HomeMy WebLinkAboutPW Canal Community Based Transportation Plan____________________________________________________________________________________
FOR CITY CLERK ONLY
Council Meeting: January 21, 2025
Disposition: Accepted an informational report providing a status update on the 2022 Canal
Community-Based Transportation Plan (CCBTP), including progress toward achieving the CCBTP
goals
Agenda Item No: 6.a
Meeting Date: January 21, 2025
SAN RAFAEL CITY COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT
Department: Public Works
Prepared by: Joanna Kwok, Assistant Public
Works Director
April Miller, Public Works Director
City Manager Approval: __________
TOPIC: CANAL COMMUNITY BASED TRANSPORTATION PLAN
SUBJECT: STATUS UPDATE ON THE 2022 CANAL COMMUNITY BASED
TRANSPORTATION PLAN
RECOMMENDATION:
Accept an informational report providing a status update on the 2022 Canal Community-Based
Transportation Plan (CCBTP), including progress toward achieving the CCBTP goals.
BACKGROUND:
On June 21, 2022, the City Council adopted a resolution approving the 2022 Canal Community-
Based Transportation Plan (CCBTP). The plan was created to identify and create an action plan
to address mobility needs for lower-income communities through a collaborative effort from
residents, community organizations, and transportation agencies. The plan lists eleven
recommended transportation solutions to address transportation issues identified by the
community during the CCBTP process. Some projects are short-term, some are long-term, and
some have short- and long-term components.
This staff report evaluates the progress in each category to ensure the City is on track to meet
the CCBTP’s five-year goals.
ANALYSIS:
The CCBTP includes the following eleven recommended transportation solutions.
1.Pedestrian and Bicycle Bridge / Canal Crossing to 3rd Street
2.Access to Bikes/Scooters, Secure Bike Parking, and Bicycle Education
3.Traffic Calming and Crossing Improvements
4.Bicycle & Pedestrian Crossing Improvements at Gateways
5.Streets Team and Transit Ambassador Program
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6. Sidewalk and Streetscape Improvements
7. Lighting of Commonly Traveled Pedestrian Routes
8. Transit Bus Stop Improvements
9. Transit Bus Stop Maintenance
10. Expanded Transit Service
11. Transportation to Schools
Solution 1: Pedestrian and Bicycle Bridge / Canal Crossing to 3rd Street
Goal
This solution involves building a bridge connecting Canal/Harbor to Third Street. The five-year
goal is to secure funding for the feasibility study, design, and engineering.
Progress
The City received a regional Active Transportation Program Cycle 6 (ATP 6) grant for $1,575,000
from the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) to fund the feasibility study, preliminary
design, and environmental assessment of the Canal Swing Bridge Crossing Project. The City
plans to release a feasibility study RFP in late fiscal year (FY) 2024-25 and begin the process in
early FY 2025-26.
Solution 2: Access to Bikes/Scooters, Secure Bike Parking, and Bicycle Education
Goal
This solution aims to provide a bike share and/or scooter share program in the Canal
neighborhood for adults and youth, secure parking, and bicycle education classes for adults and
youth. The five-year goal is to evaluate the success of the Transportation Authority of Marin (TAM)
bike share pilot with community input and adjust the TAM program and/or secure funding to launch
a supplemental program.
Progress
TAM launched the Redwood Bike Share Pilot Program in the fall of 2024. It is a two-year pilot
bike share program between Sonoma and Marin County. It includes 300 shared pedal-assist e-
bikes with hubs being placed throughout the two counties (approximately 150 in Sonoma County
and 150 in Marin County). As part of the first phase of the pilot, there are eight hubs in San Rafael,
including two in the Canal neighborhood. More information on the program can be found on the
website: https://redwoodbikeshare.com/.
This section has been left blank intentionally.
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Figure 1: Proposed Bikeshare Locations in the Canal Neighborhood
Figure 2: Sample Bikeshare Location and Detail
Solution 3: Traffic Calming and Pedestrian Crossing Improvements
Goal
The goal of this solution is to provide improved comfort levels for pedestrians and bicyclists by
incorporating traffic calming measures and crossing treatments to reduce vehicle speeds
throughout the Canal Neighborhood. The crossing improvements include higher visibility
crosswalks and rectangular rapid flashing beacons (RRFBs), as well as incorporating wider corner
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bulbouts with tighter radii, pedestrian bulb-outs, and removing sightline obstructions (parked cars,
trees, etc.) at the following corners:
• Larkspur & Canal
• 125 Larkspur (new mid-block crossing)
• Larkspur & Alto
• Larkspur & Kerner
• Canal & Medway
• Canal & Larkspur/Novato/Fairfax/Sonoma (add crossing to the third leg)
• Near Supermercado Mi Tierra
Canal Street, Larkspur Street, and Belvedere Street are priority streets for traffic calming
measures.
