Weekend Roundup: New SMART Schedule, More High-Speed Rail Context…

Here are three Streetsblog news nuggets to start your weekend.

The Marin-Sonoma Coordinated Transit Service Plan starts Sunday

Marin-Sonoma Coordinated Transit Service (MASCOTS) Plan goes into effect on Sunday. It will increase frequency on bus and rail lines in the North Bay and increase connectivity between lines. There will be some fare changes. And there are some things to critique. But for SMART train riders especially, MASCOTS should be a boon. For merchants, it was always an Achilles’ heel of the SMART train that service stopped so early in the evening, with the last train heading south from Windsor at 6:06 p.m. on weekends—way too early for dinner or a music event. The new schedule increases headways and has the last train heading south after 8 p.m. on both weekedays and weekends. More from SMART:

SMART service is increasing by 19%, with more trains running earlier in the morning, more often during the day, and later into the evening. These improvements are designed to give you more flexibility; whether you’re commuting, running errands, or heading out for the evening.

You’ll see:

• Earlier morning trains for early commutes
• New midday service to fill gaps in the schedule
• More evening options for getting home or going out
• Improved connections with local bus service
• More frequent service overall, creating more travel options

Weekday service will increase to 48 trips per day. 

All in all it should make the SMART train more usable both for North Bay residents and people from San Francisco connecting via ferry or bus.

More on the latest slew of anti-rail reporting set off by 60 Minutes

As Streetsblog California covered Thursday, a snoozer of a hit piece by 60 Minutes about California high-speed rail framed things as if there’s nothing to show for the project (tell that to people who ride the newly electrified Caltrain service between San Jose and San Francisco). It also talked at length about the costs. Well, the High-Speed Rail Alliance had a few more things to say about 60 Minutes, especially about the lack of context. From their post:

• California spends $19.8 billion a year on roads. The I-105 Freeway, from Los Angeles to Norwalk, completed in 1993, is 17 miles long. It cost $5 billion in today’s dollars. An expansion in Pomona will cost more than $200 million to widen 1½ miles of the 71 Freeway. The Willits Bypass, completed in 2016 in Northern California, which created a new 5.9-mile segment of U.S. 101, cost $619 million in today’s dollars. These have not eased and will not ease traffic congestion.
• Then there are the airports. Expansion projects worth billions are underway in Burbank, Los Angeles, and San Jose. Meanwhile, the Federal Aviation Administration recently imposed permanent restrictions on the number of flights at San Francisco, reducing capacity by one-third. The limited slots at San Francisco should be for flights going across the country or across the ocean – not to Burbank and Los Angeles.
• There is a cost of building high-speed rail, which the 60 Minutes report emphasized, and which is the object of critics’ obsessions. They also should consider the cost of not building it, in opportunities lost. When economic growth slows, and commerce wanes, and employers can’t hire good people because of the cost, in dollars and time, of a car-centered transportation system, California will wish it had built a proper passenger rail network. That day is coming if the state doesn’t get moving now to complete the high-speed rail project.

It’s worth checking out the Alliance’s story and our own reporting.

Ploverfest at Sunset Dunes Park moved to April 26

And last but not least, as Streetsblog covered on Thursday, advocates are planning to celebrate the first anniversary of the opening of Sunset Dunes with a big beach party. Unfortunately, Mother Nature is not cooperating and storms are expected this weekend. But don’t fret: the party will take place two weeks later instead. The details from a release from Friends of Sunset Dunes:

Due to anticipated inclement weather this weekend, Sunset Dunes’s first birthday community music celebration is moving from this Sunday April 12 to Sunday April 26, same time (12-4) and location (Sunset Dunes from Judah to Sloat).

Look for activations, a speaker’s event with elected officials, and local bands and DJs including Adub, Agape, Alleylots, Frankie West, Gavin Hardkiss, Good Friends, Laia, Pearl Z, Rozhit Eve, Salsamigos, Seth Finkin, Sunset Community Band, Yo! Yogurt, and more.