Nimbyism Masquerading As Environmentalism

I'm actually fairly sympathetic to Nimbyism, even if I think that certain common Nimby behavior is ultimately self-defeating and short-sighted (people have the wrong ideas about what certain kinds of developments will do to their communities). That is, I think it's fine that people have a pretty big say about what goes on in their local communities even if I don't always like the results. Still I hate when Nimbyism is equated with environmentalism. "Don't build anything near me" is not environmentalism, it's just passing the buck elsewhere. And building more parking isn't about environmentalism, it's just the generally mistaken notion that you deal with the car problem by providing more space for them.

The focus for the downtown San Rafael station will not be housing, but parking and finding ways to accommodate train users without tying up downtown

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Talk of any development along the rail line has raised concern in the environmental community, some of whom believe the system will act as a catalyst for growth, as developers try to build for those who want to live near a train station.