The board governing the Transportation Authority of Marin has approved allocating $11.86 million in bridge toll tax revenue to support six county transit projects.
The unanimous vote Thursday includes a $2 million award to the Golden Gate Bridge district for design of the new San Rafael Transit Center. With a 50% match from the bridge district, the design phase is now fully funded, said Denis Mulligan, general manager of the district.
“It’s about a $65 million project for all phases,” Mulligan said. “After this allocation … we’ll still need $14 million, and we’ll be competing for various programs for that money.”
Marin Transit is getting several awards, including $2.5 million for bus stop improvements across the county. Nancy Whelan, general manager of Marin Transit, the county’s local bus route operator, said it maintains more than 600 bus stops.
With the award, Marin Transit is looking to add 40 new bus shelters, some at stops that don’t have them, including in “equity priority communities.” There are two sites in Marin City, five in the Canal area of San Rafael and 13 in Terra Linda, Whelan said.
The funding would also support accessibility improvements and planning for future upgrades at bus stops, Whelan said.
The Metropolitan Transportation Commission, which administers the Regional Measure 3 tax dollars, provided $100 million for the North Bay Transit Access Improvement Program to be split evenly among five counties.
With $20 million to distribute, Transportation Authority of Marin officials decided to split allocations in the county over two application periods.
In addition to funding for bus stop improvements, Marin Transit is getting $1.5 million to help replace its bus fleet and $923,000 to design the new Marin Transit electric bus charging and maintenance facility.
Another $4.71 million would create the SMART path extension from Hanna Ranch Road to Rowland Boulevard in Novato, and $224,000 to design a passenger dropoff and pickup zone at the Civic Center SMART station with accessible parking and a class 1 bike path upgrade.
Some bicycle and pedestrian access advocates voiced their support for the projects at the Transportation Authority of Marin board meeting Thursday.
Matthew Hartzell, planning and policy director of the group WTB-TAM, said the planned SMART path in Novato is a critical link in the North-South Greenway network of bicycle and pedestrian routes.
“It will allow for the very first time people to walk, bike or roll from south Novato to central Novato on the east side of Highway 101,” Hartzell said. “And it will help to complete and optimize SMART’s first and last mile network, making it easier for people to walk, bike or roll to their local SMART station.”
Ahead of the vote, Marin County Supervisor Stephanie Moulton-Peters, a TAM board member, said she wanted to make sure we are “contributing enough to make a meaningful difference to each of these projects, and it sounds like we are.”
Regional Measure 3 is estimated to provide $4.45 billion to be administered through the Metropolitan Transportation Commission for highway and transit improvements in the Bay Area.
Four specific Marin allocations were included in the RM3 expenditure plan, including $120 million for the Marin-Sonoma Narrows project on Highway 101; $210 million for Richmond-San Rafael Bridge access improvements; $100 million for Highway 37 improvements; and $30 million for the San Rafael Transit Center relocation.