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Old 03-15-2017, 04:35 PM
 
Location: Shoreline, WA
400 posts, read 449,044 times
Reputation: 338

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Hi all,


I'm trying to find out some information on this "Sonoma Marin Area Rail Transit" aka SMART train.


I've looked at the website and can't make heads or tails on the time it would take to get from the downtown Santa Rosa stop to San Rafael (current southern terminus).


First, does anyone know how long it would take from these two stations?


Second, why didn't they complete the Larkspur station first? It seems that would make it easier for folks wanting to board the ferry to SF so much easier than walking from the San Rafael station to the GG Ferry.


Third, when would they complete that final Larkspur station?


Anyways, thanks in advance for your answers!


P.S. Why the hell didn't Marin just opt into BART? I'm a relative newcomer to the area but it just seems totally ridiculous that the county didn't want it.
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Old 03-15-2017, 07:06 PM
 
12,823 posts, read 24,392,581 times
Reputation: 11042
Quote:
Originally Posted by Scorpion3510 View Post
Hi all,


I'm trying to find out some information on this "Sonoma Marin Area Rail Transit" aka SMART train.


I've looked at the website and can't make heads or tails on the time it would take to get from the downtown Santa Rosa stop to San Rafael (current southern terminus).


First, does anyone know how long it would take from these two stations?


Second, why didn't they complete the Larkspur station first? It seems that would make it easier for folks wanting to board the ferry to SF so much easier than walking from the San Rafael station to the GG Ferry.


Third, when would they complete that final Larkspur station?


Anyways, thanks in advance for your answers!


P.S. Why the hell didn't Marin just opt into BART? I'm a relative newcomer to the area but it just seems totally ridiculous that the county didn't want it.
Santa Clara, San Mateo and Marin Counties all opted out of BART 50 years ago. At the time, each county had its own logic. Santa Clara County merchants and mall owners were worried they would have to compete with Union Square area merchants. San Mateo County reasoned that they already had the then "SP Commuter" (now known as Cal Train). Marin didn't want to pay the taxes and worried about too many people from "down here" wanting to move there, enticed by the easier commute in.
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Old 03-15-2017, 08:03 PM
 
86 posts, read 246,969 times
Reputation: 91
The SMART (aka dumb) train is not running yet. Lots of problems with the train cars, inability to recruit staff due to high local cost of living, dispute w/ bicycle riders about promised path that has not materialized and on and on. If you are trying to get from Santa Rosa to San Francisco, Golden Gate Transit offers commuter buses AM and PM and also an express bus route 101. The project represents nostalgia for a 19th century mode of transit in the 21st century. It did not pass with the needed majority by Marin voters, but Sonoma voters gave it more than the necessary majority and the combined counties vote meant it passed.

To clarify, Marin (via its Board of Supervisors) was asked to leave the BART project when Santa Clara and San Mateo backed out, because it would not have had a large enough population to contribute the necessary tax to support the cost of providing the service. It was not done by choice and not a NIMBY move at that time.

The Larkspur ferry would be a very long walk from San Rafael. The ferries are very popular already, so it is hard to imagine trying to add train transferers to the overcrowded boats.
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Old 03-16-2017, 01:13 PM
 
Location: Shoreline, WA
400 posts, read 449,044 times
Reputation: 338
Quote:
Originally Posted by CarlosAtun View Post
The Larkspur ferry would be a very long walk from San Rafael. The ferries are very popular already, so it is hard to imagine trying to add train transferers to the overcrowded boats.

Then what's the point of the SMART train? I thought it was to move commuters from Sonoma to Marin and beyond for work? I figured having a transfer to the ferry would provide that service.


Anyways, does anyone have a time schedule between stations? Basically, how long does it take to ride all the way from Santa Rosa to San Rafael?


Quote:
Originally Posted by CarlosAtun View Post
If you are trying to get from Santa Rosa to San Francisco, Golden Gate Transit offers commuter buses AM and PM and also an express bus route 101.

I've seen these buses but haven't heard very good things about their service. I also am hesitant to use them since they are still subject to 101 traffic. If they had a dedicated lane then it would make more sense.


NOTE: I don't live in Santa Rosa but was considering a possible move there in the future. I am interested in commuting options from there to roughly the Civic Center BART area.


Thanks!
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Old 03-17-2017, 10:43 AM
 
Location: Shoreline, WA
400 posts, read 449,044 times
Reputation: 338
Also, is the SMART train station near the San Rafael transit center?
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Old 03-17-2017, 03:39 PM
 
Location: San Francisco Bay Area, California
522 posts, read 736,197 times
Reputation: 638
It'll never happen. Marin County will find a reason to complain.
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Old 03-18-2017, 12:42 PM
 
Location: Pahrump, NV
2,847 posts, read 4,517,371 times
Reputation: 2788
Smart Train North Bay Sonoma Marin | SMART – Sonoma Marin Area Rail Transit | Passenger train and multi-use pathway project

down in the "smart links" section is a suggested timetable. since this project isn't up & running, the times are simply suggestions.
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Old 03-25-2017, 09:36 AM
 
126 posts, read 123,563 times
Reputation: 167
I heard on KCBS more ferry boats are supposed to be coming to all ferry destinations (and a couple of new ones in the East Bay) but i also agree, wasn't the object of the train to be able to take public transportation from the points in the North Bay into SF without the use of a car except to get to parking lots at the stations? If that wasn't the object of SMART, it should have been................the cost to ride it is yet another issue. The entire thing makes me shake my head
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Old 03-29-2017, 07:57 PM
 
484 posts, read 822,013 times
Reputation: 494
Quote:
Originally Posted by PixelatedTherapy View Post
It'll never happen. Marin County will find a reason to complain.
I work in Marin but live in the City and constantly hear Marin-ites complaining about the train ... so crazy. It seems like they've been "testing" the train for about a year, which seems to involve running the route to and from SR and blowing the horn now and then to desensitize the delicate ears and constitutions of the Marin provincials.
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Old 01-19-2020, 10:31 PM
 
381 posts, read 348,955 times
Reputation: 757
Bumping up this thread. Might move to SR in a year or so. And the train is now active and extended to Lakspir (sp)
I'm trying to plan out a possible commute route in which I don't have to drive myself. Alas, I will if I must, but I know it's a commute from hell.

I've been keeping up a bit. It's 200 a month for the train. It would drop me off in Lakspur
I'm still confused on fares. Every entity requires its own monthly pass right? so even with a monthly pass for SMART train i have to get a monthly pass for fairy or bus that would take me into actual SF.

It's 80 a month for the Marin bus. But that one would still leave me on the other side.

It's crazy how you guys are so spread out and have different companies handling different sections of transport. It's making me hard to plan it.
I've been to SR/SF many times and 101 is literally your only artery into SF.(Technically you can go towards richmond then Oakland and back to SF)

The last generation really messed up in the BART opt out.

Anyway. Any suggestions. Clipper card.. Marin.. Ferries... SMART...
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