LEGISLATIVE UPDATE

MTC Endorses Measure R — the Sonoma Marin Area Rail Transit (SMART) Measure

MTC has taken a support position on Measure R, the quarter-cent sales tax increase in Marin and Sonoma counties to fund construction and operation of a passenger rail system and connecting bicycle/pedestrian pathway along the Northwestern Pacific (NWP) Railroad right-of-way. As a special tax, the measure requires two-thirds approval from voters in both counties. The 20-year measure would take effect on April 1, 2007.

The SMART corridor is included in MTC Resolution 3434, the Bay Area’s transit expansion blueprint. Measure R would provide the local funding necessary to attract additional matching funds at all levels of government.  SMART is a critical element of the North Bay’s efforts to provide travel options in the crowded Highway 101 Corridor.

The line would include the following fourteen stations: Cloverdale, Healdsburg, Windsor, Santa Rosa (two stations), Rohnert Park, Cotati, Petaluma (two stations), Novato (two stations), Marin Civic Center, San Rafael and Larkspur. Service would operate at 30-minute frequencies during weekday commute hours, along with a mid-day train. In addition, the expenditure plan calls for a bicycle-pedestrian pathway along the rail corridor linking the 14 stations. SMART proposes to fund approximately 57 percent of the pathway; completion would require additional matching funds.

The SMART District estimates that $668 million (2006 dollars) would be raised with the quarter-cent sales tax over 20 years. Of this, some $470 million would be generated in Sonoma County and $198 million in Marin County. The combined capital cost of the rail project and pathway is estimated to exceed $430 million, with operating costs reaching approximately $874 million over a 20-year time frame. Because elements of the financing plan are contingent upon future state and federal appropriations, the SMART District is developing options to address revenue shortfalls, including extending the construction period or phasing implementation beyond the 2010 target date for beginning rail service.

For additional information, see the memo presented to MTC’s Legislation Committee.