Citing fears that the North Coast will be left out of railroad redevelopment, the Humboldt County Board of Supervisors voted Friday to ask for amendments to a bill currently in the state Legislature.
Assembly Bill 2224 would create a Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit District for the purpose of commuter transit on the southern end of the Northwestern Pacific line. The North Coast Railroad Authority has expressed concern that rail freight -- perceived as the heart of any future rail service in Humboldt and Mendocino counties -- is being excluded.
In a letter to the bill's author, the board asks that an operating agreement be created between the NCRA and the new transit district, and that the NCRA be given a seat on the district's board of directors.