Earlier this year, Stephan C. Leonoudakis, often called the "Father of the Golden Gate Ferry System" retired from the Board of Directors of the Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District after 38 years of dedicated service.
By F. Weston Starratt, P.E.
Published: March, 2001
Earlier this year, Stephan C. Leonoudakis, often called the "Father of the Golden Gate Ferry System" retired from the Board of Directors of the Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District after 38 years of dedicated service.
Earlier this year, Stephan C. Leonoudakis, often called the "Father of the Golden Gate Ferry System" retired from the Board of Directors of the Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District after 38 years of dedicated service.
In 1967, with Golden Gate Bridge traffic growing at more than 7 percent a year, policymakers began examining options for improving traffic flow between Marin and San Francisco, taking a look at a second bridge deck and even a second bridge. But, it was Leonoudikus who stepped forward, and asked the question, "Why not bring back water transit to the San Francisco Bay?"
Leonoudikus firmly believed that water transit held the answer to mounting traffic problems, and set about moving the bridge board and the state legislature in that direction. His efforts culminated in the 1969 passage of Assembly Bill 584 that
transformed the Bridge District into the Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District and directed it to develop a transportation facilities plan, including water transportation, for the Highway 101 corridor. Thus, the die was cast, and the district sparked the rebirth of ferry service on the Bay with the inauguration of service from Sausalito and Larkspur to San Francisco. Water transit service on San Francisco Bay was reborn, thanks in large part to the untiring efforts of Stephan Leonoudikus.
We caught up with Stephan Leonoudikus recently on the way to his retirement home in Arizona. We asked him,
Are you a San Franciscan?
Yea, I am a local guy. I went to grammar school and high school in San Francisco and then to USF undergraduate. I went to law school at USF, graduating in 1950, and was admitted to practice in 1951. I was appointed by the San Francisco Board of Supervisors to the Golden Gate Bridge District in 1962.
How did you move the bridge district into public transit?
With the deterioration of Greyhound Bus service, which was the only public transit service across the bridge, I felt that the bridge district should play a role that is more penetrating to community needs. But, to transform the district into a bridge and transportation district, we had to change the law that established the district. When the necessary legislation was passed, we then had to set about trying to find funding sources to enable us to get into the transit business. The first thing that caught our attention was water transit. The Tiburon ferry was strikebound, and the district was able to maintain that service during an extended strike.
Once we had the experience of operating the Tiburon ferry, we thought that we could make ferry service work. We went down to San Diego and found a boat that we were able to have brought back and converted into the MV (motor vessel) Golden Gate, which became the Sausalito ferry. We rebuilt the boat, put her in service, and we were off and running with Sausalito all to ourselves.And what happened to the deteriorating Greyhound Bus system?
As we were developing our transit system, we had the Philip Spaulding group in Seattle, which had redesigned the MV Golden Gate, working on plans for the further development of our ferry system. But, the key to the whole multi-modal system was obtaining the money for a bus terminal and a fleet of buses. To find that money, we went back to Washington with a tin-cup and finally sold the Urban Mass Transit Administration on our system: two modes of transportation, buses and ferries, working as a compatible pair. We also received from UMTA, the money to acquire land for ferry terminals in Sausalito and Larkspur as well as the funds to build three new ferries designed by Spaulding. What we needed next were operating subsidies, which we found in Washington and in Sacramento, as well as from the Bridge District itself.
What was the inspiration that moved you ahead on these transit programs?
It was slow going at first, but once we demonstrated the feasibility of water transit in operating the Tiburon ferry and armed ourselves with studies from the Spaulding Group and others, we were able to convince the bridge board that it had a mission in life that was more than maintaining the bridge. The real specter was the state taking over the Golden Gate Bridge District and operating it as just another bridge. But, I didn’t develop the program to avoid that potential, because I genuinely felt that we could do a much better job in public transit than Greyhound, which wanted out of the business.
How did the Northwestern Pacific Railroad right-of-way come into the picture?
It took us about 12 years to acquire the vital railroad right-of-way that originally ran from the ferry terminal in Sausalito northward through Marin and Sonoma counties. It was no easy job! We didn’t want to loose that right-of-way. It’s too valuable. We did loose part of it in Sausalito and in Mill Valley, but that was before my time, and I would have bought it if I had been around. But, we still had a right-of-way in place from Corte Madera all the way to Willits. A lot of people don’t see it clearly yet, but, if they look 30 years ahead, they will thank the bridge district for buying the right-of-way. Now, we have to bring Marin and Sonoma together with us to develop light rail or some form of transit in that corridor.
What role do you see for Port Sonoma?
It would be wonderful if we could go all the way up to Healdsburg and bring the rail through Sonoma County and then go over to Port Sonoma and put a ferry terminal there. That’s a great spot, because you get to deep water right away, and, with these very quick vessels, you can move across the bay at 28 to 30 knots. You can make that commute, I’m sure, in 35 or 40 minutes, and it will be magnificent. I’ll bet that we could pick up 3,000 to 4,000 passengers a day.
Sonoma, Marin, and the Bridge District need to come together and say, "OK, we want one right here!" And get everybody to support that, because a lot of work has to be done. Then, we have to find the money for the terminal and two or three fast boats and the approach roads, but the railroad goes right through the property. It’s fantastic!
It’s a golden opportunity?
Looking back … What were your greatest achievements?
Remember, we started in 1969, that’s 32 years ago, and everybody thought we were absolutely insane to want to bring back the ferry boats. Getting the funds together for the whole transit system was a huge job. The grant funds for buses, ferrys, and terminals was about $450 million. Then, there were operating funds of about $250 million.
What about the growing parking problems at Larkspur Landing?
I would hope that we could do something very interesting at Larkspur by way of developing parking. I have espoused putting a low level parking structure there. One of the other things that we could do is to have a child-care center there so that working mothers could bring their children to the terminal, leave them there, and go on to the city and come back. I’d also like to see ferry service from Larkspur to Angel Island and from San Francisco to Angel Island. That island is a fantastic recreational opportunity that should be opened up.
What do you see for the future of transit in the North Bay?
It should be enlarged, but the bridge district has a cap on how much subsidy it can put into transit. Any expansion of transit services that requires more than about $30 million in operating subsidies will require Marin and Sonoma counties to go to their constituents for a half or a quarter cent sales tax. They have got to go back to the voters again. It just has to happen.
How do you feel about the future of the proposed regional ferry system?
They are going about it right. I think that Ron Cowan did a very good job when he chaired the initial group. There is going to be a time when the program goes to the legislature. That’s going to be a big hump that they are going to have to get over.
They need more people to come on board from the communities involved. For example, Sonoma could make a terrific impact by coming forward with a resolution, a plan, and a program, including some innovative approaches to Port Sonoma. We need input and motivation out of that group, and the same thing from Marin, which has the potential for another ferry terminal. Point San Quentin would be an excellent spot with its deep water.
And what about your own future plans?
Oh boy! I am enjoying my retirement.
and with that the "Father of the Golden Gate Ferry System" leaves the Bay Area with a tremendous legacy that is being fulfilled with dawn of a regional ferry system.
