The Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit (SMART) project: meshing technical, political, and social forces Jack C. Swearengen https://www.facebook.com/sonomamarintrain http://sonomamarintrain.org/index.php
Jeremiah 29:7 (NIV) Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the L ORD for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.” The Rise of the Nones Understanding and reaching the religiously unaffiliated James Emery White (Baker Books 2014) Nones Cause Community Christ “Since 2010, cause has proven to be the largest area of connection with a lost world, especially when it comes to the Nones. Caus e arrests their attention and enlists their participation in the overall community of Christianity.” • Earthkeeping • Justice: making things right
Not just cheerleaders* • ensure that the project is a social as well as an engineering success • be the voice of the community and the passenger • serve as a forum and information clearinghouse • counter opposition and misinformation * Friends don’t let friends … “
Ridership studies: where the people live Each red dot represents 10 people. The vast majority of Marin and Sonoma residents live along the SMART railroad and Highway 101 – most within an easy bike ride to a station. The green dots represent future rail stations along the corridor. 5
Ridership studies: where the jobs are
Mobility The US has evolved into a car monoculture Source: D. Sperling. Transportation for Sustainability 7 May 2015
Transportation and the Environment Source: D. Sperling. Transportation for Sustainability 7 May 2015 Their land is full of horses; there is no end to their chariots. Isa 2:7b.
Source: D. Sperling. Transportation for Sustainability 7 May 2015
Energy Consumption Transportation’s share of US energy use is growing…
But a shift to rail would make a major impact
Source: D. Sperling. Transportation for Sustainability 7 May 2015
Public transit is a growth industry
Greenhouse gas reduction - In Sonoma and Marin Counties, transportation is the source of about 60% of greenhouse gas emissions. - SMART will directly reduce greenhouse gas emissions by about 124,000 lbs per day, -- 31 million pounds per year -- by shifting an estimated 5,300 daily trips away from automobiles. - That figure doesn’t include GHG reductions due to increased use of buses, shuttles, bicycles and walking. 15
Diesel Multiple Unit (DMU)
Tier IV Diesel Engine
Emissions SMART’s self -propelled Diesel Multiple Unit (DMU) trains lower greenhouse gas and particulate emissions to unprecedented levels • Will meet EPA’s stringent Tier 4 emissions standards • Lower emissions than locomotives 18
PHASE I CONSTRUCTION PROGRESS Feb 2015 Construction Start Date May 9, 2012 Started Track Rebuilding July 7, 2012 Total Track Rebuilt 40 miles (out of 43 miles) -136,000 crossties replaced (90% concrete) Passing Sidings Built 3 (out of 4) Bridges/Trestles Rebuilt or 48 (out of 49) Repaired -11 timber bridges replaced with concrete Tunnels Rebuilt 2 Grade Crossings Rebuilt 48 (out of 56) Platform Footings & Walls 10 (out of 12) Systems Ductbank Installation Complete from Airport Blvd. to San Rafael
Phase 1 Capital Costs Construction Contracts $347.8 million Capital Project Management $90.5 million Total $438.3 million Phase 1 mileage Downtown San Rafael to Santa Rosa Airport 43 mi.
Level Boarding Gauntlet tracks Interlaced tracks, with signals, that allow freight trains to pass station platforms with CPUC- mandated minimum clearance (7 stations)
Track Work Before and after reconstruction
Roadway Crossing Inserts
Tunnel Rehabilitation (2)
New Drawbridge
Obstacles surmounted Economic downturn Unanticipated or underestimated issues, e.g. Positive Train Control Scope and difficulty of permitting process Decline in federal funding for transit Local opposition including NIMBYs Organized opposition from the highway lobby
Private (illegal) Crossings: Factors to Consider In Diagnostic Engineering Review • Closure • Road speed • Grade separation • Road width • Consolidation • Number of traffic lanes • Federal Regulations and State General • Street lights • Paved or un-paved road? Orders • State, local and industry guidelines • Number of passenger trains per day • Number of freight trains/switch moves (MUTCD, APTA, and AREMA etc.) • Road geometry per day • Vehicular stopping distance • Number of tracks • Approach (corner) sight distance • Average daily traffic count • Total exposure (number of vehicles X up/down track for vehicles approaching crossing number of trains) • Clearing sight distance, can the classes • Type of vehicular traffic (cars, trucks, of vehicles utilizing crossing clear tracks trailers, busses etc.) • Dangerous or hazardous material before • train enters crossing? traffic? • Train speed • Industrial facilities • Type of train service (freight only or • Life cycle cost • Other site specific issues passenger and freight.)
