Point Reyes Light - November 20, 2003
Muir & Stinson again rap parks' transportation plan
By Victoria Schlesinger
Park Service staff told irate Marin residents this week they will take another look at their transportation alternatives for "southwestern" Marin. Residents from Muir Beach and Stinson Beach trekked to a Park Service presentation at Fort Mason Center in San Francisco to continue to deride the county’s plans but with less hostility.
The county’s Department of Public Works, together with the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, California State Parks, and Caltrans are developing a Comprehensive Transportation Management Plan for parklands in "southwestern" Marin.
The plan wants to reduce traffic congestion, particularly in Muir Woods and Stinson Beach, by increasing shuttle service and overhauling the current parking lot scheme.
A lot of feedback
"We have gotten a lot of feedback, ranging from friendly to acrimonious. The good news is people are listening," Nancy Hornor, chief of planning for the GGNRA, told 80 West Marin residents attending the Fort Mason meeting.
"You can expect to see changes in the plans," Hornor said and then listed three controversial proposals in the plan that will be revised: the conversion of Santos Meadow into a parking lot, closure of upper Muir Woods Road, and a new southern entrance to Stinson Beach. Residents vehemently oppose the agencies’ proposed changes to these areas and reiterated their disapproval at the Fort Mason meeting.
Stinson Beach residents again derided the Park Service for ignoring the community’s 20-year-old request for a traffic cop in town during peak traffic hours.
The meeting erupted in laughter when Stinson Beach resident Art Morris said, "You’d think we’d asked you to put a man on the moon. You’ve thought about building a Tramway in the Valley... but can’t give us a traffic cop?"
When asked about the traffic officer proposal, Hornor told The Light, "It’s a really great, low-tech solution. There’s got to be a way that it can happen."
Ecologist’s nightmare
Lynda Grose, who chairs the newly created Muir Beach Mitigation Committee, called the plan "an engineer’s dream and a ecologist’s nightmare." The committee was created by town residents to work on the transportation issue.
Grose concluded the public comments by sternly telling the Park Service, "No more surprises. We want to be included in the process."
In response to the repeated outcry that residents have been kept in the dark about the planning process, Paul Bignardi, Park Service transportation planner, told residents he intends to attend more local and village association meetings in the next two months and keep residents informed about transportation plans.
The Fort Mason meeting was the forth and final presentation of the draft alternatives open to the public. The park says it will bring revised plans to the public for comment in February 2004.