PETALUMA -- The Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit (SMART) agency has a clear and compelling vision.
General Manager Farhad Mansourian chuckled and said, "Every time a member of the staff is sitting out on that parking lot we call the 101, I'm sure they're thinking to themselves, 'Yes! I'm helping to change this!' As a team, we are helping our friends and neighbors reclaim those minutes and hours of their lives they spend sitting on the freeway, and we're helping the environment. It feels great."
When it's completed, the SMART train will run from Cloverdale to the Larkspur ferry. The leg of the project linking Santa Rosa to San Rafael is scheduled for completion at the end of 2016.
"I wish I had the power to fast-forward to the end of 2016 and be sitting on a SMART train with a latte in my hand, going 79 miles per hour toward the city," Mr. Mansourian added. "This is my 36th year of being a public servant, and I am so excited by this project, and I know my colleagues are as well. This is something all of us, our whole community here in the North Bay, is going to look back on someday and know we helped coming generations. This is going to benefit people young and old, everyone in society. I work with a small team at SMART but every single individual is extremely dedicated and passionate about the big picture and I couldn't be prouder of the work they do. The staff has created a wonderful environment to work in."
Nina West, administrative services manager, echoed Mr. Mansourian's feelings about the dedication and passion of the staff. "It's nice to come to work in the morning because everyone is so enthusiastic and caring and it feels like family." That family is growing. SMART plans to double in size in the next year or two.