Some of the hundreds of safety, regulatory, and other steps required • Air quality standards • National Historic Preservation Act Compliance • Section 4(f) compliance―DOT act of 1966 • Federal Cultural Resource clearances • Endangered Species Act Compliance • Executive Order 12898 (Environmental Justice) Compliance • Title VI of Civil Rights Act • California Environmental Quality Act • National Environmental Policy Act • Cultural Resources Preservation • Water Quality Study • Biological Assessment • State Route 37 Integrated Traffic, Infrastructure and Sea Level Rise Analysis
Some Agencies that must be satisfied • Bay Conservation & Development Commissi on • Archaeological Construction Monitoring • State Historic Preservation Office • US Army Corps of Engineers • US Coast Guard • US Fish & Wildlife Service • National Marine Fisheries Service • US Department of Transportation • California Department of Transportation • Federal Transit Administration • Federal Railway Administration • California Public Utilities Commission • California Department of Fish & Wildlife • San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board • County flood control districts (2)
Positive Train Control (PTC) Mandated by Congress in 2008 Three key components: Technology, Safety, Education • Prevent train-to-train collisions • Prevent overspeed derailments • Enforce slow zones where workers are present • At turnouts, PTC will not allow conflicting movements • At-grade crossing warning systems monitored for failures Cost to SMART: $50M
Surety from PTC Four levels of redundancy: 1. Basic: manual control a. speed limits b. emergency braking 2. Audio & visual warnings to driver 3. Automatic train control 4. Permission to proceed Cost: $50M
USE OF CREOSOTE TREATED WOOD In the reconstruction of the SMART system, 90% of the existing creosote treated timber ties were removed and replaced with concrete ties. The remaining 10% were replaced with treated timber ties, most located at grade crossings and switches. SMART removed 940 existing creosote treated piles from bridges over Waterways.
Chimera coast redwood tree https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oRylK7auh1I 34
Species & Sensitive Habitat • CA Red Legged Frog • CA Clapper Rail • Salt Marsh Harvest Mouse • Central CA Coast Steelhead • Salt & Fresh Water Wetlands • Rivers, Creeks and Streams 35
Social Justice: SMARTs Title VI Program • Nondiscrimination Policy • Outreach & Public Participation Plan • Limited English Proficiency Plan • System-Wide Service and Standards Policies • Title VI Complaint and Reporting Process.
Demographics for Title VI compliance
QUIET ZONES “QUAD GATES”
“QUIET ZONES” Curb median at Hamilton Parkway in Novato
Penngrove Crossings Residents say structures in roadways at SMART tracks, designed as safety feature, pose hazard to motorists
Anti-Transit Groups Pro Transit Groups American Highway Alliance for a Paving Moratorium http://www.culturechange.org/apm_page.htm Users Alliance http://www.highways.org/ Reason Foundation American Public Transit Association http://reason.org/areas/topic/t http://www.apta.com/Pages/default.aspx ransportation Heartland Institute Victoria Transportation Policy Institute https://www.heartland.org/ www.vtpi.org Cato Institute National Alliance of Public Transportation http://www.cato.org/ Advocates http://www.publictransportation.org/napta/Pages/default. aspx National Motorists National Association of Railroad Passengers www.narprail.org Association http://www.motorists.org
Anti-transit myths 1. Light Rail has been a failure everywhere. The estimated costs always prove too low, and the ridership projections are always too high. 2. Transit is a declining industry. 3. Commuting by rail is slower than commuting by car or bus. 4. Transit does not relieve congestion. 5. Where transit is needed, buses are better than rail. Buses cost less and provide the same or better service. 6. Rail transit can only serve city centers, but most new jobs are in the suburbs.
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