Hats off to both Mook and Rerail, whose comments both reveal they are from the area and understand the circumstances. If you look at the SMART plan up close, on the ground so to speak, you will see that it has many hitches and unresolved issues, bot of which have been nailed by you two.

Mook has brought attention to the most serious problem, which I have ragged on many times before, and that is the ill-advised focus on commute service. SMART should have considered the option of laying their own track, especially since it has to be reconstructed anyway, if that is what it takes to be able to run daylong schedules.

My take on this is that SMART doesn't expect NCRA-NWP to be in the way. As in not there.

101 is another matter. Marin's track record on expanding this freeway is impressive and I see nothing stopping them from adding on lanes, overpasses, you name it, for many years to come. The reason for these deep pockets can be expressed in 2 words: Barbara Boxer.