By spring, the Sonoma-Marin transit agency hopes to begin rebuilding the 37 miles from Railroad Square in Santa Rosa to downtown San Rafael.

A small slice of Fifth Street was transformed into an outdoor patio Friday by folks urging Santa Rosans to rethink how much urban space is devoted to parking. The Share Exchange and Greenbelt Alliance took over two parking spaces in front of their buildings, filling them with rugs, potted plants, patio furniture and board games.

Santa Rosa is hoping to kick-start a transit-oriented development in Railroad Square by going after $7.1 million in federal grants and loans for a key portion of the project. This first phase of the New Railroad Square Project calls for construction of a two-story health club topped by 82 rental units.

Long-delayed plans to reconnect Sixth Street in Santa Rosa under Highway 101 may get a jump-start this summer, thanks to cost savings from widening work along the highway. The California Transportation Commission last week approved nearly $700,000 for the project, which is expected to cost about $1.5 million.

8:45 AM UPDATE: Santa Rosa’s downtown restaurants have succeeded in driving off the food trucks they viewed as unfair competition. The city announced Wednesday that it was suspending support for Munch Mondays, at least for now. A search is underway for a new location, but it probably won’t be in downtown.

Santa Rosa Mayor Ernesto Olivares says eliminating redevelopment agencies makes little economic sense and is not a viable solution to the state’s budget problems. If the Legislature approves Gov. Jerry Brown’s plan, Olivares says it will end the city’s economic development programs, hurt efforts to create jobs and stall a $42 million project to upgrade the Railroad Square area. What do you think?

North Bay rail transit planners are expecting to get an earful of opinions Saturday when they consider building the SMART line in stages rather than all at once. Train supporters want the entire 70-mile line built from scratch. Railroad Square residents are worried about parking problems if the line ends in Santa Rosa. And biking advocates don’t want SMART to postpone a bike path along the rail line to save money. Should be a fun meeting.

Parking is about to get a little easier in downtown Santa Rosa. The city is gaining 165 parking spots near Railroad Square. For the past two years, the parking lots have been used as a staging area for construction work on Highway 101.

The John Stewart Co., which is building a transit-oriented development in Railroad Square, is asking SMART to move the location of affordable housing to an adjacent development. The developer says the shift will make the project financially feasible and could be a catalyst for building in the area. But critics warn the shift may violate state fair-housing laws.

Two West End residents, Carol Dean and Allen Thomas, are calling on SMART to end closed-door talks with the Accountable Development Coalition over the scope of development around its Railroad Square station in Santa Rosa. “The special interest politics on the SMART board needs to stop now,” they say. See why they are upset.