The new Police Station located in the Public Safety Center was in need of a proper charging station for their body cameras. The Facilities team was able to repurpose extra unused shelving pieces that match the existing cabinet and used previously used shelving to build an upper recessed cabinet. Facilities Division crew members Omar Garcia, Michael Reiser and Anthoney Heaven worked to complete this project and...
Andersen Drive got a little facelift earlier this week. The lanes were restriped, and green was added to the conflict zones to improve the experience for bicycles and vehicles. Below is northbound Andersen Drive approaching Francisco Boulevard West.
The Streets Division, with assistance from Parks Division staff, continues to clean out the storm water catch basins and headwalls. This work will continue into the rainy season to ensure stormwater flows through the City to the bay.
In a stroke of bad timing, a private water line created a small landslide at Meyer Road. Meyer connects to Southern Heights Bridge and the slide will impact our ability to construct the bridge. In order to keep the bridge project on schedule, City staff jumped into action. Here you will see Streets Supervisors John...
In order to ensure a safe passage for pedestrians and cyclists and maintain vegetation overgrowth, the Parks Division gave some needed attention to the Puerto Suello Bike Path. Here you see Parks Lead worker Matt Scales finishing up some landscape work along the path. Earlier this month, Parks Mechanic Jim O'Hagan cleaned up some graffiti...
In preparation for the upcoming winter season, the Parks and Streets crews have been busy cleaning out storms drains around the city. As a result, the DPW dump trucks have been getting a lot of use as well as accruing miles. Here you see Garage tech Jay Arieta performing the first Lube Oil Filter (LOF)...
DPW maintenance worker Matt Gaehwiler, along with a contracted labor crew, cleaned areas underneath the Highway 101 viaduct. This area has been littered with trash and debris the past couple months due to homeless residents that have vacated the area. SRPD received a consent letter from CalTrans to enter their property and clean up the...
North San Pedro Road between Merrydale Road and the SMART Railroad crossing recently received fresh striping. The centerline and lane lines were restriped, and a striped island was added to further separate the two directions of travel. The City is working with SMART to review this area for additional improvements.
As part of an ongoing collaboration between the City, SMART, and CPUC, the city reviews upcoming projects to see how they can enhance safety at railroad crossings adjacent to these city projects. This week as part of the Francisco Blvd West one-way conversion project, the city’s contractor installed warning striping on 2nd Street between the...
The City had two important kick-off meetings with the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) staff on November 5th and 12th. The first was a virtual introduction to the project team at USACE that will be working directly on the San Rafael Channel dredging environmental/design, and the second was an in-person site visit to the...
Whether a resident is insured or not, local options for testing are available Marin County residents seeking COVID-19 testing have more options than ever. Every day, an average of more than 1,000 Marin residents are tested for the disease, and residents should be aware of their options as case counts rise. Because navigating new choices can be challenging, an updated...
The Transportation Authority of Marin (TAM) has kicked-off a study of the feasibility and potential benefits of allowing buses to bypass heavy traffic on the US 101 by using the existing shoulder from Atherton Avenue/San Marin Drive in Novato to Mission Avenue in San Rafael. When buses can bypass congestion, transit (and sometimes even private...
Last week, based on an increased number of positive cases in a short time frame, Bay Area health officers made the decision to tighten local restrictions to mitigate the spread of COVID-19. The motivation was to get ahead of a surge and a possible state mandate to move back into Tier 2 (Red/Substantial). However, despite this attempt, the State announced that Marin, along with eight other counties, would be moving back...
Street Leaf Sweeping Will occur on November 21, 2020 starting at 7:30 AM. Public Works crews will be sweeping the following areas: Gerstle Park Additionally, Public Works will sweep up as many side streets as time permits.
Starting November 23rd through November 25th, City Hall and most non-essential City facilities, which include Public Works, will be closed in accordance with the non-public safety Furlough Schedule, which is a cost-saving measure in response to significant COVID-19 related revenue losses the City continues to experience. The 13-day closure schedule, as approved by our City...
