SMART plans December weekend pause in service
During the mid-December service pause, a section of Todd Road in Santa Rosa will close as SMART improves that rail crossing.
Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit plans to suspend service the weekend of Dec. 14-15 to test the system ahead of the planned opening of the Petaluma North station by year-end.
The agency announced Monday its plans to not run trains or its SMART Connect shuttles from the Sonoma County airport or Larkspur stations that Saturday and Sunday.
“We regret any inconvenience this closure may cause,” the announcement said. “After careful consideration, we determined that implementing bus bridges would not reliably serve our riders due to significant delays and longer travel times. Temporarily suspending service, with advance notice to riders, is the most efficient and least disruptive approach, allowing us to complete the necessary testing swiftly while minimizing overall service impact.”
Federal law requires operators to sound train horns and crossing bells during system tests, regardless of local ordinances against their use, SMART said. So the agency said residents in Petaluma and Penngrove will hear horns and bells intermittently during the testing.
“We apologize for any inconvenience and are taking steps to minimize noise disruptions while maintaining safety as our top priority for everyone in the area,” the agency said.
The Petaluma North will become the transit line’s 13th station. The Windsor station is set to open early next year, and the Healdsburg station in 2028.
Alternate transit
The agency recommends riders plan alternate transit routes via the apps Transit, Google Maps or Apple Maps. Golden Gate Transit offers bus service connecting Sonoma and Marin counties to San Francisco.
Also SMART has customer service agents are available Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-5 p.m., to help with trip planning. They can be reached by phone at 707-794-3330 or by email at [email protected].
Temporary closure of Todd Road crossing
SMART plans to use the December pause in service to also improve the crossing at Todd Road in south Santa Rosa. So Todd Road will be closed between Standish and Moorland avenues from 10 p.m. Friday, Dec. 13, through 10 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 15. Traffic on Todd will be detoured around the closure via Standish, West Robles and Moorland avenues.
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