Frequently Asked Questions
Who is funding the Ferry Landside Improvement Project?
Sausalito has been granted $2 million in funding from the federal government and $400,000 from the Golden Gate Bridge Highway and Transportation District (GGBHTD). If the City Council does not approve the project soon, the funding will be lost. The City of Sausalito has already spent $400,000 of grant funds, an additional $100,000 of city funds and years of staff and volunteer time in developing the plans for the Ferry Landside Improvement Project. If the grant funding is lost, we will have to cover the ~$400,000 we have already spent and not have a completed project to show for it.
How will residents benefit from this project?
Residents of Sausalito traveling by all modes, including drivers, will benefit from improved circulation by addressing known congestion and safety hotspots. The area will be enhanced to create a tree-lined public space with improved accessibility to and from the Ferry Landside area, and to nearby parks and local businesses. The space can also be made available for residents to attend outdoor creative events along our city’s waterfront.
How will local businesses benefit from this project?
The Ferry Landside Improvement Project will create an improved downtown experience for everyone. An enhanced public space will encourage people to stay longer and spend more money supporting our local businesses. The improved Ferry Landside area could be used by businesses and/or a business improvement district for economic activities, community activations and creative events. An enhanced downtown experience could also provide our city with additional sales tax and transient occupancy taxes generated from local businesses and hotels.
Who developed the plan for the Ferry Landside Improvement Project?
Over several years, following direction from City Council, a Local Professionals Group, along with several city commissions and community input have gone into developing the plans for this project. BKF Engineers created the construction drawings.
Is Parking Lot 1 being repaved?
Not at this time. Repaving Parking Lot 1 would require more than the funds provided by the entire grant and would require removing existing mature trees from the area. Repaving Parking Lot 1 alone would not meet the federal grant criteria for this project. Repaving Parking Lot 1 reduces options for future resilience efforts to address sea level rise.
What is the impact on Parking Lot 1?
As with any good project there are compromises. To have a larger and safer Ferry Landside area, approximately 31 parking spots in Parking Lot 1 are planned to be removed. A September 2023 parking study reported that Parking Lot 1 is currently underutilized except during specific peak days at peak times (such as weekends in the summer, like the 4th of July). There are also seven ways listed under Parking Downtown on this website that we can start to execute on immediately to add more parking downtown.
What happened to the proposal to remove 14 parking spaces?
The Local Professional Group studied the area and modeled removing 14 parking spaces. That model was infeasible as it would require substantial alterations to Gabrielson Park and thus the project would not be compliant with City Ordinance 1128.
What is City Ordinance 1128?
City Ordinance 1128 was adopted in 1997 to stop building developments on our city’s waterfront. It requires the City to not reduce the public land area to be used for parking in Downtown by more than a certain percentage and to keep Gabrielson Park and Vina Del Mar as parks. The Ferry Landside Improvement Project will not reduce downtown land area for parking by more than 5%, which complies with the law and spirit of Ordinance 1128.
Will the City lose parking revenue?
Parking revenue is lost only if every parking space is utilized across all nearby parking lots, and there is still demand for parking. A parking study from September 2023 reported that Parking Lot 1 is currently underutilized. The same study provided easily implemented solutions City Council can take to generate additional parking revenue, such as nominally increasing parking fees, additional parking meters to Bridgeway and/or requiring parking fees in other city-owned parking spaces or lots such as lot 5. Sales Tax and TOT revenues are forecasted to increase from residents and visitors spending more money supporting local businesses and at creative events in the enhanced Ferry Landside area.
Will Gabrielson Park be altered?
There are no alterations to Gabrielson Park. New trees will be added in Parking Lot 1 next to Gabrielson Park. A bioswale, to collect and filter water before it enters the bay and will be installed in Parking Lot 1. Since there are no alterations to Gabrielson Park, again, the Ferry Landside Improvement Project complies with Ordinance 1128.
What is a bioswale and why is it being installed?
Currently water runoff from Parking Lot 1, which includes pollutants such as oil, fuel, tire residue, and brake dust is collected, and without being filtered, washes into the bay when it rains next to the Yacht Club. Bioswales are a key environmental feature of this project and they are effective at collecting water runoff and removing debris and pollution. Bioswales help preserve our bay’s health and can be quite beautiful enhancing the area’s natural beauty by being landscaped and planted with shrubs, grasses and trees.
Will access to the Yacht Club be blocked?
No. The plan takes steps to improve access to the Yacht Club by expanding sidewalks and enhancing safety for pedestrians and bicyclists at the Yacht Club entrance with the installation of a crosswalk and other proven traffic controls. Ferry travelers, Gabrielson Park users and Yacht Club members all benefit from the safety enhancements of the Ferry Landside Improvement Project.
Will Tracy Way be closed?
Yes. Tracy Way will become an enjoyable tree-lined promenade where residents and visitors can enjoy walking and attending outdoor creative events. As it is, Tracy Way is closed during the summer months to be used exclusively for bicycle parking. By permanently closing Tracy Way, critical pedestrian, bicycle and vehicle safety enhancements will occur at the Bridgeway and Anchor crosswalks, all while creating an additional public space.
Where will bikes be parked?
To improve safety and circulation in the downtown area, bikes will no longer be parked in the Ferry Landside area. Instead bikes will be parked on the north side of Humboldt Avenue between Spinnaker Drive and Bay Street. This will allow for bikes to be safely parked away from the Ferry Landside area and Gabrielson Park while enabling easy and quick queuing for the ferry. The plan for the bike parking area includes enhancements such as trees, benches and an expanded sidewalk.
What are the grant requirements set by the Federal Transit Agency?
The main requirements are:
Enhancement of the shoreside ferry plaza promenade.
Improve & enhance pedestrian and bicycle access routes to the shoreside ferry plaza and promenade.
Modify existing city-owned parking lot to better integrate the areas for vehicle, pedestrian and bicyclist uses and to improve circulation, safety, and efficiency
Increase the area available to safely stage and process ferry passengers, and bicycles, using the city parking lot areas
Widen and/or expand pedestrian and bicycle access routes and improve wayfinding
Widen and/or expand pedestrian and bicycle access routes and improve wayfinding
Relocated and add ticket vending machines
Make other improvements such as landscaping and improved drainage
This all sounds great, when will the project start?
The project could start by Fall 2024, however there are a number of ways it could go off track. Please stay tuned and by keeping pressure on our City Leaders you can help make sure the vision is realized!