With a surge of Coronavirus cases in Marin, regionally, and nationally, Bay Area health officers are tightening local rules for higher-risk indoor activities where the virus can spread more easily. Case rates in Marin County have nearly doubled in the past 10 days and continue to rise, prompting Public Health Officer Dr. Matt Willis to...
The following announcement is from PG&E in regard to gas meter inspections this week. PG&E is conducting gas meter inspections in the Terra Linda, San Anselmo, Marinwood and Fairfax areas today through Friday due to low odor reads upon completion of testing a section of one of our gas transmission pipelines. The safety of our...
Parks around the City have been experiencing an increase in vandalism. Recently, our Facilities Division discovered some vandalism to a fence at the Albert Park Tennis court. The damaged section had been impeding the pedestrian walkway. The damaged section of fencing that was causing the sidewalk to be blocked was cut and removed.
Facilities department (re)installed a previously used vice in the new Police Department armory using all of its existing hardware. This device will be used to service the police departments firearms as needed.
With all the recent wildfires and extreme poor air quality we all experienced around the city, the Facilities department installed a PurpleAir device at the Terra Linda pool area in order to monitor the air quality. A PurpleAir device has “sensors that measure airborne particulate matter. Particulate matter describes solid particles suspended in air; this...
The Facilities team installed a new commercial vacuum cleaning system in order to better assist staff at the Public Safety Center with the maintenance of City vehicles. The new system is located in the basement level of the new Public Safety Center.
The San Rafael Police Department has 20 marked patrol units that our two garage techs work diligently to keep in operating order. As you can imagine, these patrol cars, along with many other City vehicles and equipment, see a lot of hard use and require constant attention. As the fleets age, they begin to require...
The Parks and Streets Divisions have been busy cleaning catch basins in preparation for the rainy season. In the photos, you see Parks Maintenance Worker Valente Curiel cleaning out one of the catch basins that is full of leaves, debris and soil. The Parks and Streets Divisions have also been very busy cleaning up illegal...
Caltrans is planning to improve the intersection of the 101 Freeway northbound exit at Freitas Parkway and Civic Center Drive/Redwood Highway to relocate the Golden Gate Transit bus stop and make pedestrian access much safer and more efficient. Caltrans has proposed two alternatives, one a signalized intersection and the other, a round-about. The City plans...
The City’s contractor on Francisco Blvd East has made significant progress over the past several weeks by completing the installation of storm drainpipe between Vivian and Harbor Streets. The new sidewalk has been installed in multiple stretches, including Vivian to Medway and Hoag to Harbor. The contractor’s electrician has installed foundations and underground conduit for...
Yesterday we received the State’s weekly update on the Blueprint for a Safer Economy. Marin has completed its second week in Tier 3 (orange status); the State’s November 4th assessment for Marin includes: Testing Positivity: 1.0% (decrease of 0.4% since last assessment) Adjusted Case Rate: 2.6 (no change) Health Equity Quartile Test Positivity Rate: 1.5% (decrease of 0.9%) In order to achieve Tier 4 (yellow status) Marin must: have been in the current...
At the end of June the Governor announced "Project Homekey", which set aside approximately $600 million for the acquisition of hotels, motels, and other existing buildings for both interim and permanent housing for people experiencing homelessness and who are vulnerable to COVID-19. Marin's Project Homekey Sites The County of Marin has applied for Project Homekey...
Work is scheduled to start on Friday, November 13 at 9 PM and continue until Saturday, November 14 around noon. The scheduled work is located on Merrydale Rd at Las Gallinas Ave and north of El Prado Ave. The work will be large transmission pole replacement, which will require power shutoffs. The timing is limited...
As of yesterday, Marin County has officially been assigned to Tier 3 (orange status) or “moderate” risk level as part of the Blueprint for a Safer Economy. The State approved this move due to fewer daily cases, a reduction in the proportion of positive tests among those who are tested, and progress in addressing the County’s lowest-income communities. The County must spend at least 21 days...
As of Monday, October 19th all City park bathrooms have been reopened. Bathrooms will be cleaned on a Monday and Friday schedule by Public Works and as needed. Since October 7th, all playgrounds have also been reopened with specific guidelines. A lot of effort has gone into implementing these State guidelines for parks with collaboration and assistance from the Library...
