SMART needs a third option

[Pulipaca]

Read the original article and you will understand what we are talking about.
There is still much interest in public transportation, and the only negetive public sentiments have been against the NCRA/SMART freight/passenger rail proposals. The more we are finding out, the less we like it.
It's not your way or the highway, there are many modern solutions to your old commute problems in Novato/Sonoma/Napa and Solano counties.
Old as dirt, you need to keep an open mind to solutions, not just shut everything else out except what you think is best.

[Pulipaca]

The Sonoma commute trains (SMART) and the NCRA are in bed together, they are one of the same beast. They tried their hardest to withold the information from the public until after the election in 2006, it worked, but still we rejected it. Then someone let the cat out of the bag, and people of Marin were pis*ed.
I remember a letter written to the IJ from a former SMART supporter about supervisor Charles McGlashan for tying to fool the public into allowing the trains in, he said, " I feel like I have been blindsided by Charles, he shound be SKINNED, TARED, FEATHERED and SHIPPED OUT OF THE COUNTY ON A RAIL !!" That sums up our disgust with the way they have handled this public/private development agency campaign, they have let us down big time with their selfish, arrogant attitude towards the people of Marin.

[Last Chance]

"think it's time to put to rest the big white elephant called SMART. I am in support of improving public transportation to reduce our gas consumption, but SMART is not a smart solution. The plan, if approved will result in an expensive solution that will benefit few users at a horrendous cost." Mr. Segev you are so right!!

Where are the buses full of people now? Build it and they will come??? HA - SMART's own calculations show that each train ride will cost $60 over the next 20 years due to low ridership...

[Pulipaca]

Another option that would be 'enviornmentally superior' for Marin would be for Sonoma county to build a new train line from Petaluma straight to the Port of Sonoma ferry terminal. That would cut down on burning all that extra fossil fuel and resulting noise and air pollution by going south to Novato and then cutting back northeast to the Port of Sonoma. They could also run the freight trains on the same new line, without disturbing Novato residents, and maybe they would drop the lawsuit. There is no need at all to run the trains down to Novato, and look at all the resistance the trains have come against there.
I do find it amaizing that in this day and age, SMART/NCRA is interested in utilzing old diesel technology powered by foreign oil, and also how many people they have brainwashed into thinking that is the way of the future. As long as they keep those antique old oversized SUV's up in Sonoma, and don't beg for welfare (public assistance) from Marin residents, there is absolutely nothing we can say or do to stop them from continuing to trash their county, they could begin construction tommorrow on their new line for all we care. It's time for Sonoma to start thinking 'out of the boxcar'

[Ron]

If SMART would forget about diesel powered heavy rail needed to haul freight, and consider a more modern electric powered light rail system like BART, it could actually connect with Bart and run on the same narrow gauge system in the rest of the bay area, now that would actually be green. DITCH THE DIRTY DIESELS.

[Ray]

Now since Novato banned smoking in public, it would only be fair to ban the SMART diesel freight and commuter trains also. Diesel trains emit far more smoke and noise pollution , and disturb the peace as well. Novato should 'red tag' the train projects, for the health of the public, among other reasons like having no benefit to the community and costing an arm and a leg.

[Brunello Ostaggi]

Now that SMART made a big mistake and did not research the necessary requirements for their bicycle/pedestrian path, and the fact that Marin was given $25 million for non motorized transportation, we don't need any SMART money to build bike paths and refurbish the Cal Park and Alto tunnels, and all the paths, lanes and steps. So we are done with SMART in Marin , for good.
Ces't la vie, hausta la vista, saionara, bye, bye baby choo choo !!!

[OldAsDirt]

Paul wrote:

According to a study by the MTC, 61 percent of the Sonoma commuters who cut through Marin go to the east bay and beyond, so the train route direct to Concord would much faster than driving down through north Marin and going through the bottleneck in San Rafael over 580 across the Richmond bridge. The 13 percent of Sonoma commuters who are destined for Marin could ride a bus from Petaluma to Marin, and the contractors and self employed could drive their trucks with ease. Local and interstate commerce and the tourists would also be able to use 101 during commute times, unlike now. Most Marin locals avoid 101, or wait until after 10:00 am if they must use it at all.

Is there a reference to the MTC study? This reference
http://www.co.marin.ca.us/depts/pw/main/Marin... reports half the traffic from the north on 101 ends in Marin and 14% of Marin workers are from Sonoma. Clearly, the facts are in conflict.

