This winter, heavy rains combined with king tides flooded parts of Highway 37 for 25 days. Commuters using the popular stretch of road that runs east/west along the north shore of San Pablo Bay were rerouted, causing traffic backups for hours and shining a spotlight on the millions CalTrans spent to fix the western stretch that lay underwater for weeks.
Environmentalists, including Sierra Club members in the four counties with large stakes in Highway 37, say this is a preview of what’s to come with sea-level rise and point to the need for long-term solutions to go beyond the quick fix of raising the road and adding another lane.
A study group, led by Redwood Chapter Transportation Chair Steve Birdlebough and including a member from each Napa, Solano and Marin Groups, is putting forth a proposal for the State Route 37 Policy Committee, the project decision-makers, to encourage carpooling, create public transit options and protect the sensitive wetlands habitat.
“Currently, there are traffic tie ups eastbound in the afternoon starting as early as 2 p.m. and going until about 7 p.m.,” said Birdlebough, who lives in Santa Rosa. Sonoma and Napa drivers make up a share of the 41,000 cars that travel on Highway 37 every day.
The solution, he said, must include alternatives to driving solo to ease traffic congestion and reduce tailpipe emissions—the major contributor of greenhouse gases in the Bay Area. Simply adding new traffic lanes seldom relieves congestion, because every time you add a lane, you encourage development that produces more traffic and the lane fills up,” Birdlebough said. “Gradually, you see that congestion is right back where it was.”
Adding a lane, he continued, would triple the number of cars using the highway, significantly increasing pollution.
He has seen a shift in mindset on many levels throughout the state. “Finally, people at every level are admitting that new lanes don’t accomplish much.”
Birdlebough believes that better solutions can include housing for people closer to their work, making public transportation more convenient and even implementing tolls that make people aware of the economic choice about whether they’re going to ride transit or drive.
Tolls are expected to be introduced on Highway 37, with some of the money generated by tolls to subsidize van services.
Birdlebough points to the Golden Gate Bridge as an example to the relationship between a toll facility and public transportation.
“People love the ferries,” he said. “More people are riding the bus or taking the ferry, and you have a 1937 bridge that’s operating in the 21st century, and driving across that bridge is not that big a deal. Because enough people ride transit, the bridge traffic moves.”
There is no public transit service that runs along Highway 37 between Marin and Vallejo. The work group, which includes Chris Benz from the Napa Group, Joe Feller of Solano Group and Doug Karpa of the Marin Group (SF Bay Chapter), is considering ways that the rail right-of-way could serve travelers between the I-80 and US-101 corridors.
The group’s recommendations include considering:
- Restricting heavy trucks during commute hours.
- Managing traffic through tolls, lane-metering, ridesharing and public transit.
- Providing ferry service between Vallejo and San Rafael.
- Providing rail service on the existing tracks between the Napa junction and Novato to connect with SMART trains.
Benz, chair of Napa Group, said though Highway 37 does not run through Napa County, many Napa drivers rely on the road to get to work. Her group is interested in marsh and wetland protection and promoting public transit options for Napa commuters.
Feller, chair of Solano Group, said anyone who has traveled Highway 37 knows it’s got a major traffic problem even when it’s not flooded in the winter. “We believe a solution may be worked out that not only satisfies the needs of the low-income residents of Solano County, but also the environmental needs of all four counties."
The group has drafted a letter to the policy committee stating its concerns and suggestions. Other groups, including Land Paths, Audubon Society and Greenbelt Alliance are also sharing their concerns and suggestions, with a focus on wetland preservation.
There will be a meeting of the SR-37 Policy Committee at 9:30 a.m. on Thursday, May 4 at the Mare Island Museum, 1100 Railroad Ave, Vallejo.
