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Sausalito’sEvolvingAspirationsByRobertL.Harrison

May2018

Injustoverfiftyyears,Sausalito’sresidentsswungfromdeterminedadvocatesfightingtoremainpartofacriticalstatehighwaysystemtoproponentsthatSausalito’sidentityfromtheHighway101freewaybediminished.Thisarticledescribeshowthetransformationoccurred.In1909,whenfirstenvisioned,StateRoute1ranfromSanFrancisco,viaferrytoSausalito,andthentoCrescentCity,extending371.2miles,theplannedhighwaywouldbethesecondlongestrouteinthestatehighwaysystem.

Route1initiallystretchedfromSausalitoovertheCorteMaderaGradetoRossValleyatSanAnselmoandtheneasttoSanRafael.ThecurrentHighway101alignmentfromSanRafaeltoSausalitowasasignificantupgradetoRoute1.AsectionofthenewalignmentfromSanRafaeltoAlto,neartoday’sHorseHill,wasopenedinAugust1930.

SausalitoNewsAugust15,1930

ThestretchfromAltotoManzanitaovertheRedwoodBridge(aquarter-milespanoverRichardsonBay)wasinauguratedinNovember1931.In1934,thestatehighwaywascompletedtoapointaquartermilenorthoftheSausalitoferryterminals.Todaythegentlecurvesandgradesofthedividedfour-lanestatehighway,namedBridgewayBoulevardin1936,canstillbeexperiencedfromthenorthcitylimitstoNapaStreet.Anarrowersegment,butnonethelessdesignedforfourlanes,fromNapatoSanCarlosStreetswassqueezedbetweentheNorthwesternPacific(NWP)right-of-wayandCaledoniaStreet.ThequartermilefromSanCarlosStreettotheferryterminalsremainsasweseeittoday,just45to60feetwidewithtwolanesfortraffic,twoparkinglanes,andsidewalks.WiththecompletionofthestatehighwayfromSausalitonorth,thepromisemadein1909tocreatethefirststatewidehighwayfromSanFrancisco,throughSausalito,tonorthernCaliforniawasfulfilled.AsSausalitocelebratedthecompletionofRoute1throughitstown,anewstatehighwaywasunderconstructionthatwouldpassthroughthehillsabovethehamlet.

SausalitoNewsAugust15,1930

SausalitohadpushedhardtogetthestatehighwayconnectiontotheferryandSanFrancisco.However,inanironicturn,theopeningoftheGoldenGateBridgeradicallyalteredthetown’spositioninthestatetransportationsystem.Nowthetown’schiefconcernwasthatthestatehighwaywouldbypassSausalito.AsreportedinJune1934,“SausalitoismakingaconcerteddrivetobeincludedintheroadsystemconnectingtheGoldenGateBridgewiththeRedwoodHighwayandnotbeleftoutinthecoldtobecomea‘forgottencity’.”TheTownCounciladoptedaresolutiontosupportaroadthroughSausalitofromtheBridgetotheRedwoodHighwayatWaldo.

Fromthefour-lanestate-constructedBridgewayBoulevardtotheFortBakerGatewasagapintheimprovedroadwayofalittleoveramile.Itremainstodayasaseriesofnarrow,curvilineartwo-lanecitystreetswithrightangleturnsandsteepgrades.

Aplanforabroad,straight,“rapidtransithighway”throughthetown,includingaviaductalongtheshorelinefromtheFortBakerGatetothecentralarea,hadbeenproposedasthemainroadtotheBridge.TheintentionwastoeliminatetheneedfortheWaldoGraderoutethroughthehillsabovethetown.Analternativetotheviaductwasproposedin1935;aforty-footwideroadwaywithlimitedcurvaturetobeconstructedalongexistingstreets.However,neighborsopposedtheproposaltowidenthestreets,possiblythefirstofseveraleffortstoresistanyprojectthatwouldattracttrafficthroughthetown.

CaliforniaHighwaysandPublicWorksMay1937

In1938,theEngineeroftheGoldenGateBridgeandHighwayDistrictasserted,“Sausalitohasbeenby-passedandbottle-necked.”TheBridgeDistrictwasanenthusiasticsupporterofconnectingthefour-lanestatehighway,itsnameshortenedtoBridgewayin1938,withtheSausalitoLateralroutetotheBridge.TheDistrictassumedthatthislocalaccessroute,inadditiontotheWaldoGradeaccess,wouldincreasethetrafficvolumeusingthespan.

TheTownCouncil,aspartoftheefforttoensurethatSausalitowouldnotbeby-passed,workedwiththeDistrictinsupportofaBridgeaccessroutethroughtownintothe1940s.OthersjoinedinthepromotionofamajorhighwaythroughthetownasafeederoftraffictotheBridge,stressingthatthestatehighwayovertheWaldoGradewastoosteepfortrucksandbusesandtoodangerousbecauseoffrequentfogevents.Caltrans,thebuilderofthe$2millionplus($35millionin2017dollars)WaldoapproachtotheBridge,maintainedthattheroadwaywasadequateandthatnoadditionalBridgeaccessrouteswereunderconsideration.

Sausalitoresidents’concernincreasedregardingaroutethatwouldbringtraffictothetown.Bythemid-20thcentury,mostresidentsofSausalitonolongerworriedaboutthestatehighwaybypassingthetown.OffargreaterconcernwasthehighvolumeoftrafficfromtheBridgeusingtheSausalitoLateralandcitystreets.Toreducetrafficenteringthesouthendofthetown,theCityaskedthatfreewaysignsfornorthboundBridgetrafficshowtheSausalitoexitatthenorthendoftown.Further,theCityrequestedtheexitsigndirectlyaftertheBridgeshouldbemarked“AlexanderAvenue”withnoreferencetoSausalito.

So,wehavewhatexiststoday:AfreewayinthehillsabovethetownwithsignsdesignedtodivertatleastsometrafficfromSausalito’stwo-lanestreets.ThefactthatthehighwaythroughSausalitototheBridgewasnevercompletedleftthetownwiththefashionableandhuman-scaledowntownstillenjoyedtoday.