Assembly Bill (AB) 43 Strategy

California Assembly Bill No. 43 (AB 43) provides cities more flexibility when establishing speed limits in business and residence districts. AB 43 allows for reduction of speed limits after considering safety, land uses, and concentration levels of bicyclists and pedestrians, especially those from vulnerable groups such as children, seniors, persons with disabilities, and individuals experiencing homelessness. AB 43 also allows lowered speed limits on sections of roadways in a “business activity district”, such as neighborhood downtowns. AB 43 went into effect in 2022 and revised the process by which traffic surveys are prepared.

An Engineering and Traffic Survey (E&TS) is an engineering study used for setting roadway speed limits based on prevailing speeds (or 85th percentile speed, defined as the speed at or below which 85% of vehicles travel) and review of roadway traffic conditions and history.

The City strives to be proactive in improving traffic safety and is conducting a study to review traffic speeds in San Rafael as part of the next E&TS update in 2025. The project is being conducted in two phases. Starting with the downtown area, Phase 1 of the study will identify roadway corridors that can benefit from reduced speed limits based on evaluation of the built environment, collision history, and roadway usage. Roadway corridors in downtown that are deemed appropriate to have lower speed limits was presented to the Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee on October 2, 2024 and to the Police Advisory and Accountability Committee on January 15, 2025 for feedback. The Phase 1 speed limit reductions were adopted by City Council on February 18, 2025.

In Phase 2 of the study,  the City is evaluating other roadways in San Rafael that would be appropriate and follow the same review and City Council approval process for reduced speed limits described above. Initial Phase 2 results were presented to the Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee on December 3, 2025, and will be presented to the Police Advisory and Accountability Committee in early 2026 prior to presentation to City Council.

Final speed limits will be incorporated into the City’s E&TS update which will establish the legal basis for speed limit enforcement with the Marin County Superior Court.

The 2024 Marin County Local Road Safety Plan indicates that many streets in Downtown San Rafael experience elevated collision rates, and that reducing vehicle speeds would increase safety outcomes of vulnerable road user groups, such as bicyclists, pedestrians, persons with disabilities, and individuals experiencing homelessness. As such, the Phase 1 of the study focused on the downtown area, where most vehicle collisions resulted in injury or fatality (as shown in figure below). Starting with the downtown area allows the City to leverage specific provisions of AB 43 for “business activity district” to improve traffic safety and slow vehicles, which gives drivers the opportunity to discover and experience what Downtown San Rafael has to offer.

Phase 2 of the  study focuses on other roadways with high levels of pedestrian and bicycle activity and a history of frequent crashes throughout the City. These areas may include roadway corridors near schools, parks, community centers, and locations with a high presence of seniors, children, other vulnerable groups, and collision history.

Vehicle impact speed is the most influential factor attributing to the severity of injuries at the time of a collision/crash. Slower vehicle speed collision may result in less severe injuries whereas higher vehicle speed collisions can result in fatalities. For instance, if a pedestrian is involved in a collision where the vehicle is traveling at 20 miles per hour (mph), the pedestrian has a 90% survival rate. However, if the vehicle is traveling at 40 mph, the pedestrian survival rate reduces to 50%. Small reductions in vehicle speed can have important safety impacts.

In addition, vehicles traveling at slower speeds emit less noise, which results in a more pleasant environment, especially for individuals outside in close proximity to the roadway. Slower vehicle speeds are more closely associated with walkable, livable communities.

San Francisco Vision Zero Action Plan 2015

In Phase 1 of this study, a detailed analysis of downtown roadways, including review and consideration of previous planning efforts, in the Bicycle & Pedestrian Master Plan (2018) and Downtown Precise Plan (2021), was performed to identify current and future active transportation facilities and land uses in the downtown area. This review, in combination with an E&TS for downtown roadways, evaluated potential road segments that would be eligible for speed limit reduction to 20 miles per hour (mph) based on the traffic data, crash history, roadway characteristics, conducted speed surveys, and the provisions of AB 43.

The speed limit on most downtown streets is currently 25 mph. As a result of this evaluation, a draft downtown 20 mph zone is proposed, as shown in the below figure. The proposal would retain a 25 mph speed limit on 2nd and 3rd Streets through the downtown core, as these are principal arterials that carry high volumes of traffic through the area and do not meet some of the provisions of AB 43.  The speed limit on 2nd Street between Hayes Street and 4th Street, which is currently 35 mph, would reduce to 30 mph.

Speed Limits in Downtown

In Phase 2 of this study, a similar detailed analysis of roadways throughout the City was performed. This review evaluated potential road segments that would be eligible for speed limit reduction based on AB 43. Phase 2 draft recommended results are displayed below. All speed limits shown represent a 5-mph reduction compared to existing posted speed limits.

Potential Speed Limits for Roadways Outside of Downtown

The City has begun early implementation of select Phase 1 reduced speed limits downtown by installing signs on Mission Avenue and 5^th Avenue. If reduced speed limits from Phase 2 are passed by City Council in Spring 2026, all new speed limits from Phase 1 and Phase 2 are anticipated to become effective in Summer 2026. After a mandatory 30-day warning period, which commences when new speed limit signs are installed, updated speed limits can be enforced by the Police Department.

Project Timeline Summary

The AB 43 Strategy and associated updates will be posted on this website and presented to the Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee and City Council for public comment and feedback. Feedback can also be submitted through the online input form at the top of this webpage.

For assistance with submitting the form, please reach out to the Department of Public Works mainline at 415-485-3355.