Recently, the Garage Division purchased a laptop that was loaded with the Ford Factory Scan Tool Software (fortunately, an inexpensive used system was found). This device will help to expand the capability of the garage staff and reduce the need to rely on the dealership. One of the features the Garage staff has started utilizing...
The drier weather has allowed Parks Division staff to switch back to some of their normal duties after zoning with the Streets Division. Some of these duties include irrigation repairs, continued work on the field at Alberts Park and regular routine park maintenance. One item that has been on the list was pruning the vegetation...
Streets Division staff have been busy with multiple projects. From continuous cleaning of roadside drainage ditches to sign and paint work, the list never ends. The Pumps/Paving/Drainage crew have been utilizing a rented mini excavator to make short work of some drainage cleaning. The Paints/Signs crew has been assisting in the re-setup of outdoor dining...
Construction is complete for the IDEA grant, which provided Central San Rafael Traffic signals with upgraded signal cabinets and controllers, video detection, and communication. The average driver probably wouldn’t have noticed the upgrades, but we are hopeful that with traffic monitoring and the signal performance measures providing reports to the traffic engineering division that we...
On Tuesday, the State provided its weekly COVID-19 status update. Marin County remains in the Purple Tier 1 (Widespread Risk) status for the fourth week. In general, for a County to advance to a less restrictive tier, it must: Be in its current tier for a minimum of three weeks; and Meet all criteria for the next less restrictive tier two consecutive weeks prior to progress to the next tier. You can track Marin’s progress by...
Starting next week, the City's contractor, Substrate, Inc. will begin drilling foundation piles for the Southern Heights Bridge Replacement project. This operation will be loud and residents may experience some minor vibration. There will be monitors in place for both sound and vibration. Construction occurs Monday through Friday from 7am to 5pm. For more information...
San Rafael, CA - Following a nationwide search, the City of San Rafael is pleased to announce Jessica MacLeod as their new Director of Digital Service and Open Government. Jessica most recently served as Co-Founder and head of the Governments Team at U.S. Digital Response, a non-partisan, non-profit that provides rapid response to governments through...
On Monday, February 8, 2021, the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) begun the 101 NB Central San Rafael Off-Ramp Bridge Replacement project in the city of San Rafael. Using new and innovative construction technology, the project will perform removal and replacement on the current bridge footprint, located at the northbound off-ramp on US Highway 101....
San Rafael, CA - Following a nationwide search, the City of San Rafael is pleased to announce Alicia Giudice as their new Community Development Director, effective June 1, 2021. Alicia brings 25 years of experience working in both the private sector and for local government. Alicia is currently serving as the City’s Planning Manager and...
Spotlight Photo Program Coordinator, Habad Ahmad has been working with the City’s Emergency Operations Center to coordinate food distribution sites in San Rafael, and to distribute free testing information to the community. Photo Credit: Steve Mason, San Rafael Recreation Supervisor Last Quiz Question Shout out to Brucie Melvin for being the first to correctly answer the last Snapshot Quiz Question! The photo featured was of...
On Monday, February 8, 2021, the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) begun the 101 NB Central San Rafael Off-Ramp Bridge Replacement project in the City of San Rafael. Using new and innovative construction technology, the project will perform removal and replacement on the current bridge footprint, located at the northbound off-ramp on US Highway 101....
On Friday, February 12, City Hall and most non-essential City facilities, including 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 Council, is effective...
San Rafael, CA - Following a nationwide search, the City of San Rafael is pleased to announce David Spiller as their new Chief of Police. Chief Spiller brings an impressive background as a law enforcement professional beginning his career in San Diego as a patrol officer before moving to Mountain View and servicing various department...
The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) issues a Noise Advisory for 101 NB Central San Rafael Off-Ramp Bridge Replacement project starting on Sunday, February 14, 2021 at 9PM. During this time, the construction team reach the first stage of the bridge transition process. This will be a noisy operation carried out nightly as this is...
Thousands enjoy strong internet access in Marin County, and thousands more don’t. Digital Marin, an effort to develop a countywide roadmap to achieve digital equity for all, seeks feedback from the community about internet access. Officially launched in December 2020, Digital Marin has set the following goals: Everyone in Marin has access to high quality, affordable...
