San Rafael Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) members are invited to practice their communications skills with other San Rafael CERT team members on October 20, 2019 at Gerstle Park - 201 San Rafael Avenue from 1 pm to 4 pm. Bring your Family Radio Service (FRS) radios, Zello app, or ham radio and your fellow...
National Fire Prevention Week 2019 Not Every Hero Wears a Cape. Plan and Practice Your Escape! ™ The San Rafael Fire Department is teaming up with the National Fire Protection Association® (NFPA®) to promote this year’s Fire Prevention Week campaign, “Not Every Hero Wears a Cape. Plan and Practice Your Escape!” The campaign works to...
The Falkirk Cultural Center (and its grounds) is one of my favorite places in San Rafael. But did you know bees also love it? Volunteers from the Marin Master Gardeners are busy making the grounds at the Falkirk Cultural Center a beautiful and educational attraction. One small change so far is the transition of the...
As you may know, Costco is proposing to build a new, approximately 147,000 square-foot warehouse center, including a warehouse, tire center, and fueling station to replace the Sears building at Northgate Mall. Costco is at a “Pre-Application” stage. The purpose of the Pre-Application is for an applicant to receive: 1) preliminary feedback from the City,...
Currently, 19 local fire agencies provide fire protection and emergency response services to communities in Marin County, but there is no single coordinating agency for wildfire prevention. The Marin Wildfire Prevention Authority (MWPA) initiative, which was conceived by a collaborative countywide effort among jurisdictions across Marin County, would allow local fire agencies and emergency service providers,...
We’re continuously on the move to modernize City services, and at Monday’s meeting, the City Council will consider approving an agreement with Xantrion, Inc. for information technology services. Our existing model for providing municipal information technology services (such as helpdesk and network support) relies on five separate vendors which has led to structural problems, inefficient...
Did you know that the original Downtown Library opened at its current location in January 1909? In the late 1950s, local architect Gordon A. Phillips was hired to design a 6,000 square-foot addition that would more than double the Library’s size. San Rafael quickly outgrew the first library expansion and the next step was to...
Crews will begin work this week to install a moveable concrete barrier (similar to the barrier on the Golden Gate Bridge) that will separate the two westbound traffic lanes on the upper deck of the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge from a new bicycle/pedestrian path that is expected to open later this fall. Installation work began earlier...
From October 7 through November 17, 2019, you can win prizes when you log your green commute trips on Marin Commutes. Easily log trips, including bus and train rides, biking, walking, carpooling, and riding the ferry, and you'll be automatically entered to win weekly prizes. Top performers compete for $250 gift cards. Commuters have a chance...
Last week, Golden Gate Transit approved a means-based fare program, beginning in 2020, that will provide a 50-percent fare discount for low-income riders on Golden Gate Transit regional bus routes and Golden Gate Ferry service. For the purpose of this program, “low-income” means people with income below 200 percent of the federal poverty Level (approximately...
At Monday’s meeting, the City Council will consider approving the Use Permit, Environmental and Design Review Permit, and Lot Consolidation applications to allow the construction of a new, 120-unit, mixed-use building located at 703 Third Street (at the southwest corner of Third Street and Lincoln Avenue). This project includes 120 rental units (12 of which...
SMART overnight operations are not scheduled for this coming Friday, October 4 and Saturday, October 5. Upcoming overnight operations have not yet been scheduled. Please stay tuned and we will post information about future overnight operations as it becomes available. For more information and to check updates on our testing schedule, please visit...
The City of San Rafael (City) hereby requests proposals from qualified engineering and/or architectural Consultants for design, environmental clearance, and construction support services for the Albert Park Restrooms and ADA Improvements Project. The final product sought is construction contract documents including plans, specifications and cost estimates ready for bid. This project may require the expertise...
2018 Program The City along with Van Midde and Son Concrete hit an important milestone last week. More than 50% of the scheduled work for the 2018 program has now been completed. This represents over 16,500 square feet of new sidewalk in the city. That's over 30 cement trucks worth of concrete weighting the equivalent...
The City of San Rafael is soliciting bids for the B Street Community Center ADA Bathroom renovation project. The Community Center is located on 618 B Street in San Rafael, CA. The project requires complete demolition of the existing restrooms and replacement of interior finishes and fixtures. On October 10, 2019 the following bids...
