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Re: Article On SMART-Larkspur Ferry Connection
Author: Practical
Date: 05-29-2017 - 00:33
From what I've seen it would be hard to get tracks from the tunnel to the Larkspur Landing parking lot without taking out a building or two, unless you ran it elevated over the western part of Larkspur Landing Circle. Getting something like that approved in Marin County would be almost impossible in the near future. Even an additional pedestrian bridge across Sir Francis Drake Boulevard would be a very hard sell, let alone an elevated trackway. Crossing Frank Drake (we're on familiar terms) at grade is a non-starter, especially in the evenings when traffic is backed up in front of the ferry terminal from west of Highway 101 to the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge.
The shuttle buses at least will drop people right at the ferry terminal.
Once the train gets as close as it's likely to get on the current right of way, there are 2 existing bridges that pedestrians or people on folding bikes or scooters could use to avoid crossing the very busy Frank Drake at grade. The new bridge on the old NWP right of way seems designed mostly for bicycles, but I think technically it's a multi-use path. Unfortunately, you'd then be walking beside Frank Drake and have to deal with impatient traffic in and out of the parking lot. It gets kind of dangerous for pedestrians, especially after dark in the rainy season.
I plan on cutting through the Marin Country Mart (the shopping center within Larkspur Landing Circle) for a more friendly path from the station through the center to the existing pedestrian bridge over Frank Drake that comes down close to the ferry terminal. The additional foot traffic shouldn't hurt the center and might help it. This would be a slightly longer walk than using the bike bridge or the Frank Duck/Larkspur Landing Circle intersection (the pedestrian bridge unfortunately is angled toward the center of the shops, not toward where the train will be), but the walk should be more pleasant.
It would be much more useful to all of us potential riders to have an elevated trackway on a line of single supports, and with modern design it wouldn't be as intrusive as an old elevated structure or embankment. But the NIMBYs in Marin seem to dominate the public debate, and they even killed a fairly decent plan for improving the Frank Drake/Highway 101 interchange, which is a real collision magnet. They'll fight any additional infrastructure, though many of the people I talk with are looking forward to having the train.
The shuttle buses at least will drop people right at the ferry terminal.
Once the train gets as close as it's likely to get on the current right of way, there are 2 existing bridges that pedestrians or people on folding bikes or scooters could use to avoid crossing the very busy Frank Drake at grade. The new bridge on the old NWP right of way seems designed mostly for bicycles, but I think technically it's a multi-use path. Unfortunately, you'd then be walking beside Frank Drake and have to deal with impatient traffic in and out of the parking lot. It gets kind of dangerous for pedestrians, especially after dark in the rainy season.
I plan on cutting through the Marin Country Mart (the shopping center within Larkspur Landing Circle) for a more friendly path from the station through the center to the existing pedestrian bridge over Frank Drake that comes down close to the ferry terminal. The additional foot traffic shouldn't hurt the center and might help it. This would be a slightly longer walk than using the bike bridge or the Frank Duck/Larkspur Landing Circle intersection (the pedestrian bridge unfortunately is angled toward the center of the shops, not toward where the train will be), but the walk should be more pleasant.
It would be much more useful to all of us potential riders to have an elevated trackway on a line of single supports, and with modern design it wouldn't be as intrusive as an old elevated structure or embankment. But the NIMBYs in Marin seem to dominate the public debate, and they even killed a fairly decent plan for improving the Frank Drake/Highway 101 interchange, which is a real collision magnet. They'll fight any additional infrastructure, though many of the people I talk with are looking forward to having the train.