The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) will perform work on the 101 NB Central San Rafael Off-Ramp Bridge Replacement project in the City of San Rafael starting February 8 at 9PM. The project team will begin bridge removal work on the original structure, located at the northbound off-ramp on US Highway 101. The bridge removal...
This past Wednesday February 3, City Staff presented a second alternative to the Third and Lindaro intersection at the Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee (BPAC). This second alternative was a result of public input received after the City Staff presented a recommendation to City Council in November 2020. This recommendation showed the closure of a...
New door sweeps were installed on the Public Safety Center Police Department Patio area to prevent water intrusion. Door sweeps were missing in several locations throughout the Public Safety Center building and are being installed as needed.
The contractor has finished work on the new Third Street-San Rafael High School Crosswalk. With the traffic signal equipment is delayed due to Covid, the crosswalk will remain closed until March when we install the traffic signal system. During construction, one of the contractors commented that he had “never seen such a weird, staggered crosswalk...
The heavy rain event the evening of January 26th kept the Streets Division staff busy. A six-man crew patrolled around the City throughout the night keeping watch for any issues. Fortunately, there were no major issues in the overnight hours but once daylight came, some issues came to light. Here you will see Streets Maintenance...
In the early morning hours of January 19th during the high wind event, on-call supervisor Omar Garcia responded to a call out from SRPD about a downed tree at the corner of Bahia Way and Kerner Blvd. With assistance from Parks staff member Jorge Hernandez, both staff members removed limbs from the Right of Way...
The Garage Division has a new Shop and Equipment Supervisor! Gerardo Paredes joined us on Feb. 1st and will now oversee vehicle maintenance. He comes to us from the City of Santa Rosa with a great amount experience and in the next month or so, he will be learning the ins and outs of the...
DPW continues to assist Caltrans with weekly clean ups of the Caltrans viaduct area between 3rd and 4th St. Every Tuesday these areas are cleaned of all trash and debris from nearby encampments. To help maintain cleanliness of this area, the Parks and Streets Divisions have taken on this workload in addition to their normal...
The Public Works Twitter account is a great resource for consistently updated information, helpful tips, and news regarding the City and surrounding areas and the Department of Public Works has been very active on Twitter (@SanRafaelDPW). Stay tuned for updates on ongoing projects, weather advisory information, spotlights on our crews, photos, and more!
Yesterday, the State provided an update on statewide COVID-19 case rates, hospitalizations, and surveillance on new coronavirus variants. Marin County remains in Purple Tier 1 (Widespread Risk) status for its second week. Our current data meets two of the three metrics required to shift to Red Tier 2 (Substantial Risk). Progress must be made on the COVID-19 case rate in Marin County before we can move to the next...
Starting at 9 AM on Wednesday, February 3, the City's contractor, Econolite, will upgrade the firmware at each signalized intersection in the list below. The traffic signal will go into flash for about a cycle length (90 seconds) during the update. These updates will allow Public Works crews to better access the traffic signal network...
Caltrans is getting ready to replace the 101 NB Central San Rafael exit (exit 452) off-ramp from the freeway to 2nd Street where it intersects with Irwin Street (also known as Harbor Bridge). Caltrans has determined the bridge is seismically obsolete, and plan to completely remove and replace the antiquated structure with a new bridge....
Visit the COVID Temporary Outdoor Services: Dining, Retail & Salons Webpage Building off of the criteria developed last spring for temporary on-street dining areas, the City has finalized new guidelines for restaurants in San Rafael seeking to build semi-permanent outdoor dining areas in the parking lane to expand their COVID-friendly dining. The City received feedback...
Spotlight Photo Librarians Margaret Stawowy (left) and Jill Tokutomi (right) get ready to send letters that patrons wrote to their future selves in December 2019 outlining their goals and resolutions for 2020. What a year it was! Check out the San Rafael Public Library’s Instagram for more info on this timely program. Photo Credit: Henry...
A Flash Flood Watch is in effect from January 26, 4:00 PM until January 28, 4:00 PM, and a High Wind Watch is in effect from January 26, 7:00 PM until January 27, 10:00 AM. A moderate "atmospheric river" will impact the region Tuesday through Thursday bringing prolonged periods of moderate to heavy rain along...
