4 Nov 2018 — Daylight Saving Time Ends
Remember to turn your clocks back one hour (Fall Back) to Winter Time:
Sunday, 4 November 2018, 2 a.m. turns back to
Sunday, 4 November 2018, 1 a.m. local standard time
Sunrise and sunset will be about 1 hour earlier on 4 Nov 2018 than the day before, which means there will be more light in the morning.
Speaking of light, the Donoghue Tunnel Lighting Project was finished early last summer. The resulting lighting fits so well that it’s hard to imagine how dark and threatening this passageway felt previously, or even to remember how long it took for the project to reach completion. When Sonja Hanson (local provocateur and Tunnel Brigade instigator) was asked if there were plans for a celebratory marking of the occasion, she replied, “Once the lights came on, marching through the tunnel seemed kind of anticlimactic, so no marching for the time being.” She very graciously went on to add, “I think the tunnel lighting was inevitable. A lot of people have been working on it for years, including Jonathon Goldman and Bob Goralka. A few of us made a bit of a stir about it last year. We may have pushed it forward a bit, but the new lighting should be credited to the folks that have been working on it for years.”
Leslie Alden (Kate Sears’ Aide) concurred, “I would give big kudos to Jonathan Goldman—he found funding, nudged Caltrans, nudged me, and worked so well with the County’s Dept of Public Works, specifically Bob Goralka. And Bob should definitely get a shout-out, too. It was not easy to get things coordinated and these guys worked behind the scenes to get Caltrans and PG&E to accomplish their parts of the project. What people don’t realize is that some things that look like they should be simple are anything but.”
WHAT’S NEXT with the tunnel? The surrounding walls (and internal passageway) are a giant blank canvas crying out for an arts project, and present the opportunity to bring together the two communities linked by the tunnel: Sausalito and Marin City. Leslie went on to say, “I would very much like to assist with a community process that will lead to a remarkable result that everyone is happy with—but it won’t be fast and it may not be easy.” and goes on to explain why, “With the previous proposals in past years, there has been a lead individual who had a great idea for what THEY wanted to see happen. They reached out to the local City Council and/or a community organization, such as the Rotary, and presented the idea and got support for the concept but, in the instances that I am aware of, the concept was developed without doing a true community process.
“Therein lies the problem with gaining the support of Caltrans and the County. I would be more than happy to help develop that process so that this time a real project will gain the broad community support and jurisdiction approvals needed to become a reality” and then suggests, “Perhaps a community group that represents a broad cross-section of the stakeholders can get together and draft a process plan to present to the County, Sausalito Council, Marin City CSD Board, and the community at large, along with Caltrans.”
Leslie has provided the following information and perspective (the players and process, but also the impediments) for anyone interested in taking on the next phase of the Donoghue Tunnel:
Information on the Transportation Art Program can be found at Caltrans Transportation Art
At Caltrans, David Eng is the person in charge. david.eng@dot.ca.gov (510) 286-5918
Community Process:
From the standpoint of this office, it has been the lack of a true community engagement effort. That is to say, people have come forward with great ideas, and have on occasion reached out to certain entities, such as the Sausalito City Council, Rotary, Marin City Community Services District board, and our office, but did not engage the community at large to create something that had the buy-in and support from a broad constituency.
As an example of a GREAT community process, I would look to Nancy Peach, who managed a truly inclusive process that resulted in a highly regarded mural at Rocky Graham Park in Marin City. That mural has never been vandalized or hit with graffiti.
Ongoing Maintenance:
Transportation art requires that the local city/county sponsor agree to maintain the art work over the lifespan of the art work. From the County’s perspective, this would be an issue that we would need to discuss internally, especially regarding any graffiti removal that may occur. This would be a cost and expense that is not currently budgeted.
Coordinating Everyone:
Caltrans owns the site, and the County maintains it on a very limited budget of staff time and available materials. Obviously the Marin City Community Services District and the City of Sausalito have an interest in what happens. And then there are all the community members. We’re grateful that there are interested and well-meaning folks who want to see the underpass enhanced, but to truly get this off the ground, this project will need someone who understands the complexities, can effectively reach out to all stakeholders, navigate the regulatory and funding issues, and ultimately have broad buy-in and support. Everyone has a vision of what could happen, including style, story, and materials, but creating consensus on what a singular approach will be is a challenge—a worthy challenge, but not an easy one.
previous posts:
Brigade Lights Up Sausalito–Marin City Tunnel
Join the Tunnel Lighting Brigade – Sat Dec 16
photos and post by Jenny Stein