June 30, 2000 |
via fax: (707) 565-5370 |
Commissioner Co-Chairs Tim Smith and John Kress
c/o Suzanne Wilford, Sonoma County Transportation Authority
Sonoma Marin Area Rail Transit Commission
520 Mendocino Avenue, Suite 240
Santa Rosa, CA 95401
Dear SMART Commissioners:
The Marin County Bicycle Coalition is asking for you to please include more accurate information in the SMART Final Report regarding possible construction of a trail parallel to the rail line along the North West Pacific railroad right-of-way.
In April, the MCBC was asked to provide Wilbur Smith Associates with detailed information about current plans in Marin and Sonoma for rails with trails, and the success of these projects in other locations. In response, the MCBC provided a three page document "Rails with Trails" which has been included with this cover letter for your reference. While the MCBC did substantial research to create this document, almost none of the information that was provided was included in the SMART Report.
The MCBC is respectfully asking the SMART Commissioners to include the following in your Final SMART Report. The pages which should be augmented (where current rail with trail information is listed) are: 9-2, 9-12 and 9-13.:
1) ACKNOWLEDGE EXISTING RAILS WITH TRAILS: Please include a statement that acknowledges that there are over 60 existing rails with trails in the United States with more than 150 additional rails with trails currently being proposed. When the MCBC spoke to the FRA, the representative stated that "rails with trails are the wave of the future". The SMART report should acknowledge that rails with trails are commonplace and that their numbers are growing.
2) ACKNOWLEDGE PLANS IN MARIN AND SONOMA: Please detail all of the 10 planning documents in Sonoma and Marin that call for a rail with trail along the NWPRA. While the MCBC provided detailed information from both Marin and Sonoma, most of this information was completely left out of the consultant's report, which only one mentioned one plan in each county. The omission of this important and historic information severely flaws the SMART report.
3) ACKNOWLEDGE THAT RAILS WITH TRAILS ARE SAFE: While it is of the utmost importance to consider safety with regards to any transportation project, it has been shown through studying existing rails with trails that this form of transit integration is very safe. The national organization, Rails-to-Trails Conservancy has provided you with detailed information about these studies. At the present time, the draft Final report makes it appear that rails with trails are dangerous; this is simply inaccurate. The MCBC believes that it is essential to change the tone and wording of the final SMART report to show that rails with trails are safe and should be encouraged.
4) ACKNOWLEDGE THAT THE TRAIL WOULD BE USED FOR TRANSPORTATION: The final SMART report only refers to trail users as "recreational". While some individuals may use the proposed North-South Bikeway for recreation, the primary purpose of the facility is for transportation. The facility will parallel highway 101, and provide a flat, separated and safe bikeway that will permit individuals to easily commute from Sonoma to Marin or San Francisco. It is likely that thousands of commuters will bike to work each day using this path. Currently, Bridge District statistics state that approximately 1,600 individuals cross the Golden Gate Bridge each weekday by bicycle for commute purposes. The number of bicycle commuters along with North/South Bikeway (which parallels the NWPRA) will vastly increase as gaps in the system are closed, and as a separated facility from Sonoma to Marin is constructed.
5) MAKE REFERENCE TO EUROPEAN AND LOCAL FIGURES AND ACKNOWLEDGE THE NEED FOR BICYCLE FACILITIES AT STATIONS AND ON TRAINS: Page 9-1 makes reference to transit integration in Europe. This would be a good section to reference the fact that 35% of all train trips in The Netherlands begin by bicycle. It will be important for the SMART report to acknowledge that good bicycle access to train stations and secure bicycle parking at train stations will be important for the overall success of the project. Equally important is the need for train cars to be able to carry a substantial number of bicycles. Currently, Caltrain (which runs on the Peninsula) carries approximately 2,000 bicycles each day, and does not have enough capacity to meet the demand.
Overall, the MCBC is displeased with the current final draft of the SMART report. The report has left out important planning documents, limited the role of bicycles as "recreational", failed to acknowledge the success of other rails with trails projects, and has raised unqualified concerns about safety that are easily dismissed by looking at the facts and figures which have proven that rails with trails are overwhelming safer than other transportation facilities. We ask that the SMART Commissioners please augment the Report to reflect the aforementioned comments and correct these inaccuracies.
The June 19 Sonoma/Marin meeting of the Board of Supervisors acknowledged that both counties have the goal of relieving traffic. Bicycle transportation will accomplish this ñ if we provide for the facilities. In The Netherlands, 33% of all commute trips are made by bicycle. We can boost the mode share figures for bicycles in Marin and Sonoma by taking advantage of the opportunities to construct safe bicycle facilities, especially in conjunction with other large transportation projects, such as highway widenings and the construction of rail service.
Please also note that the Caltrans scoping process for the EIR for the Novato Narrows will include construction of a bicycle and pedestrian facility. The Marin County Bicycle Coalition will be recommending that a separated facility be built along the rail line, or on the west side of the Highway. In order to realize our traffic congestion relief goals, this new bicycle facility should be a flat Class I path, separated from motor vehicle traffic.
In closing, the MCBC is providing information about why bicycle transportation makes good sense:
- Bicycles are extremely versatile in combination with other transit methods. Since they can be integrated efficiently with rail, buses, ferries and automobiles, bicycles serve as the "glue" for a multi-modal transportation system.
- Bicycle use produces almost no pollution and does not contribute to global warming. Unaffected by fluctuations in oil price and supply, bicycle transit is economically as well as environmentally sustainable.
- Bicycles offer the same degree of individual mobility as automobiles. Replacing short car trips with bicycling will ease congestion and still permit people to move freely.
- Bicycle transit is less expensive than any other transit alternative (capital costs plus operating costs per transit mile) and has the highest rate of return (cost divided by use per transit mile).
- Bicycles can be used by persons of almost any age, when corridors are flat and safe.
- Many paths built for bicycle use can also be used by pedestrians.
- Bicycles do not require a fare box recovery rate subsidy. (Most forms of public transit have only 30 to 40% fare box recovery.)
- Bicycle transit emphasizes "safe routes to schools." In the 1960s, 60% of all students walked or bicycled to school; today the number of students that walk or bicycle to school is a mere 10%. It's time to reverse this trend.
- Bicycling provides excellent exercise. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control, which is targeting obesity as a major health threat in the United States, has said that a minimum of 30 minutes of activity each day, five days a week, is required to maintain personal health. Bicycle commuting and walking to errands/work are time-efficient ways to achieve this goal.
- Bicycling infrastructure contributes to the livability of communities and helps provide "traffic calming."
The Marin County Bicycle Coalition has spent considerable time and energy working on the SMART project and is hopeful that the Final SMART Report approved by the Commissioners will be altered to more accurately reflect the importance and benefits of rails with trails. I personally have attended four SMART meetings, and will be present at your August 9 meeting. I also plan to follow-up with the SMART committee co-chairs to discuss the MCBC's concerns about the final SMART report. Please also feel free to contact me at (415) 488-1245.
Thank you in advance for working towards creating a truly multi-modal facility that will encourage all forms of transportation that relieve traffic congestion.
Yours truly,
Debbie Hubsmith
Executive Director
cc: |
Ms. Celia Kupersmith, General Manager GGBHTD and NWPRA |
encl: |
"Rails with Trails", produced by the MCBC for Wilbur Smith in April 2000 |