Progress
In 2022 and 2023, the City performed pavement maintenance with enhanced and refreshed
striping on most of the streets in the Canal neighborhood. Locations can be found on the City
website: https://www.cityofsanrafael.org/pavement-road-repair/
In the fall of 2022, the City converted the Catalina Blvd and Bellam Blvd intersection from a
partially stop-controlled to an all-way stop-controlled intersection to slow vehicular traffic and
increase pedestrian and bicycle safety.
In the fall of 2024, the City launched the Spinnaker Point Traffic Calming Pilot project that
implements three types of traffic calming measures in the Spinnaker/Baypoint Neighborhood:
• Traffic Circle at the Spinnaker Point Drive/Catalina Boulevard Intersection.
• Curb and Median Extensions at the Spinnaker Point Drive/Newport Way intersection.
• Midblock Speed Hump on Spinnaker Point Drive between Bahia Way and Catalina
Boulevard. This traffic calming measure is planned to be installed as part of Phase 2 of
the pilot program.
Figure 3: Spinnaker Point Traffic Calming Devices
The City plans to gather feedback from the community and data over six months. After the six-
month evaluation, the findings of the pilot project and the next steps will be discussed at a meeting
of the Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee.
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The City has also been awarded an ATP 6 grant from the State of California to perform an
environmental assessment, design, and project construction for a Canal Neighborhood Active
Transportation Enhancement Project. This project supports the design and construction of several
pedestrian, bicycle, and transit enhancements in the Canal neighborhood. Pedestrian
enhancements include curb ramp upgrades, sidewalk gap closures and expansions, corridor
lighting improvements, and uncontrolled crosswalk enhancements on 19 streets and pathways.
The project scope includes a proposed RRFB at the Canal St intersection with Sonoma Street,
Fairfax St, Larkspur St, and Bahia Way. The City has issued a request for proposals for the
planning and design phases. The City anticipates the consultant award coming to the City Council
in March 2025. Construction funding through ATP Cycle 6 is allocated in fiscal year 2026-27.
Solution 4: Bicycle & Pedestrian Crossing Improvements at Gateways
Goal
This solution involves bicycle and pedestrian crossing improvements at the two gateways to the
Canal neighborhood – Bellam Boulevard and Grand Avenue – to connect the Canal neighborhood
to the rest of the region by improving access to the SMART Multi-use Pathway and downtown
transit center. Both streets are busy and complex and require detailed and site-specific solutions.
While the plans to design and construct a two-way protection bikeway along Grand Ave between
2nd St and 4th St was included in the City’s 2018 Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plan, the City
needs a feasibility study and to coordinate with TAM and Caltrans to appropriately select and
design a gateway facility on Bellam due to the complexity of the area. The five-year goal is to
complete the design, construct the Grand Ave cycle track, identify study partners, interface with
the US-101/I-580 Connector project, and secure funding for and complete a feasibility study for
Bellam Blvd.
Progress
The Grand Ave Cycle Track design was finalized in the summer of 2023, and construction was
completed in the spring of 2024. This section of improvements connected the Grand Avenue
bridge at Second Street to Fourth Street. The City applied for multiple grant funding opportunities
in late 2024 to extend the cycle track from Fourth & Grand to the relocated transit center and
north-south greenway at Fourth and Tamalpais. The State Active Transportation Program Cycle
7 (ATP 7) grant application was unsuccessful; however, the grantors have not informed the
applicants of the successful awards from the regional ATP 7 application and the MTC Regional
Measure 3 (RM 3) grant applications.
