Location: 618 B Street, San Rafael Community Center When: Sat, 09/12 - Sun, 09/13 Time: 1PM - 5PM The City of San Rafael has opened a Clean Air Center Saturday, September 12th through Sunday, September 13th at the 618 B Street Community Center. This Clean Air Space will help to protect the health and well-being of those who are continually exposed to very...
PurpleAir is a real-time air quality sensor that feeds into a continuously updated, crowd sourced map at www.purpleair.com. Particularly useful for geographic-specific and realtime air quality readings, PurpleAir has become a go-to site for many during this fire season to check the air quality in their backyard or in the destination they’re heading. The City...
We were able to increase the on-street parking supply by approximately 24 spaces in East San Rafael. On Thursday August 29th, Bayside Striping and Seal striped on-street angled parking on the on the south side of Bellam Boulevard between Vista del Mar and Playa del Rey and on the west side of Kerner Boulevard south...
Streets Supervisor John Shindelus with his crew of Jeremy Quintal and Arturo Tinoco work with some of our contracted labor to clear out a large homeless encampment in the City's storm drain system. This was an especially difficult clean up due to the location, type of debris and conditions within the storm drain. They hauled...
Garage Division vehicle mechanic Angel Lopez made quick work of this transmission replacement. With all maintenance personnel riding alone in vehicles, it was important to get this truck back into service as soon as possible.
The Francisco Blvd West multi-use path and one-way conversion is under construction. Over the last two week’s Francisco Blvd West was temporarily closed at Rice Drive as the contractor drove sheet piles along the creek. The majority of the new bike path will be installed within the previous southbound vehicle travel lane, but as the...
At the end of July, the City kicked off the multimillion-dollar upgrade of the sidewalk on Francisco Blvd East between Vivian and Grand Ave. The City’s contractor, Ghilotti Bros, continues to make progress replacing underground storm drainpipe. Concurrent with the City’s project is a cooperative effort with the San Rafael Sanitation District (SRSD). The project...
On Thursday, September 3, the City removed a mural from the cement wall at the intersection at Freitas Parkway and Las Gallinas. We don’t typically notify the community when we do this type of work, but we think it’s important in this instance to share our reasoning. The mural read “Breonna Taylor was killed 166 days ago and her...
The City of San Rafael (City) hereby requests proposals for janitorial services for City facilities. It is the intent of the City to hire a fully-licensed contractor. Services shall include routine janitorial maintenance for all City facilities, including the Police Department, Library, Recreation Centers, Department of Public Works, and City Hall. Work will include: vacuuming,...
The Sidewalk Repair Program continues to make good progress in East San Rafael. The City and contractor have completed nearly 50 of the 110 properties signed up in the area. Green dots in the image above represent completed projects with blue dots to be completed. An impressive 42 properties on Riviera Drive alone have signed...
Francisco Boulevard West was recently converted to one-way southbound from Second Street to Rice Drive. This was done to improve safety at the SMART rail crossing at Second Street by diverting northbound traffic to Lindaro. It also allowed us to make room for a two-way protected cycle track on the west side of the street....
Streets crew members Ken Gatlin, Arturo Tinoco and Jeremy Quintal recently conducted the annual cleanup of the Freitas ditch ahead of the rains to come which could potentially clog the drainage ditch with debris or wash it out into the bay. The crews generally tend to haul about 20-30 tons of mostly organic material to the dump...
Maintenance crews were busy Monday after a windy weekend storm brought down numerous trees and branches around the City. Parks Division crew member Trevor Thomas is seen here helping to clear a large branch that was blocking a lane along the Miracle Mile.
This year has been hard on Parking Services buggies. The Vehicle Maintenance Division has had to take many out of service due to parts unavailability and high repair costs. The buggy in this photo has frame damage that cannot be repaired safely and therefor had to be taken out of service. Mechanic Jay Arieta is...
To ensure continued safe disposal of expired and unused medications, Facilities Department crew members Anthoney Heaven and Michael Reiser installed the drug drop off box, which was previously located at the old Police Department, in the lobby of the new Public Safety Center.
