetings, studies, and reports before this vision is fully realized. Together, we have the opportunity to offer Marin County a transportation facility that will improve the environment, health, and livability of our community, while setting a new national standard.
If you are interested in helping with this long-term project, please contact Deb Hubsmith, MCBC Advocacy Director, at (415) 454-7430 or deb@marinbike.org.
