A Tram for Tam

Southern Marin County, California. One of the most beautiful spots on earth, and one of the most expensive places to live. Thousands of people visit every year and pour money into the economy, and it is the battle of wills and lifestyle between tourists and residents that concerns Muir Woods, the little woods at the top of Mount Tamalpais. Muir Woods, a pristine gem containing one of the last untouched stands of California redwoods, is also surrounded by and sprinkled with the homes of Marin elite. Living in this idyllic spot isn't for the fainthearted, as the road to the woods is narrow, treacherous and crowded.

It's that last problem that has Muir Beach resident Fred Thal and his neighbors agitated enough to form the Southern Marin Parklands Visitor Access Transportation Study Group. Thal's proposed plan for the woods and surrounding countryside as far as Fort Baker is to build an aerial tramway from East Fort Baker on the Sausalito bay up Mount Tamalpais to Muir Woods and down the other side to Muir and Stinson Beaches.

An expensive proposal, but given the money the tourist trade brings into Marin, a good one. Aerial tramways are already in use in several other U.S. state parks, and have a minimal impact on the environment. They run on cables suspended between towers placed a mile apart. The Tam Tram would keep a lot of traffic off the mountain and provide a spectacular tourist draw, since the view would be breathtaking.

The opposition to Thal's plan comes mostly from the National Park Service, due to money concerns. Their last 'traffic migration study', released in March of 1999, recommended building new parking lots near Redwood Creek and the Muir Beach community water system. Redwood Creek has endangered Coho salmon spawning in it, and the water system is a well. Thal believes the Federal money would be available for the tram project, since the coastal park regions have been designated top priority areas by the National Park Service -- some solution must be found to alleviate traffic and incursions on the local ecology.

The proposed tramline would begin in Fort Baker and move northward across what is known as Tennessee Valley and the Coyote and Diaz ridges, up to Muir Woods. It would be built entirely on Golden Gate National Recreation land, which makes it a good bet for federal funding.

There is little opposition to the tramline apart from monetary concerns, but the Fort Baker conversion and ferry terminal, also crucial to the plan, are hotly contested. The opposition comes almost entirely from residents of Sausalito, long a tiny, contained tourist town at the southern edge of Marin County. Here property values are among the highest in the nation, and the residents don't want Fort Baker opened to the public.

It is a fallacy to think former military land doesn't belong to the public, and Fort Baker has its' own access road which is little used at this time. The complaints of the residents of Sausalito aside, the conversion has already been approved. It is one of the bases being converted entirely into a national park; the new Fort Baker National Park will contain a hotel/conference center. This is another point of contention -- the original plan called for a 350 room hotel, which would be the largest in Marin County. That is now being re-thought down to possibly 150 rooms, in order to keep the park as unspoiled and tourist-friendly as possible. No new buildings will be constructed for the hotel, no matter its; size -- there are nineteen historic buildings which are suitable. Shoreline restoration, conversion of the Yacht Club to a public facility center, landscaping, visitor amenities and parking for 700 cars is planned. The Bay Area Discovery Museum, already on the site, will be retained. There will also be a ferry terminal.

This means a traveler could conceivably board the ferry in San Francisco, ride to Fort Baker for the day or a stay in the hotel, and then ride the tramway up the mountain to Muir Woods and all the way down the other side to the beaches. There are still other concerns to be addressed, such as wastewater disposal, impact to the environment, and pedestrian and bicycle safety issues. And traffic -- one of the most important points registered by the people of Sausalito is the increased traffic on Alexander Avenue. Some of the traffic question could certainly be addressed by Fred Thal's suspended tramway.