The year is 2034 and this vision imagines me as a tourist visiting Sebastopol:
I am driving from Cotati toward Sebastopol on Highway 116 and when I near Llano Road, I see two signs; one directing me right toward Forestville and Guerneville, and the other straight to Sebastopol. I travel straight and shortly thereafter, the air seems cleaner, the traffic is diminished, and the pace of life slows down.
A few miles more and the speed limit drops to 25 as I arrive at the southern entrance to the City of Sebastopol. Here I see ample parking; a non-contact electric light rail station with trams travelling in the center of the road; two wide paved lanes reserved for bicycles and pedestrians, one on each side of the tracks; and two outermost lanes for automobiles, one lane travelling in each direction with diagonal parking that continues on to the northern city limits where there is another rail station with ample parking.
I park my car and jump on the next tram north. The map received at the rail station and the signs inside the tram inform me of the many things to do in Sebastopol which is known as the eco-friendly, pedestrian, bicycle, and alternative vehicle hub of west Sonoma County. There are restaurants, mom & pop stores, unique retail shops, small manufacturers, an outdoor amphitheater, and wide pedestrian only sidewalks and outdoor cafes all along the route, just to mention a few. The tram stops nearby almost everything with alternative transportation [including horse and carriage] making connections from there.
When the tram nears the circa 1904 historic Sebastopol Train Station located at the middle of town, the sign inside the tram lights up alerting passengers that this is the exit for the connection to the Smart Train in Santa Rosa. When the tram stops; some riders exit as more Smart Train arrivals board and continue north with me. This day I will dine at the north end of town before coming back downtown to shop and enjoy the pleasant atmosphere and quiet, friendly community of Sebastopol.
As the tram continues onward, I look out the windows and see many bicyclists and pedestrians happily travelling about town. There are even some persons riding horses. It seems like everyone who lives in Sebastopol shops here and that nearly everyone rides their bicycles or walks. The whole of Main Street extends to both ends of Sebastopol and is lined with business establishments that serve every need of the citizens who live in and around the city. In fact, there are many prospective new business owners waiting in queue to receive their business licenses because Sebastopol is such an excellent place to establish a business.
After I eat lunch, I exit the tram at the downtown museum to learn the history of Sebastopol. I see old photographs of when 33,000 plus cars and trucks passed through Sebastopol each day, most never stopping but rather, expelling thousands of pounds of carbon that smothered downtown and blew east over and into Laguna de Santa Rosa. I see the environmental impact reports on the Laguna and the City of Sebastopol as it was then compared with its pristine condition now. I listen to an audio exhibit of the noise pollution created by all the traffic back then and when the recording stops, the clear sound of birds and soft talk of the passerby outside resumes. And the people in the photos living in the Laguna ecosystem back then seemed happy, but not nearly as happy as they appear to be now.
Today, Sebastopol as a whole has reduced its carbon footprint, improved its air quality, and solved its traffic and sound pollution problems thereby elevating the general happiness of her citizens while at the same time, generating municipal revenue.
Finally, after dining, shopping, and hanging out with the wonderful people living and converging in the bubble of Sebastopol, I feel that it's time for me to go.
Sebastopol 2034: same country, different planet.
