San Rafael officials are finalizing a new design for a downtown traffic corridor to include a two-way bike lane, wider sidewalks and new traffic lights.
The estimated $13.8 million renovation project for Second and Third streets, which has been in the planning stages since 2017, is expected to begin over the summer, officials said.
The city is planning to seek applications from construction companies next month for the work, which would take place along Third Street between Union and Second streets and along Second Street between West and Shaver streets. Construction is expected to take about a year and will cause traffic delays, according to city officials.
The project calls for repaving the road, replacing and adding new traffic signals and extending sidewalks near intersections to improve safety for pedestrians. The two-way bike lane, separated from the road by a barrier, is planned along the south side of Second Street between West and East streets.
Parking spaces will be removed along Second and Third streets during the project, but new ones will be installed. There will be between one and four fewer parking spaces along the route when the project is completed.
City officials presented the latest design during an online meeting on March 24. Among the major changes to the project since the early planning stages is a new configuration for the intersection where Third Street meets Lindaro Street and Lootens Place.
The city was flooded with comments about its earlier plan for the intersection, said Robert Stevens, principal at CSW/Stuber-Stroeh Engineering Group, which the city hired for about $925,000 to design the project. While the design initially called for closing off the driveway into the Walgreens parking lot from Third Street, a new plan would allow cars to exit there, but not enter the lot.
Construction will begin with replacing utilities along the corridor, including sewer and water infrastructure. The city will next work on sidewalks and curb ramps before installing the new traffic signals, paving the road and planting new trees.
“In order to accommodate this work there’s going to need to be lane closures,” Stevens said. “There’s just not physically enough room to be able to do all this stuff and allow workers to work safely without closing a lane.”
Lane closures would be permitted along Second Street between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. and along Third Street between 6 a.m. and 3 p.m., Stevens said.
Construction will occasionally happen overnight. Driveways along the corridor will also need to be closed periodically for up to four hours at a time, Stevens said.
Bill Carney, president of Sustainable San Rafael, told city officials he would prefer a multi-use path that could be used by cyclists and pedestrians rather than a bike lane and an adjacent sidewalk.
“Those are much preferable from a pedestrian standpoint,” Carney said. “It’s much more gracious.”
Amy Likover, a San Rafael resident, urged project planners to design wider crosswalks at intersections near BioMarin’s offices.
“Really accommodate the number of pedestrians that will hopefully take that path so people aren’t squished together and more likely to fall off or walk on the street itself unprotected,” Likover said. “I think that would be very appreciated by the employees.”
The one-way, westbound Third Street is among the city’s busiest routes, carrying 30,000 cars daily, according to city officials. It serves as a major connecting point between Highway 101 and communities in Ross Valley and West Marin.
Though Third Street is heavily used by drivers, city officials say it’s imperative to create safer pedestrian access along the road. Third Street sits between one of the city’s major commercial hubs along Fourth Street and the homes and businesses to the south.
Funding for the project comes primarily from Measure A, a sales tax approved by voters in 2004 that pays for major road improvement projects in Marin. The sales tax revenue, which is administered by the Transportation Authority of Marin, will contribute $9.1 million toward the project.
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March 30, 2021 at 06:08AM
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San Rafael’s downtown street redesign takes shape - Marin Independent Journal
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