Politics & Government
Atherton Avenue SMART Station Back on Track
Commuter train agency announces that North Novato station eliminated earlier in planning process will again be part of the first phase, pleasing the folks at Fireman's Fund.
It looks as if Novato will get two stations for the Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit system after all.
According to a story in the , the North Novato station near the junction of Atherton Avenue and North Redwood Boulevard is back on the priority list following a Wednesday meeting of the SMART board of directors.
The North Novato station would cost about $5.4 million to construct. A South Novato station is still planned for an undeveloped area of Hamilton between Hamilton Parkway and Main Gate Road.
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, Novato's largest employer, is located just west of the planned station location at 777 San Marin Drive.
"This is the outcome we expected all along and we're happy to hear it's back on track," said Atle Erlingsson, Fireman's Fund spokesman. "It's the perfect holiday gift for everyone who lives and works in Novato. An Atherton station makes total sense considering all of the people who commute from Sonoma to Northern Marin every day. This will help ease congestion and provide a reliable, long-term commuting alternative."
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Initially, homeowners in the Wood Hollow, Partridge Knolls and San Marin neighborhoods reacted mostly negatively to the idea of a station adjacent to Highway 101 near Fireman's Fund because of the traffic impacts at the 101 interchange at San Marin Drive/Atherton Avenue. Many have expressed concern about what expansion at the Buck Institute north of the SMART station and the future developement along the North Redwood Boulevard corridor south of the station would do to San Marin/Atherton traffic.
Pro-train advocates have said adding the train as a transportation option is sure to lighten the load on Highway 101, thus reducing the flow of cars coming on and off that exit.
In April, the to make more than $88 million in cuts to the proposed rail line between Cloverdale and Larkspur, instead making it a line between Santa Rosa and San Rafael during the first phase of construction. The North Novato station was among the cuts, but the board prioritized a list of deferred projects and placed the Atherton station to the top for when the district nailed down more construction funds. Earlier this week, through a bond sale.
What are your thoughts on this? What suggestions do you have to minimize traffic?