Figure 4: Grand Ave Cycle Track Improvements
TAM and Caltrans are currently in the environmental phase of the US-101/I-580 Multi-Modal and
Local Access Improvement project (580/101). TAM and the City have collaborated for the last
several years to ensure the voices of the community and City are heard and reflected in the
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project. TAM led a “Voces del Canal” leadership group as part of an eight-week transportation-
based course on transportation planning, community engagement, advocacy, and planning
projects underway in and around the neighborhood. The program’s goal was to help the
community get background on both current and future projects, build a long-term partnership, and
share leadership around transportation projects. It provided modules on the transportation
planning process and entities involved in getting a project from concept to construction. The
580/101 project was used as a case study in the program and provided TAM and the City the
opportunity to provide more information on the project while also collecting additional community
input for future projects. The City and TAM used this information to apply for two grants on Bellam
Blvd. One was a planning grant to further study the long-term improvements on Bellam Blvd as
part of the 580/101 project, and the other was an interim solution that would install a two-way
bikeway on the north side of Bellam Blvd between Playa Del Rey and Andersen Dr and continuing
south along Andersen to Jacoby St. Results for both grants are anticipated in spring 2025.
Solution 5: Streets Team and Transit Ambassador Program
Goal
This solution involves creating a combined Canal Streets Team and Transit Ambassador Program
to address neighborhood cleanliness and provide transit information.
Progress
TAM provided an eight-week transportation-based course to engage and inform a group of
Spanish-speaking leaders from the Canal neighborhood and the Woodland Avenue area on
transportation planning, community engagement, and planning projects underway in and around
the neighborhoods. The course helped bring leadership groups within the canal together with
TAM and the City to start forming an Ambassador program. There are plans to continue meeting
with the group to keep the community informed and involved in transportation improvements in
the area. This group will also be engaged in the Priority Development Area (PDA) Specific/Precise
plan and outreach on the projects listed under Solutions 1 and 3 above.
Solution 6: Sidewalk and Streetscape Improvements
Goal
The goal of this solution is to provide an improved pedestrian experience by widening sidewalks
and providing additional pedestrian amenities, like trash cans and shade trees, throughout the
neighborhood. This is challenging due to the narrow streets, limited public right-of-way, and high
parking demand in the area. All factors need to be considered together to understand the tradeoffs
and options available. The recommended strategy has three stages:
1. Survey of sidewalk, curb space (parking supply and demand), streetscape elements, and
available right-of-way.
2. Community-driven decision on how to best utilize limited street space.
3. Design, engineering, and construction of streetscape changes.
The five-year goal for this solution is to secure funding for sidewalk, curb space, and streetscape
survey.
Progress
This solution will also be addressed with the Canal Neighborhood Active Transportation
Enhancement Project discussed in Solution 3. The project’s goal includes 16 upgraded curb
ramps, sidewalk infill on 10 streets, six transit stop improvements, bicycle boulevards on three
streets, improved lighting on 10 streets and three pathways, four uncontrolled crosswalk
enhancements, and secure parking for 10 bicycles. In 2022 and 2023, the City completed a
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sidewalk shaving project to reduce tripping hazards throughout the Canal neighborhood as a
short-term solution while the enhancement project is in design.
The City has also partnered with Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) to establish an
underground utility district on Canal Street between Medway Road and Spinnaker Point Drive.
The City Council approved this on June 20, 2023, initiating the Canal Undergrounding Project.
This project will free up space on the sidewalk for pedestrian access and beautify the Canal Street
corridor by removing overhead lines and poles. PG&E has incorporated this into its work plan and
anticipates starting work in 2026.
In regard to tree planting, the City applied for an Urban and Community Forestry grant to assist
with the mapping and planting of trees in east San Rafael. Unfortunately, the City found out in the
fall of 2024 that the application was unsuccessful. The City will continue to prioritize being a Tree
City USA designee by including trees when possible in Capital Improvement Program projects
and applying for grants to support tree planting and management.
Solution 7: Lighting of Commonly Traveled Pedestrian Routes
Goal
This solution involves constructing new and improving existing lighting in several locations within
the Canal Neighborhood. Members of the “Voces del Canal” group worked on a lighting plan with
Dominican University and Canal Alliance to identify seven priority routes (figure below) for
improved lighting in the Canal neighborhood.
