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By PAUL HARRIS and KARYM SANCHEZ
Later this month, the Santa Rosa City Council will decide whether to go forward with the “community connector” bridge over Highway 101.
The city has grant funds for this next step, so there is no impact on the current budget.
Under a plan before the city, a bicycle and pedestrian bridge would span Highway 101 south of Steele Lane in Santa Rosa.
However, The Press Democrat’s May 12 Editorial (“Bike bridge: Exercise in frustration?”) suggested the city shouldn’t invest in the bridge because, among other things, federal funding is uncertain.
We at the North Bay Organizing Project disagree. In Sonoma County and all around America, transportation is about connecting people to opportunity. Our transportation systems shape every aspect of where we live, work, play and study, and a thriving public transportation system means greater access to jobs, education and services.
Unfortunately, Sonoma County’s system is falling short of that goal — especially in Santa Rosa. We believe our local transportation system can only succeed if it serves all of Santa Rosa.
Highway 101 divides our community in half. It cuts off a large part of Santa Rosa — including the students, staff and faculty at Santa Rosa Junior College — from our current transportation system as well as our planned rapid transit system.
Without the pedestrian and bicycle bridge, our existing system and the future Sonoma Marin Area Rail Transit system are inadequate and unsafe. Pedestrians and bicyclists crossing Highway 101 must use either Steele Lane or College Avenue, which carry a high volume of motorists.
Our communities shouldn’t have to choose between getting where they need to go and their physical safety. We can do better, and we need to. That is why we support the community connector bridge.
The benefits to our community would be enormous. Local businesses support the bridge because they understand it would bring new jobs and an economic boost for the city in addition to providing vital SMART ridership. The costs of planning and building are not insignificant, but it’s important to understand that when it comes to funding the bridge, and other improvements to our local transportation system, we have powerful allies.
In Washington, a debate is on about the future of our national transportation system. The core of the debate is whether to invest or to cut. We at the North Bay Organizing Project know that investing in transportation infrastructure, especially transit, means building communities that are more deeply connected — not just physically but economically and spiritually as well.
The Obama administration has proposed a bold $550 billion federal transportation bill that would help solve our local transportation dilemma in several important ways. First, it includes tens of billions of dollars in funding for projects that increase community livability by encouraging walking, biking and transit access — exactly as the community connector bridge would.
Second, it would increase federal investments in transit, easing city budgets and giving SMART the ability to restore recent service cuts.
Third, for the first time in 40 years, the Obama proposal would allow local transit agencies to use a portion of their federal transit dollars for day-to-day operations, not just for construction and maintenance.
We are lucky that Sonoma County is blessed with a thoughtful and powerful congressional delegation. We call on them to support the Obama administration’s national transportation funding proposal. We at the North Bay Organizing Project believe that transit is a powerful way to build community and prosperity. That’s something that should move us all.
Paul Harris is a Santa Rosa architect. Karym Sanchez, is a Santa Rosa Junior College student and president of MEChA.
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Phil, Great job on exposing yet another enemy of our Great Nation.
I went under college ave. at 101 this evening and there is plenty of existing room on both sides for a large pedestrian bicycle crossing. I see no need for an overcrossing. Also the city has yet to start the roadway under 5th st. after caltrans spent $10′s millions on the overcrossing. Currenly it’s nothing more than another homeless/junkie hideout.
Infastructure is a grat thing if it meets the needs of the community. This project does not in my opinion. It only serves special interest bicycle groups and apparently a mexican national neo-terrorist cell?
The Road to Hell may be paved with good intentions, but the Bridge to Nowhere is paved with a sticky paste of sweat and finely chopped tax dollars.
June 5, 2011 at 3:53 pm
So what is this MEChA thing that Karym Sanchez represents?
Oh, here it is-
http://www.mayorno.com/WhoIsMecha.html
http://www.nationalmecha.org/about.html
Honestly, what would this part of Aztlan be without a swell new bridge?
“…it would increase federal investments in transit…”
Well, yes it would…but considering that we have a $14 trillion dollar deficit that’s being funded by foreign bondholders, the Chinese would technically own it.
And how would it, in any way shape or form help with “easing city budgets.”
“…giving SMART the ability to restore recent service cuts.”
How would it perform this miracle? If only we drop $20mil, we can magically erase a budget shortfall in the 100s of millions? Equally as likely is that we have Moses come and just part the freeway for us.
“We are lucky that Sonoma County is blessed with a thoughtful and powerful congressional delegation.’
When did that happen? Did I miss an election, or did Woolsey and Thompson resign?
Don’t look now, but you guys missed the Rapture while you were apparently chugging down more than your fair share of Kool-aid. Assuming it ever gets built, at the rate you guys are going, this thing will already be canonized before it’s even publicly dedicated.
If SMART was really such an important bridge to future prosperity in the immediate area, why is it only going to Railroad Square? Based on that fact, and your accompanying rationale, pulling out all the stops on 6th St would be a much better solution.
This op-ed is simply self-serving progressive drivel. “Spiritually”??? Really??? For a bike bridge??? With a claim like that, one can only assume that “crossing over” needs to be redefined as entailing Heaven either existing at the JC or Coddingtown. “Forgive me father for I have sinned.” –”Say 10 Hail Marys and ride your bike over the bridge.”
Hurry up and build it…you’re killing me.
How many people have been hit by cars while walking on the sidewalks between the JC and Coddingtown?
How many people have been hit by cars while walking on sidewalks in the Downtown area?
The answer to both is the same. Maybe 1 in a year.
Why are we told that the JC/Coddingtown area is so dangerous?
Maybe we need a bike bridge over Downtown!
This statement from the opinion piece is a flat out lie as there is a nice quiet way to get under the freeway just South of College on 9th street.
“Pedestrians and bicyclists crossing Highway 101 must use either Steele Lane or College Avenue, which carry a high volume of motorists.”
A good test of any project like this is whether a community will vote for the taxes necessary to pay for it. If so, then it truly enjoys widespread support.
Unfortunately, this bridge is being sold on the idea that “grant money” is available. If government projects required truth in advertising that would read “your grandchildren’s money.”
A bridge is probably a good idea, although this one is too pricey by a country mile. Which is what happens when local officials spend “grant money.”
As I previously noted, a few years ago a bicycle bridge was built across 10 lanes of freeway on I-80 in Berkeley for less than 1/3rd the cost of this boondoggle.
There is currently no bridge. No crime on the bridge, no maintenance on the bridge, no municipal liability from the bridge and people seem to be getting around just fine.
This is another great example of the “lets spend other people’s money” mentality that has brought our economy to the brink of collapse.
Go ahead, build your bridge. Every dime you spend building & maintaining it will be another dime that won’t be available to grow GOVERNMENT. I would rather have a “bridge” than another GOVERNMENT “service”. And when the time comes to lay off the people who maintain the bridge, we can easily end the bleeding with a cheap locked gate!