Facilities Division crew members Omar Garcia, Michael Reiser, and Anthoney Heaven built and mounted panels to the new Public Safety Center motorcycle parking garage. This will allow Officers to mount all necessary charging devices within easy reach of their motorcycles.
Diane Dillion, Senior Associate Engineer, is retiring after 35 years of service to the City of San Rafael Public Works Department. In her role, Diane oversees citywide Encroachment Permitting (any construction work in the right of way) including approvals and inspections, as well as implementation and participation in the mandated Marin County Stormwater Pollution Prevention...
San Rafael, CA – With Americans celebrating the warm Labor Day holiday weekend with extra enthusiasm this year, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) wants to remind everyone about the dangers of drinking and driving. This Labor Day weekend, NHTSA will join with the San Rafael Police Department to spread the word about impaired driving...
On August 17, 2020, the San Rafael Police Department brought proposed changes to the Use of Force Policy (Policy 300 of the Police Procedural Manual) to the City Council. The City Council voted unanimously to accept these changes. Here are a few highlights of the changes: Police Chief Diana Bishop wrote her first Chief’s Preface to the Police Procedural Manual This preface...
Parts of San Rafael potentially impacted PG&E let the County of Marin know that during August 18-20, residents will likely experience rolling blackouts of up to 2 hours. The blackouts may occur from 3pm to 11pm today, Wednesday or Thursday. Residents should take prompt action to prepare by charging cell phones and medical devices, signing...
Based on current energy supply forecasts, rotating power outages are likely to occur Monday. Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) urges customers to conserve electricity in response to the California Independent System Operator’s (ISO) statewide Flex Alert called for Monday from 3 p.m. to 10 p.m. CAISO is the organization that manages the state's power grid. Best ways to...
Pacific Gas & Electric Company (PG&E) released a recent press release of potential outages that could affect parts of California this evening. Stay informed about outages affecting your service by viewing PG&E's outage map. Visit California ISO's (CAISO) web page for information about California's electric grid.
An unexpected heat wave is bringing unusually high temperatures to Marin County. People who are more vulnerable to hot conditions now have an option to escape the heat. Marin Public Health is opening a cooling center Saturday, August 15 through Tuesday, August 18, from 3:00pm to 7:00pm, at the Marin Center Exhibit Hall (10 Avenue of...
Earlier this evening, Pacific Gas & Electric Company (PG&E) implemented a rotating power outage due to a strain on the electrical grid. The power will be turned off in rotating blocks until about 11 p.m. Power could be out for about one hour for each block. Some households in San Rafael have already begun to experience restored...
On Monday, August 17th, the City Council will review recommended changes to the City of San Rafael Police Department’s Use of Force Policy. In June 2020, Mayor Phillips signed President Barack Obama’s “Mayor’s Pledge” to review San Rafael’s use of force policing policies. Additionally, the Mayor assembled a community task force to assist City leaders...
Access to the internet is necessary for so many facets of our lives including getting news and information, participating in civic life, applying for jobs or unemployment, access to education, and more. Residents in San Rafael do not have equal access to the internet and computers at home. The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated digital equity...
The City of San Rafael (City) hereby requests proposals for janitorial services for City facilities. It is the intent of the City to hire a fully-licensed contractor. Services shall include routine janitorial maintenance for all City facilities, including the Police Department, Library, Recreation Centers, Department of Public Works, and City Hall. Work will include: vacuuming,...
Throughout the City, our staff have been working hard to update and maintain the marking and signage on the roadways. Recently, our striping contractor has been updating the crosswalks and other various striping along Fifth Avenue to make them safer for pedestrians and visible for motorists. Paint isn’t the only thing that helps with visibility...
Streets crew members Brendan Smith, Trevor Thomas, and Matthew Von Bima were at the new Public Safety Center adding some final touches to the area. This will not only bring a fresh look to the steps, but it will ensure and improve visibility of the steps. The staff were tasked to go around the building...
Arturo Tinoco and Kenny Gaitlin worked with and oversaw Ad-Lite clamming services to remove debris from the Kerner Boulevard ditch. The project happened over the course of three (3) days, and team removed more than 20 tons of vegetation and garbage from the drainage channel. During this time of the year, our crews inspect all...