THE ISSUE:  The City Council is considering whether to go forward with a contract to develop plans for a multi-use bike path through the Marinship.  The contract appears to be endorsed by the Transportation Action Committee (TAC) of the “Imagine Sausalito” Visioning Process.

SEA’S POSITION:  This project does not have the support of residents, does not comply with Sausalito zoning ordinances and recommends yet another bicycle path without addressing the broader cycling issues,.  Specifically, the issues are as follows:

1)      At a time when our town is already overrun with cyclists, we would be encouraging more to come and to meander through the Marinship, compromising its industrial zoning.  Rather than a piecemeal approach to cyclist paths, this project should be considered as part of an overall bicycle plan for the City.  We need to find a way to control the bicycle traffic we already have, not entice more.

2)      Inviting cyclists and tourists into the Marinship, our industrial area, is the first step in converting this area to a tourist attraction and the “fisherman wharfizing” of our entire waterfront.  Over the years, Sausalito residents have fought to contain tourism in the appropriate downtown zone and fight tourism encroachment (AKA “T-shirt shops”) into other parts of Sausalito.  The goal is to preserve our quality of life in this small town.  We do not want to replace our maritime industries and artists with gaudy knick-knack stores, T-shirt shops and wax museums and all the traffic congestion and parking lots that come with it.

This project is not in compliance with the Marinship Specific Plan; it should be considered in a residents’ review of the Marinship Specific Plan which is long overdue.  The City-appointed Imagine Sausalito committee for the Marinship is not a residents’ committee.  It is composed of residents, non-residents and Marinship landowners and managers, all with equal votes.  Does anyone see a conflict of interest here?

3)      The funding for the study is a federal grant; this money is specified for improving traffic by getting people out of their cars and into alternate, non-motorized transportation.  How does attracting tourists to the Marinship improve traffic conditions?  This is misuse of the federal grant.  Some view the $100,000 grant as “free money” but as tax payers, it’s our money.  This money should be spent on an overall bike plan for Sausalito.  One that looks at the different types of cyclists, the spandex groups, the tourists and the resident cyclists.  Let’s look at the big picture and assess our needs before we build another bike path.

4)      The residents have not weighed in on this project.  Aside from the “Imagine Sausalito” visioning committees, there has been zero public input.  The City should not proceed with a project that could change our town forever without vetting by Sausalitans.  Proponents of the Marinship bike path claim that 80% of the residents want this path based on a 2006 survey of only 172 respondents.  Hello?  That represents 2.3% of the population!  What about the other 97.7%?  Does our City Council care?

The City Council should vote against moving forward with this multi-use path through the Marinship and redirect the funds to an overall solution for the City’s bike problem.  At the very least, the City Council should redirect City staff to apply funding to Bridgeway bike paths and the Bridgeway right-of-way – not redefining our waterfront and our industrial zoning.  Let’s not start the “End Path”; the path that is the beginning of the end of our industrial and marine-oriented Marinship.

BACKGROUND:  See Staff Report and Consultant’s proposal.