BART and the bridge district nixed the idea of a BART line to Marin before it went to the voters in 1962. BART was also nixed by Santa Clara and San Mateo counties before that vote because they already had rail commuter service (SP). Nevertheless, in the remaining counties, It passed by over 60%. At that time, no one cared about it going to Pittsburg or Antioch. No one lived there! (only 10-20 thousand in each of the two towns)

Now - All these places that nixed BART have regretted it ever since. The claim that the 200,000 people between Pittsburg and Brentwood have been paying all along for BART, but getting no service is flatly specious - pure flabble-babble. BART has been running a very good regional bus service out there all along. Moreover, 90% weren't even there to be paying anything at all! The area's population explosion was very recent.

In 1962, civil engineers retained by BART and the bridge district to figure out how to add trains to the bridge. They reported great concern about the bridge's ability to take the extra weight of the additional structure required, and to some extent, the trains themselves. That made any decision at all by Marin County officials or voters, quite mute.

However, things have changed a lot since then; such as the re-decking of the bridge in the 70s-80s, which lightened the structure by several thousand tons. There may now be enough "weight room" to add at least a single track or gantlet between the towers and allowing one train at a time on the bridge.

At only 1.2 miles of gantlet or single track between the towers, even with a likely speed restriction of 30-35mph, decent BART service then could be provided to Marin. BART would then tunnel down to some point in right in Sausalito itself. This obviously would attract many times more riders than light rail and ferry via Tiburon. It will also out do the buses by leaps and bounds as well.

It may be time to revisit putting BART on the bridge. That is, if Marinites are for real about the ecology!

OPB