SMART is continuing to fine-tune the train control system based on the data they have collected over past weekend operations. The next overnight operations are scheduled for: Friday, September 27, from 11:00 p.m. to 8:00 a.m. Saturday, September 28, from 11:00 p.m. to 8:00 a.m. (if needed) For more information and to check updates on the...
UPDATE: City of San Rafael open space areas have been re-opened The National Weather Service issues a Red Flag Warning when a combination of warm temperatures, very low humidity, and strong winds puts a community at extreme risk of wildfire. A Red Flag Warning was issued beginning Monday, September 23 at 9 P.M. that included elevations...
Costco and Northgate Mall are hosting a community open house on the Costco project. What: Costco San Rafael – Community Open Houses When: Open House #1 – Wednesday, Sept. 25; 4:00 to 7:00pm Open House #2 – Thursday, Sept. 26; 5:00 to 8:00pm Where: Northgate Mall – Eastern Common Area (Entrance Next to H&M) 5800...
Overnight Operations Update: Saturday, September 21 SMART has canceled tonight’s overnight operations (Saturday, September 21). SMART continues to make good progress, and they are fine-tuning the train control system based on the data they have collected. The next overnight operations are scheduled for: Friday, September 27, from 11:00 p.m. to 8:00 a.m. Saturday, September 28,...
Don’t let the rain from earlier this week fool you… Wildfire season is still here, which means PG&E may activate a Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS) event if extreme fire danger conditions are forecast. A PSPS event is intended to reduce the likelihood of a powerline-caused ignition. A PSPS event could last from 24 hours...
Privately funded maintenance dredging of the Marin Lagoons will begin on Monday, September 23rd. The work is expected to continue through to the beginning of 2020. The lagoons are centralized within the neighborhood, located off of McInnis Parkway, north of the Civic Center. The lagoons are over 4 acres of water and have a controlled...
The new traffic signals are up and running on Second and Third Street so that SMART can begin service to Larkspur after they pass all the train tests. Both the Police Department and the Department of Public Works have received many phone calls and e-mails in frustration over the new traffic signals and increased delays....
After many years of tracking their activities on paper, the DPW Streets and Parks crews are going digital. With lots of collaboration, we now have an app that works on a smart phone in the field. The interface is simple and clear, so that crews can quickly document their work in the field. An important...
On September 17, 2019, two fire station renovations received approval from the Design Review Board. Fire Station 54, located on 46 Castro Avenue, and Fire Station 55, located on 955 Point San Pedro Road, are part of the Essential Public Safety Facilities Strategic Plan funded by Measure E on April 1, 2014. Both fire stations...
Pre-revenue operations update: SMART has made significant progress in their pre-revenue operations and systems testing in preparation for opening the Larkspur station. Upcoming overnight operations are scheduled for: Friday, September 20, from 11:00 p.m. to 8:00 a.m. Saturday, September 21, from 11:00 p.m. to 8:00 a.m. Please note, there may be additional overnight operations depending...
San Rafael, CA – The San Rafael Police Department is working with law enforcement agencies across the state to promote safe behaviors that allow drivers and those on foot to get where they need to go safely. September is Pedestrian Safety Month, and California continues to see more and more pedestrians getting injured or killed...
The City of San Rafael Applauds Passage of Senate Bill 5 and Urges Governor to Sign Bill that Would Provide Sustainable, Ongoing Funding to Local Governments to Build Affordable Housing Senate Bill 5 (Beall, McGuire, Portantino) will provide funding to help local governments subsidize tens of thousands of housing units affordable to working class families...
Here at the City of San Rafael, it’s no secret that we strive to make San Rafael a great place to work and live. We recently created a visualization tool to display sweeping routes and their schedules to make it easier for you to see what days and timeframes the sweeper will be on your...
Back in August, in response to ongoing and pervasive gun violence, Mayor Phillips ordered the City’s flags to be lowered to half-staff. After a period of time, the Mayor directed that the flags be returned to full-staff and that the City carefully review all available policy and program actions that the City may take to address gun...
SMART is getting closer to opening its extension to Larkspur and is currently testing the train control and railroad crossing warning systems along the newly constructed portion of track from San Rafael to Larkspur. This work was preceded by the construction of a new intersection at Andersen Drive, “flipping” the road and the railroad tracks to...
