Larkspur Adds Voice To SMART Funding

The Larkspur City Council voted 4-1 in a special meeting Thursday afternoon to support additional funding of the SMART rail project, but with some obvious reservations.

The meeting adjourned just one hour before the Transportation Authority of Marin met to vote on whether or not to grant $8 million to the Sonoma Marin Area Rail Transit project to close a funding gap.

City council members agreed they'd like to see the proposed connection between the CalPark Tunnel multi-use path and the Larkspur ferry terminal become a reality. They didn't seem convinced, however, they could rely on SMART to support the project. There is a clause in TAM's proposed grant to encourage SMART not to hamper the building of the connector, but the language would not compel SMART to support it.

Residents also voiced concerns that the $8 million would be better spent on fixing roads, especially in Larkspur, which has some of the worst roads in the Bay Area, according to the Metropolitan Transportation Commission.