Chunks of the Richmond-San Rafael (RSR) bridge are falling off. And now North Bay Assemblyman Marc Levine is discussing replacing the 63-year-old span.
But if we're going to replace it, does it make sense to rebuild it as another freeway bridge? "Where is the transit piece of this? The same piece that has been missing from the discussion of the RSR Bridge added car lane project," wrote Bike East Bay's Dave Campbell, in an email to Streetsblog.
Levine says he isn't taking a position. Instead, he's launched a web poll to see what his constituents think.
Additionally, Levine wrote that he met with officials from "Caltrans, the Metropolitan Transportation Commission and the Transportation Authority of Marin to discuss ongoing questions about the safety and efficiency of the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge." He also points out that the bridge is used by 80,000 drivers a day.
All of which is to point out that if "efficiency" is really the main concern, then building a relatively narrow rail-only bridge (20 feet wide plus a safety accessway, which can double as a bike path, is enough for a track in each direction) is far more efficient for moving people than any freeway bridge. Plus there's no traffic jams and pollution. And if safety is the concern, can we talk again about the number of people killed and seriously injured in Bay Area car crashes?
The SMART train comes within walking distance of the start of the bridge. Photo: MCBCThe SMART train comes within walking distance of the start of the bridge. Photo: MCBC
Rail is the obvious choice for this crossing. The Marin side of the bridge starts a little over a mile from the new SMART train extension to Larkspur. The Point Richmond side of the bridge flies right over freight tracks that connect to Amtrak's Capitol Corridor line. SMART trains are standard gauge, so if the bridge had rail, and these short connections built, it would be possible to run trains directly from Sonoma to Marin to Richmond to Oakland all the way to San Jose.
A map of Amtrak's Capitol Corridor. Marin and Sonoma's SMART train could continue on these tracks
Yes, a newly combined Amtrak/SMART system would eventually have to be electrified and upgraded, along the lines of what Caltrain is doing right now, to reach full potential. But the transformational potential of a rail bridge connecting the North and East Bay is too big to ignore.
That's why MTC and Caltrans have it backwards. This should be viewed as a rail project. The cost of adding a road deck for private automobiles is the only thing that should be "TBD."
The founders of the Bay Area's advocacy group dedicated to fare integration and rational schedules talk about a half-decade of fighting for better transit and what's likely to happen in the next five years.