Have you started making your Summer plans? If not, now it’s the time to do so because Summer is right around the corner! Whether you are looking for Summer Camps for your kids, a season pass for the pool, park events, or a summer job in one of our pools (!), we are here to help you plan...
Because work should be fun too, we often look for ways to squeeze in team-building activities for our employees. This past Friday, about 60 City employees spent their lunch break at the Boro Community Center for a dodgeball tournament. They showed off their athletic skills and enjoyed some friendly banter as they tried to eliminate...
Over the past several weeks, our Public Works staff made presentations to the Pickleweed Advisory Board and Parks & Recreation Commission to discuss options for new playground structures at Pickleweed Park and to gather additional feedback from the community. The Pickleweed Advisory Board and the Parks & Recreation Commission were both pleased with the proposed...
The Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program is a federal program that provides funding for housing, community facilities, and human services. In San Rafael, examples of CDBG-funded projects have included the development of affordable housing, sidewalk accessibility improvements, and a wide range of public services. For October 2019 through September 2020, Marin County is expected to receive approximately $1.4 million...
At Monday’s City Council meeting, the Fire Department will present a final draft of the Wildfire Prevention and Protection Action Plan for consideration and approval by the City Council. The Plan, which has gone through substantive changes since its first debut in draft form at the January 22, 2019 City Council meeting, outlines 38 wildfire prevention goals, including...
If you've driven down Second Street this week - you may have noticed a lane closure along with some pretty major sidewalk construction between C and D Streets. Van Midde & Son Concrete began work on Monday with what might be one of the largest square footage of sidewalk repair in this year's program. The...
We should expect a drying and warming trend this week and into the coming weekend. YAY! The rain previously predicted for tomorrow is now expected to fizzle-out before it reaches the Bay area, so we’re expecting dry conditions for the whole week. Tides: Tide peaks for this week are predicted to range between 5.3-ft and 6.2-ft. With the predicted...
The Traffic Engineering Division got the go ahead from Caltrans to install an All Way STOP at Merrydale Road and US 101 South Ramps! The work includes: painting stop legends and limit lines, refreshing striping, and installing STOP signs and advanced warning signs. Our maintenance crews will do the installation in the wee hours of...
Over the last several weeks we have seen an extraordinary amount of rainfall pass through Marin County (see Rain, Rain Go Away article). Storm weather services have categorized some of the storms as atmospheric rivers”, a flashy name for a plume of tropical moisture in the atmosphere that can result in heavy rainfall or snowfall...
The North Francisco Pump Station was built by Caltrans in 1999. Its purpose is to pump large amounts of water from the surrounding area including the freeway, the Gerstle Park, and Bret Harte neighborhoods into the bay. There are 4, 250 horsepower (hp) motors and 2, 30 hp pumps, each 40 feet long, at this...
Dear March, we don’t want any trouble from you. February was a little iffy, so just come in, sit down, and don’t touch anything! Last week another major storm hit the Bay Area. Localized flooding due to rainfall and tides were recurrent but, our well-prepared City Maintenance crews worked through the evening and early morning...
Over the past few weeks Valentine Corp. has removed and replaced the concrete barrier on the east side of the Grand Ave vehicle bridge. The new pedestrian bridge arrived Friday morning (March 8th) in two pieces and is being stored inside of the Toyota Marin parking lot so that final assembly and installation of the...
The SMART Larkspur Extension construction work on the Francisco Blvd. West realignment and Phase-1 of the Multi-Use Path (from Rice Street to Andersen Drive) has been slowed a bit due to the rain. Ghilotti Brothers was able to squeeze-in one concrete pour for the MUP down at the Anderson Street connection. There are two small...
The Traffic Engineering Division is working hard to get our traffic signals modernized, starting with video detection. The cameras were installed at 4 locations (Mission/Hetherton, 2nd/Hetherton, 2nd/Irwin, 2nd/Grand). The images below are of 2nd Street/Irwin Street. The “MioVision” fish eye camera provides a live stream of the intersection; the second image shows the cars from...
Jeff Craemer is a long-time resident of San Rafael who is well known for his community and civic involvement. As a San Rafael Fire Foundation Board Member and a Marin History Museum advocate, Jeff has dedicated a tremendous amount of time and energy into making San Rafael a great place to live and work. In...
