The other day I was part of a discussion on social media about the Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit train. It got me thinking about the history of major public works projects, and I began wondering what our beautiful city of Novato, and amazingly successful county of Marin, would have been like had the Golden Gate Bridge never been built.

In the early 1900s, as the design and plans for the bridge were being developed, a vocal group opposed to building the bridge formed a Taxpayers Committee Against Proposed Golden Gate Bonds to fight passage of the bond measure required to build the Golden Gate Bridge. The Commonwealth Club of San Francisco was urging defeat of the bond measure, as were the Pacific American Steamship Association and the Ship Owners Association of the Pacific Coast, which contended the bridge would be a hazard to navigation and would handicap the shipping industry.

“The bridge clearance would prevent the world’s great ships from entering San Francisco harbor,” they claimed. Yet, the General Steamship Corp. said ferries running across shipping lanes were a more serious navigational menace; and Dollar Steamship Lines Inc. felt that the “clearances are quite satisfactory.”

A widespread word-of-mouth campaign ensued and included statements such as: An enemy fleet could demolish the bridge and bottleneck the U.S. fleet. The bridge could not be built. It would not stand. It would be vulnerable to earthquakes. The floor of the Golden Gate Strait would not support the weight of the bridge towers. The entire project was a hoax and sham. Taxpayers would suffer and have to continue paying to finance the fiasco.

Eventually, unions, civic, trade and booster organizations stepped up their campaigns in support of the Golden Gate Bridge bond measure. The Redwood Empire Association promoted tourism in Northern California counties. The California State Automobile Association knew the bridge would encourage auto sales. And thus, the bridge was built.

The Golden Gate Bridge now stands as one of the wonders of the world and is indelibly linked, as an icon, to the city of San Francisco.

Why does history continue to repeat itself?

Over the past few years, opposition to the SMART train has been similarly strong. A widespread word-of-mouth campaign has ensued and included statements such as: The SMART train will fail because no one will commute to work on the train. SMART management is incompetent, so the train will never be built. Funding for the train will harm retired people via tax hikes. The train is dangerous and is bound to kill people.

Just like the bridge, the SMART train was built; and although it is, admittedly, a much smaller project than the Golden Gate Bridge, it stands as an amazing transportation and environmental tribute to the leadership and foresight of both Marin and Sonoma counties.

Imagine if the Golden Gate Bridge had not been built. Would our beloved Marin County have flourished? Would ferry boats have been able to transport the 40 million or so vehicles crossing the bridge each year? Marin and Sonoma now have a transportation system that can grow and provide millions of people with safe, and environmentally sound, transportation for generations to come.

It seems the vocal opposition is not a new phenomenon in the Bay Area. The next time you cross the Golden Gate Bridge, remember that if the opposition had prevailed, Marin County might not have become one of the most wonderful places to live in California. I’m looking forward to watching how the SMART train improves our lives.

Thomas Engdahl, of Novato, is a pilot and member of the Marin County Aviation Commission, and president and CEO of a small technology company.