The Sonoma–Marin Area Rail Transit District (SMART) in California yesterday announced today that its board authorized the use of eminent domain within SMART’s active rail corridor.
Agency officials described the action as a necessary, extraordinary and unusual step “aimed at removing ambiguity about title and ownership and safeguarding SMART’s right to build, operate and maintain the district’s multiuse pathway,” according to a SMART press release.
“This action is a last resort to ensure uninterrupted public access and protect a critical transit asset that connects North Bay communities, links stations across the corridor, and supports first- and last-mile connections to the SMART rail,” the press release states. S…