Over the next two weeks, Van Midde & Son Concrete will continue to work on the following Sun Valley locations: 150 Forbes Ave 1623 Fifth Ave 1702 Fifth Ave 210 H Street 222 H Street 1840 Fifth Ave 1848 Fifth Ave 1902 Fifth Ave 222 H street 149 Center Heavy rain and winter weather in...
Over the last couple of weeks, Theo Sanchez & Kevin McGowan of the Public Works Department have made presentations for the Pickleweed Advisory Board Committee and Parks & Recreation Commission to discuss the potential playground structures and gather additional feedback from the community. The Advisory Board and the Parks & Recreation Commission were both pleased...
La Academia de Policía para residentes ofrece a los miembros de la comunidad una mirada interna a las autoridades locales. El curso está diseñado para proporcionar a los residentes una visión general de la función y los procedimientos operativos del Departamento de Policía. Durante la Academia, los estudiantes tendrán la oportunidad de montar en un...
Mobility on demand is now available in Northern San Rafael! For the first time ever, Marin Transit is offering a completely accessible, on-demand transit option– with no advanced planning required! Marin Transit’s new service, Marin Transit Connect, is now in operation weekdays from 6:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. We’ll have representatives from Marin Transit at Monday’s City...
Have you ever closed your eyes and imagined what San Rafael could look like in 20 years? Well, we’re in the process of updating our General Plan--a guiding document that covers topics such as land use, transportation, housing, open space, conservation, community design, and safety. After a series of community engagement and outreach meetings and events, our...
Every 7 to 10 years the California Vehicle Code (CVC) requires that posted speed limits along collector and arterial roadways be reviewed by an Engineering and Traffic Survey. The City entered into contract with W-Trans on April of 2019 to conduct surveys in May 2018, and based on their findings, staff is now recommending that the speed...
Back in December 2017, the City Council approved new regulationsrelating to medical cannabis businesses in San Rafael. While this action didn’t approve any medical cannabis businesses to open, it instead set up the regulatory framework for this type of business. Specifically, these regulations authorized three license types: cannabis testing labs, medical cannabis infused products manufacturing, and...
Synopsis: Another atmospheric river (AR) storm has arrived to the Bay area. Coming from the south Pacific it will bring copious amounts of precipitation from the subtropics as it drifts slowly southward into the San Francisco Bay Area over the next 24 hours. It is predicted to then stall-out through late Tuesday night, resulting in...
City Employee: What’s that? You’re applying for an encroachment permit (EP)? Resident/Contractor: Yes, we’ll be painting, and we’ll need to place scaffolding on the sidewalk, I think we’ll need to take up two parking spaces as well. City Employee: Okay, you’ll need to apply for the EP here, jump through a ring of fire, tame...
The Traffic Division is completing an assessment of uncontrolled crossings throughout the City and we will be chipping away at improvements now through summertime. An uncontrolled crosswalk is anywhere there is a marked crosswalk and cross traffic does not have to stop except for when a pedestrian is present. In this initial assessment, we studied...
The SMART Larkspur Extension construction work on the Francisco Blvd. West realignment and Phase-1 of the Multi-Use Path (from Rice Street to Andersen Drive) is rapidly nearing completion. The section of roadway from 2nd Street to Irwin Drive was opened for traffic earlier this month. The Francisco Blvd. West and Rice Drive intersection, where the...
The Public Safety Center construction team has been finding ways to make progress and work around the storms. Currently, most of the structural steel has been erected and the metal framing has started at the ground level. The electrical, plumbing, and mechanical subcontractors have been working in the basement.
Fire Station #57 construction of interior walls is underway. Sheetrock continues to be installed and the contractor is moving toward mechanical, electrical and plumbing inspections before closing the walls. They are also chipping away at the site work while maximizing their efforts on every clear day that they can get. Despite the heavy rains, they...
The Contractor has been working in the rain and on the weekends to complete our new Fire Station 52. They are installing interior finishes and completing testing and commissioning of equipment. They will be pouring the last portion of the approach, curb, and sidewalk by the end of next week. Pavers, side gates and planting...
The Terra Linda Community Center (TLCC) is receiving new flooring in their main auditorium. The work is expected to be completed this week and we’re very happy with how it’s turning out. We went with a very durable vinyl product that we expect to last 15 to 20 years. Despite a few minor initial bumps...
