Traveling in 2020 — A Day in Sonoma County

A Vision for our Future

The last of the night's freight trains leave the Petaluma loading dock. The fully-loaded train is carrying packaged telecommunications equipment manufactured in Sonoma County and destined for the East Coast. The freight service takes 3,000 trucks a week off of 101, helping relieve congestion, improve safety and reduce the costs of maintaining the highway.

A bicyclist pedals silently and swiftly through the Valley of the Moon. Her trip starts on marked street paths in the City of Sonoma. At Maxwell Park she merges onto a dedicated bike/pedestrian path that parallels Highway 12 through Boyes Hot Springs, Agua Caliente, past Glen Ellen, through Kenwood and eventually into Santa Rosa. Along the way she meets other cyclists, joggers and children walking to school.

A Marin-bound commuter steps out his front door in Windsor. He walks two blocks to a designated "jitney stop" and at 7:10 is picked up by a van that carries him and fellow passengers to the Windsor Train Depot. At 7:20 they catch the Southbound Commuter Express. Between stops in Santa Rosa, Rohnert Park, Cotati and Petaluma the train reach speeds of 69 miles per hour. The smooth ride allows passengers to sip coffee, read the paper and work on laptops without interruption. Fifty minutes later, the rested commuter steps off the train at the Novato Station.

A harried mom grabs her lunch, a bag of cleaning and her two kids. Rushing out the door of her downtown Petaluma condominium, she shoos the children across the "village commons" area where they join-up with other children at the school-bus stop. She rushes into the dry cleaners, drops off her bag; walks the two blocks to the train depot where she catches the train to the ferry that drops her off near her Embarcadero-area office by 9 a.m.

A Sebastopol teenager hops on his mountain bike, backpack flying. Within three blocks of his house he is riding on a designated network of bike/pedestrian paths that leads east to SRJC, with most of his travel on a dedicated pathway. He arrives safely at the J.C. at 9:50, with his worst encounter with cars being the trip through the campus parking lots.

A Cloverdale commuter backs her car out of the garage. She has already spent two hours working at home. She regularly takes advantage of her company's well-established telecommunication policy to avoid the morning rush hour. Stopping in Geyserville, she picks up two co-workers. At Windsor she directs her auto into the new carpool lane. In 45 minutes she is at work in Rohnert Park, where, as a designated carpooler, she drives to a specially designated parking area.

An Oakmont resident walks down the block to the bus stop. Within a few minutes he is picked-up by one of the frequently running vans. Today he is going to Sonoma for a doctor's appointment and a little shopping. Tomorrow he will head to Petaluma to see a friend.

The first of the mid-day trains arrives at the Healdsburg station. Passengers disembark from the historic train at the restored depot. After looking at maps of the area, some will decide to stay in town, have lunch and wander the plaza. Others will catch one of the "loop" jitneys that stop every 30 minutes at area wineries. Popular "loops" include the Alexander Valley, Dry Creek, Chalk Hill and Westside Road tourists can stay as long as they like at the wineries, without having to worry about negotiating county roads after a few tastings.

A SSU student logs onto her computer at home in Healdsburg. She quickly dials up the Sonoma County Transit website, where she sees that - with a little luck - in 10 minutes she can catch a bus at the Plaza that will take her to Rohnert Park in time for her 2:10 class.

Throughout the county, school kids begin leaving classrooms. A network of school buses, public buses and private vans carry them safely home or to daycare.

A telecom worker leaves her Petaluma office. She is one of many employees choosing an alternate work schedule in order to spend less time in commute hour traffic and more time with her family.

Throughout the county company owned vans leave worksites, full of employees. After dropping people off at the nearest transit stations, the drivers head back to worksites to pick-up another load.

101 traffic is at its height. While it moves slowly, auxilary lanes and high-tech flow monitoring devices ensure it moves smoothly.