On Oct. 22, more than 100 people filled the Healdsburg High School cafeteria for SMART's community presentation on a station at Vine Street. According to the Healdsburg Tribune, there was no time set aside for questions to General Manager Eddy Cumins after he spoke. Many people in the room had come to make the case for the historic depot on Hudson Street anyway.
Most of the public discussion has been about distance to the Plaza. SMART's figures put it at 0.38 miles, about an eight-minute walk, from the depot and 0.2 miles, about four minutes, from Vine Street. The bigger stakes are elsewhere. A regional rail station brings expectations for denser development within half a mile of the platform, so choosing the site also chooses which part of Healdsburg gets planned for change. You can weigh in through Nov. 30, and the SMART board decides on Dec. 16.
The train is coming either way
The site question is open, but the rail line is not. On Oct. 21 the SMART Board of Directors approved a $190.5 million contract with Stacy and Witbeck/Herzog, a joint venture. It covers final design and construction of about 4.75 miles of track from the existing Windsor station to Front Street in Healdsburg, including crossings, train control systems, a bicycle and pedestrian pathway, and two major railroad bridges, one of them over the Russian River. The California Transportation Commission had allocated $162 million in state grants the week before, and SMART says state grants make up about 73% of the project's secured funding.
According to SMART's Healdsburg extension page, construction runs from January 2027 through November 2028, testing follows, and passenger service is scheduled to start in December 2028. The new pathway will connect to the city's Foss Creek Trail.
The station is the part still waiting. SMART spokesperson Julia Gonzalez told The Press Democrat that the contractor will design and engineer the section north of Front Street, including the station, once the board settles the location in December.
What each site looks like up close
The depot at 300 Hudson St. is the old Northwestern Pacific station. It served the city from around 1891 until passenger service ended in 1958. It sits near the Mill District, the Ward Street neighborhood and Healdsburg Veterans Memorial Beach. The Vine Street site lies between North and West Matheson streets, a block west of the Plaza.
SMART's own station location page and its Oct. 22 slides compare the two sites:
| Depot / Hudson Street | Vine Street / West Plaza | |
|---|---|---|
| Walk to the Plaza | 0.38 miles, about 8 minutes | 0.2 miles, about 4 minutes |
| Parking for riders | 48 existing spaces | Up to 30 spaces in the West Plaza lot |
| Trees | Some removal on SMART land, as at either site | Most SMART-owned trees between the tracks and Vine Street on the Matheson-to-North block expected to come out |
| Bus connections | Existing stop for local Route 67, which would be rerouted; 6-minute walk to the southbound Route 60 stop | Closer to regional Route 60 at the Plaza; new Vine Street pullout for Route 67 |
| Sidewalks | Gaps noted in the city's 2025 Active Transportation Plan | More connected network today |
Parking has drawn the most local concern, so the numbers are worth spelling out. The West Plaza lot has 269 spaces. Of those, 54 sit on SMART-owned land, 45 are reserved for hotel valet, 6 are ADA spaces and 164 are open to the public. A Vine Street station would take about 30 of the 54 on SMART land.
What changes no matter which site wins
Several of the impacts discussed at the meetings will happen at either location:
- Crossings. Trains will continue north toward Geyserville and Cloverdale, so they will pass through the roundabout and the downtown crossings either way. For a single train, warning devices at the roundabout stay on for about 60 seconds, and longer when northbound and southbound trains meet at the station.
- West Plaza parking. Construction will remove some parking on SMART land to make room for trains. The depot option affects the West Plaza lot less, and SMART says it reserves the right to use its property for other public benefit.
- Trees. Some trees on SMART land will come down wherever they block train clearances. Every tree on SMART land between Windsor and Lytton Road is already tagged for inventory.
- Ward Street access. A pedestrian crossing at the Depot/Hudson Street area connecting the Ward Street neighborhood will be built at either site.
SMART also expects more than 800 daily passenger trips to and from the Healdsburg station. With trains, crossings and riders coming either way, the decision mostly comes down to where the platform sits and what gets built around it.
The half-mile circle
City Council member Ariel Kelley sits on both the council and the SMART board. At the Oct. 22 meeting she described the transit-oriented community standard to the Healdsburg Tribune this way: "if you have a regional rail line, you have to build high density." She added that the development can be residential or mixed-use within a half-mile radius of the station, and said the plans SMART showed "are vast, and for me it's a little bit alarming."
She named the Ward Street, Tucker Street and Hayden areas as places where she believes change could come faster than people expect. She also said the community has not been told how intense that development could be. The Tribune reported her view that the Vine Street area has less land available for that kind of growth than the depot area, so a downtown station could have less impact.
Some officials see the same half-mile circle around the depot as a reason to choose it:
- Former council member Joe Naujokas pointed the Tribune to the federal Railroad Rehabilitation and Improvement Financing program, which he said can be used within a half-mile of a station. He noted that the former Syar property south of the river falls inside the circle around Hudson Street, and he said the program could pay for services on that side of the river, where he said there are none today.
- Council member David Hagele told The Press Democrat that the city wants future development on its southern edge and the depot would serve that area better. He called a move to Vine Street shortsighted.
- Mayor Chris Herrod argued in the same story that downtown extends beyond the Plaza and that people walking north from the depot would pass tasting rooms, restaurants and other businesses.
The city's planning is also on hold until the site is chosen. Healdsburg created a 15-member Station Area Community Advisory Committee to plan for a station at Hudson Street. Planning Director Scott Duiven told the Tribune the committee is paused "pending SMART's decision on the station location in December" and that the city expects to restart the work in January.
Why SMART reopened the question
SMART bases its case for Vine Street on who it expects to ride. In September, project manager Zoe Unruh told The Press Democrat that about 84% of Healdsburg's workforce lives outside city limits. Of those, 42% live in places that SMART serves now or will serve. SMART's analysis also projects more people riding into the city for work and leisure than out of it. Unruh said Vine Street is closest to the highest concentration of jobs and travel activity.
Some local businesses agree. Buzz Korth, who runs a local branch of Maison Smith and is part of the North Maker Art District, said Vine Street is closer to the main business core. Farmers Market manager Janet Ciel said a station within steps of the market would be "incredibly advantageous."
People who oppose Vine Street have raised traffic on the main street, lost parking, heritage trees and the extra distance from the growing southern end of town. They also worry that moving the station would slow redevelopment around the depot. On the depot buildings themselves, Cumins said the depot plan does not include restoring them and the project has no money set aside for that work. He also said that if the station goes to Vine Street, SMART would work with the city on its Hudson Street properties and push for depot restoration as part of future redevelopment.
Between now and Dec. 16
- Take the survey by Nov. 30. It is open in English and Spanish, and both are linked from SMART's station location page.
- Look through the Oct. 22 slides if you missed the cafeteria meeting. SMART posted the community meeting slide deck with the site comparisons.
- Watch the Dec. 7 Healdsburg City Council meeting. It starts at 6 p.m. in the City Hall Council Chamber. SMART's slides say its staff will come back to the council that night.
- Follow the Dec. 16 SMART board meeting. According to SMART's slides, that is where the board will consider the public input and survey results.
If you own near Hudson Street, Ward Street or the West Plaza and want to talk through how either station site could affect your property, Michael Pellegrini can walk through your options with you before the board votes, with no pressure.
