Imagine a North Bay with a transportation network of buses, shuttles, ferries, trollies, bike paths and sidewalks all connected with a centralized rail line that makes it possible to easily travel around Marin and Sonoma counties without ever getting behind the wheel of a car.

It’s hard to envision such a network in 2009, when driving on Highway 101 is virtually the sole alternative for travel between the two counties. But the public already owns an asset capable of changing that reality.

The Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit District – SMART – will build a 70-mile passenger railroad and parallel bicycle-pedestrian path along the publicly owned Northwestern Pacific Railroad right of way through the two counties. The rail line runs from Cloverdale, at the north end of Sonoma County, to Larkspur, where the Golden Gate Ferry connects Marin County with San Francisco. Along the way SMART will have stations at the major population and job centers of the North Bay: San Rafael, Novato, Petaluma, Cotati, Rohnert Park, Santa Rosa, Windsor and Healdsburg.

The SMART train and pathway project will provide the backbone of a transportation system that ties existing transit systems such as buses and ferries along with future options such as shuttles and trollies into a seamless network that creates true transportation options for North Bay residents. Without that backbone, a congested Highway 101 will remain the only viable alternative for north-south travel in the two counties.

The SMART project is estimated to cost about $590 million, the bulk of which will come from Measure Q, a one-quarter percent sales tax increase approved by 69.6 percent of Marin and Sonoma voters in the Nov. 4, 2008, election.

With that vote, SMART now moves from the conceptual stage toward the building stage. In the next several months, vehicles will be selected and advanced engineering work will begin. Construction activity should start in 2011, with train service now scheduled to begin in 2014.

In the meantime, we invite you to take a look around this site to learn more about SMART.