Improving Transportation in the North Bay:
Support: Opening of the Third Lane on the Richmond San Rafael Bridge
As part of the Common Sense Transportation Coalition, I joined business and labor leaders with public safety officials in a rally on the Richmond San Rafael Bridge on May 14th. The goal was to bring more visibility to the very real traffic crisis, and make an immediate call for action from the decision-makers at Bay Conservation & Development Commission (BCDC). Any new proposal to move the bike lane to the weekends when ridership is highest and turn the third lane into a pull over lane Monday-Thursday has to receive approval from the BCDC.
We were joined by Marin County District 2 Supervisor Brian Colbert, who said, "Every week I hear from companies in my district about the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge and how the increasing traffic delay hurts their ability to recruit and retain their valuable employees. I support an immediate solution to the traffic on the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge,” he added. “Marin is ready to work with agencies to make this happen.”
Standing with leading Marin employer, Mike Ghiliotti, President of Ghilotti Bros. we also made the case that the bike lane is hurting the economy. “This is a huge impact to [drivers] and to their families, compromising their quality of life and wasting five to six hours a week that they could be spending with their families,” said business owner Mike Ghilotti, president of Ghilotti Bros.
If you agree with us, please contact your Marin and Sonoma Commissioner at BCDC and let them know you want an immediate change. The failed bike/ped pilot program was supposed to end years ago. It’s time to acknowledge it did not make any impactful mode shift, collect the information and move onto the next alternative that will make a difference in the lives of hard working people every day.
Support: AB (697)- A Bill That Will Change the Trajectory of Hwy 37
Thank you to the California lawmakers that voted to waive endangered species rules for Highway 37. Big shout out to our own North Bay Legislative Delegation member, Assemblymember Chris Rogers who voted to support AB 697 as a member of the Assembly Water, Parks and Wildlife Committee. This bill by Assemblymember Lori Wilson could help ease traffic on the key thoroughfare between Marin, Sonoma, Napa and Solano counties.
As reported by North Bay Business Journal ,“The 21-mile highway connects Interstate 80 in Vallejo in Solano County to Highway 101 in Novato in Marin County along the north San Pablo Bay. It cuts though some of the state’s last remaining salt marshes, which are threatened by sea level rise. Highway 37, which has a history of flooding, also is one of the most congested highways in Northern California, leading to long backups for commuters during weekdays and for wine country visitors on weekends.”
“During his eight years on the Santa Rosa City Council, Chris Rogers spent hour after tedious hour in local transportation meetings discussing a proposal to reduce congestion on one of the main traffic arteries into the Napa-Sonoma Valley corridor. That’s why Rogers, now a rookie Democratic assemblymember, said he had to chuckle when environmental groups complained that a bill making its way through the Legislature was somehow “fast-tracking” the long-stalled Highway 37 widening project in the North Bay.
“When you’re talking about a project that was started or at least conceived before you were born … and somebody’s calling it ‘fast tracking,’ it just doesn’t track,” Rogers said at a committee hearing last week. “The project should have been done already.”
The latest action on the bill was May 14, 2025, when it passed the Assembly committee with a vote of 15-0. The bill's next step is likely to be a vote in the Assembly and potentially the Senate, depending on the progression of the legislative process.
SMART Grand Opening of the Windsor Station and Pathway:
Join us on Friday, June 13, 2025, at 1:45 p.m. at the Windsor SMART station to celebrate the opening of this exciting new connection into the heart of Windsor. More information here
SMART Train will expand its service next month to run from Windsor to Larkspur, marking another milestone in its growth since opening in August 2017. Since its inception, SMART Train has grown and expanded its services, providing reliable transit to the North Bay area.
The upcoming extension is expected to increase the current ridership of 23,000 weekly passengers.