Figure 5: Lighting Improvement Routes from CCBTP
Public works identified several locations on four of the seven locations where new lighting fixtures
could be installed on existing PG&E joint poles and where existing lighting fixtures could
potentially be made brighter with modifications to the existing fixtures. The other three pathway
locations, Bahia Way, Starkweather Path, and Pickleweed Park, require a longer approval
process before the City can proceed with lighting improvements. Bahia Way is a privately
maintained pathway, and the Starkweather and Pickleweed waterfront paths are regulated by the
Bay Conservation and Development Commission (BCDC). The five-year goal for this solution
includes upgrading existing fixtures and adding fixtures to all existing utility poles on the City-
owned routes identified by the community. It also includes solidifying a plan to install new poles
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and fixtures where additional neighborhood lighting is desired, establishing a plan for the privately
owned routes, and securing funding to install lighting on those routes.
Progress
In the summer of 2022, the City’s contractor replaced light bulbs with brighter light bulbs along
Canal, Hoag, Novato, Fairfax, and Sonoma Streets. The City also coordinated with PG&E and
had them install new light fixtures from February to July 2023 at the 34 locations shown below.
Figure 6: Lighting Improvement Routes from CCBTP
Lighting improvements along the Starkweather path are included in the Canal Neighborhood
Active Transportation Enhancement Project, for which the City secured an ATP 6 grant, discussed
in Solution 3. Since parks are currently only open from sunrise to sunset, the City Council and
Parks and Recreation Commission will need to review the City’s lighting policy along the
Starkweather path. This will be evaluated in 2025 with the ATP 6 project.
The City’s Pickleweed Park Enhancement Project, which is currently under construction, also
includes some lighting improvements near the proposed basketball courts.
Solution 8: Transit Bus Stop Improvements
Goal
This solution aims to upgrade bus shelters in the Canal neighborhood, with a five-year goal of
improving stops on Medway/Mill and Kerner/Larkspur.
Progress
Marin Transit plans to upgrade six bus stops in the City of San Rafael, including constructing a
new stop at the intersection of Medway Rd and Francisco Blvd E, and has obtained the required
approvals from Caltrans and City to perform the work. Bus stop improvements are anticipated to
be completed in Spring 2025. The Canal Neighborhood Active Transportation Enhancement
Project also includes transit stop upgrades. As discussed in Solution 3, the City secured an ATP
6 grant for that project.
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Solution 9: Transit Bus Stop Maintenance
Goal
The goal addresses trash and illegal dumping at transit stops and rodent, lighting and real-time
bus arrival board issues.
Progress
Public Works continues to address illegal dumping issues as quickly as it can. On November 4,
2024, the City Council approved a new illegal dumping program. More information on how the
City addresses illegal dumping can be found on the City’s website at
https://www.cityofsanrafael.org/how-is-the-city-addressing-illegal-dumping/.
Solution 10: Expanded Transit Service
Goal
Provide frequent service, expand early morning/ late evening service, and provide accurate
schedules. Multiple community members requested the following additional services:
• More frequent and convenient service to Novato. Community members expressed
concern that the existing Route 35 to Novato is not frequent enough.
• More convenient service to Fairfax Manor on Route 23X. Route 23X was the community’s
second-ranked choice for increased frequencies.
• Earlier route departures and increased early morning and evening frequency on all routes,
especially Route 35.
The five-year goal is to Conduct a focused ridership survey on the 35 and 23x to establish route
and frequency improvements. Identify funding for required capital purchases and operational
funding.
Progress
Marin Transit reported that peak hour service on Route 23 was added over the summer of 2023,
and the route was extended, so all trips now serve Fairfax Manor.
Solution 11: Transportation to Schools
Goal
This solution includes providing additional bus services for students to San Rafael High School,
Terra Linda High School, and Davidson Middle School, and transportation for parents to San
Pedro Elementary School and Davidson Middle School. Supplemental school service requests
were as follows:
• Additional morning trips for Route 645 to San Rafael High School and Terra Linda High
School
• New low-income discount for school bus service
• Expanded yellow bus service to Davidson Middle School
• School transportation options for parents to attend special events, parent/teacher
conferences, and volunteer, especially at San Pedro Elementary School and Davidson
Middle School.
The five-year goal is to secure funding for and add a morning run to Route 645. Identify a
sustainable funding source for parent transportation needs and provide subsidized rides for one-
off needs and shuttles for large events.
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Progress
Marin Transit and TAM are still looking to secure funding for additional trips that have been
requested.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no fiscal impact with the acceptance of this informational report.
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
Accept an informational report providing a status update on the 2022 Canal Community-Based
Transportation Plan (CCBTP), including progress toward achieving the CCBTP goals.
ATTACHMENTS:
None
