Geyserville pushing for SMART train station to drive business into community
The North Bay wine region has fallen on hard economic times and wine producers are desperately seeking any customers they can get.
As the SMART train line plans stations at both Healdsburg and Cloverdale, the town of Geyserville, located in the middle, is saying, why not us?
Decades ago, when they built the Highway 101 bypass, traffic stopped flowing through downtown Geyserville, and many of the businesses on the main street closed down.
At Catelli's restaurant, General Manager Tony Lopez said it feels like the world is still passing them by.
"So, anything that's going to bring more business back into the town, via people having to stop here, if it's a train station or an RTS or some other public transportation, the better," Lopez told CBS News Bay Area. "Anything that can get more people into Geyserville is always a good thing."
For people in Geyserville, it has been disappointing to hear SMART's plan to go from Healdsburg up to Cloverdale, once again bypassing the community.
That is, until last year when the transit line began studying the feasibility of putting a station at Remmel Road, just a block from the main drag.
On its website, SMART says: "Evaluating a Geyserville station does not change the agency's long-term goal of restoring passenger rail service to Cloverdale. Rather, it helps position SMART to pursue funding opportunities that will support completion of the full northern extension."
They explain that breaking the long trip up to Cloverdale into two smaller parts makes competing for federal dollars easier.
"I mean, we're going to spend all the money to get it to Healdsburg, and then the goal is that Cloverdale is planned. Why not stop at Geyserville, you know?" said Doralice Handal.
Handal owns the Locals Tasting Room, but that's just its name. She said it is tourism that keeps the wine business running, along with most of the other businesses in town. So, she said it frustrates her when locals object to the idea of SMART bringing more "tourists" to town.
"The minute we leave where we sleep at night, we're technically a tourist," she said. "If you live in Healdsburg but you go to Santa Rosa to get a bite to eat, guess what? You're a tourist. If you go to the Walgreens in Windsor but you live in Cloverdale, you're a frickin' tourist! And it's not, like, a massive train. It's three tiny cars, right? It's this teeny, like, tinkertoy that quietly goes through the countryside. You're not even going to realize it's coming."
But it may, in fact, be coming. And rather than having more people whizzing past Geyserville without stopping, the town that posts signs calling itself "The Wine Capital of Sonoma County" may actually be able to capitalize on the industry surrounding it.
"It'd be amazing because the people that do still like to drink wine can come see us. Because so many populations have stopped drinking wine," Doralice said. "You know, having a train, it broadens our scope. We get that many more people coming to the area that do actually enjoy tasting wine and buying wine."
SMART has scheduled a community meeting for the evening of August 10th to inform the residents about the plan and gauge local interest. They say the feedback will help shape any future planning efforts, and they've included a survey on their website.