[OldAsDirt]

Paul wrote:

As a traffic signal technician I can tell you that trains will delay traffic at local intersections, and the ones in central Marin are at very low service levels now, C and D in San Rafael.

Given your job, you know the flow rate through a series of intersections is controlled best by traffic sensors, and that smart (not SMART) control systems adjust to current demand/congestion. As a result, a 45 second delay for a train to cross a road would result in reduced congestion on streets parallel to the tracks prompting a smart system to provide preference to the traffic just stopped for the train. You also know that if traffic is choked in central San Rafael now, reducing the traffic or re-engineering the flow is the only way to help. Not doing SMART won't reduce traffic, doing SMART may, and if SMART is done, don't you think you'll get some good work when they re-engineer the signals along the route?

[Armondo Stelletto]

OldAsDirt wrote:

<quoted text>
Given your job, you know the flow rate through a series of intersections is controlled best by traffic sensors, and that smart (not SMART) control systems adjust to current demand/congestion. As a result, a 45 second delay for a train to cross a road would result in reduced congestion on streets parallel to the tracks prompting a smart system to provide preference to the traffic just stopped for the train. You also know that if traffic is choked in central San Rafael now, reducing the traffic or re-engineering the flow is the only way to help. Not doing SMART won't reduce traffic, doing SMART may, and if SMART is done, don't you think you'll get some good work when they re-engineer the signals along the route?

Traffic sensors have been in use for many, many years, starting with magnetic, then induction loops, radar and video. There are many different kinds of control for intersections; downtown semi actuated, progressive per timed (like on 2nd and 3rd st in San Rafael) semi actuated and fully actuated isolated controllers. In order to be fair to the resident motorists and pedestrians of Marin, everyone must stop at least some of the time, there is no free time, so the trains need to stop at each intersection just like all other users of public right of ways. The fact that there was trains here 50 years ago that had preemption priority does not matter now at all, they lost their priority status due to their abandonment of more than 7 years. Bringing the Sonoma commute trains into the cities of central Marin will only make traffic worse, they should put them underground in subways to be more efficient, out of sight is out of mind. Do it like all other modern regional rail systems do in large metropolitan areas of the world.

[Armondo Stelletto]

OldAsDirt wrote:

<quoted text>
Is there a reference to the MTC study? This reference
http://www.co.marin.ca.us/depts/pw/main/Marin... reports half the traffic from the north on 101 ends in Marin and 14% of Marin workers are from Sonoma. Clearly, the facts are in conflict.

I checked out that link, it was an advertisement for SMART, you tricked me into reading it, it has no facts at all about the MTC study that I could see, the MTC study that was published in the Pacific Sun in a biased article stated that: Out of the untold Sonoma commuters who cut through Marin each day, 13 percent are destined to work locations in Marin county, 26 percent are destined to work locations in San Francisco, and 61 percent are destined to the east bay and beyond (other locations in the greater bay area). This was a study on commuters only, not all the regular free citizens, and I have read in other studies that only about 30 percent of Sonoma residents who commute, leave Sonoma for out of county work locations. Keep in mind that Sonoma county has twice the population as Marin, and also that there other people that live on earth that never have the need to commute at all, so Sonoma/Novato commuters are of no concern to us in Marin at all, you are not the only people on earth.

[OldAsDirt]

Armondo Stelletto wrote:

<quoted text>I checked out that link, it was an advertisement for SMART, you tricked me into reading it, it has no facts at all about the MTC study that I could see, the MTC study that was published in the Pacific Sun in a biased article stated that: Out of the untold Sonoma commuters who cut through Marin each day, 13 percent are destined to work locations in Marin county, 26 percent are destined to work locations in San Francisco, and 61 percent are destined to the east bay and beyond (other locations in the greater bay area). This was a study on commuters only, not all the regular free citizens, and I have read in other studies that only about 30 percent of Sonoma residents who commute, leave Sonoma for out of county work locations. Keep in mind that Sonoma county has twice the population as Marin, and also that there other people that live on earth that never have the need to commute at all, so Sonoma/Novato commuters are of no concern to us in Marin at all, you are not the only people on earth.

Perhaps you didn't read my comment. I asked for a reference to the MTC study Paul quoted. Without a reference, there's no data to substantiate Paul's comment. The link I provided was to the Marin Congestion Management Agency's PDF which you can reach through their page at http://www.co.marin.ca.us/depts/pw/main/Marin... if you like. You may want to read the report rather than discount it as a SMART ad just because it doesn't support your misconceptions about Marin traffic. Provide supporting facts or you only have an unsubstantiated opinion.