On Tuesday, January 19th the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) released its 2021 Work Plan for projects the Corps would execute during the FY 2021 cycle – including all dredging activities summer/fall 2021. San Rafael was not funded in this cycle for the dredging of its federal channel. Though the dredging target date has been delayed a...
Effective immediately, the State has lifted the Regional Stay-at-Home Order for the Bay Area, which includes Marin and 10 other counties. The release of the Order moves Marin back into the Widespread Purple Tier 1 status, which is the most restrictive tier in the Blueprint for a Safer Economy. The State will conduct Tier assessments on an as-needed basis when the most recent reliable...
A Flash Flood Watch is in effect from January 26, 4 PM until January 28, 4 PM, and a High Wind Watch is in effect from January 26, 7 PM until January 27, 10 AM. A moderate "atmospheric river" will impact the region Tuesday through Thursday bringing prolonged periods of moderate to heavy rain along...
Nearly five years ago, the City of San Rafael, the County of Marin, and local homeless service providers joined forces to launch a pilot program called the Homeless Outreach Team (HOT), which has since been named a statewide best practice by the League of California Cities. HOT emerged out of a need to address unsheltered homelessness in Downtown...
As we welcome in the new Mayor, the facilities team has been busy making some minor repairs and putting some finishing touches on the new Mayor’s office. An electrical outlet was moved into the corner and here we see Facilities staff Anthoney Heaven running an internet Cat 5 cable over to the desk area is....
Amid concerns about the lack of lighting in the Freitas Park Tunnel, the Facilities team got busy replacing the old bulbs inside the tunnel. They also installed a new photocontrol unit that helps provide more light along the darker parts of the tunnel throughout the day.
We are nearing completion on the new crosswalk in front of San Rafael High School. This week the contractor will be installing the fencing in the median and filling in the trenches. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, shipment of the new traffic signal equipment is delayed so the crosswalk will not be able to open...
This week, members of the Streets Division were able to take advantage of the sunny weather and complete some much-needed repainting of red curbs that have faded over time. Here we see Streets Division staff Tyler Nord and Brendan Smith repainting and freshening up a stretch of red curb.
With a welcome break from the rains, the Parks Division took full advantage of the warm weather and have been busy with renovations to Alberts Field. This included removing all the bad soil, weeding, installing an underground drip irrigation system to improve water efficiency and laying down new sod as well as leveling the infield...
Recently, one of the pumps at our Piombo Storm Water pump station failed, requiring it to be removed and inspected. Upon inspection, the pump was determined to be obsolete and a new pump is needed. This pump is located south of the Public Works Corp yard along the Shoreline Path. It pumps water from a...
Although the rainy season dictates when we can work, the Sidewalk Repair Program is nearing the final stretch of work in the East San Rafael area. We have been making great progress on Biscayne Drive and with more than a dozen properties signed up for the program in this area, the City will be contributing...
As part of the Francisco Blvd West Multi-use Pathway project, Francisco Blvd West between 2nd Street and Rice Drive was converted to a one-way southbound street. In doing so, the northbound right turn lane onto 2nd Street was eliminated as one measure to reduce the number of vehicles stopping on the railroad tracks. Additionally, the...
While I was not fortunate to have known Mr. Allison, I had heard of what he meant to the City as the Public Works Director. Enthusiastic. Dedicated. Dean Allison built strong relationships and cared immensely for both his employees and the public. Having the opportunity to learn about Public Works under his name as the...
Marin County Public Health and healthcare providers announced today that Marin County residents who are age 75 or above will be prioritized for available vaccine supplies. Existing vaccine appointments for all other sectors in Phase 1B scheduled for this week including, childcare, education, food and agriculture, and emergency services will keep their scheduled appointment. To help Marin residents track when they may be eligible to receive...
Additional $7.75 million in federal support will go to those experiencing hardship From the County of Marin More federal stimulus money is being provided to Marin County renters who have experienced economic hardship because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The County of Marin is receiving an estimated $7.75 million by early February as part of the Consolidated...
In October 2020, the San Rafael Social Justice Community Art Group (Group) formed in response to the community's desire to support the social justice messaging which was embedded in the chalk art mural created over the Summer of 2020 honoring Breonna Taylor’s life at the intersection of Las Gallinas and Freitas Parkway. After multiple discussions, the...
The City Council will consider an ordinance proposed to be adopted on an urgency basis that would enact a temporary moratorium on rent increases (“rent freeze”) for tenants residing in certain residential units through December 31, 2021. The proposed temporary moratorium would solely apply in two designated US Census Tracts, Tract Nos. 1122.01 (Canal Neighborhood) and 1122.02...
The City of San Rafael hereby requests proposals for on-call tree services from a qualified tree maintenance business that is duly registered and licensed with either a C61-D49 or C27-D49 license in the State of California. Services shall include routine tree services as required by the Public Works Operations and Maintenance Manager at various City...
Last Friday, the Bay Area Region met its first three week marker under the Regional Stay Home Order. On Saturday, the State confirmed that the Bay Area will remain under the Regional Order for now. Regular assessments of our ICU capacity projections will be used to determine when changes in the existing orders are warranted. You can view the ICU capacity numbers by region, the state is updating these daily, as well as maintaining a...
The Facilities team was asked to return the former Parking Services office to its original open space configuration. In order to accomplish this, three walls totaling over 40 ft. needed to be removed. Electrical switches were relocated from the wall that was removed and the wall area where the previous walls stood were also repaired. New ceiling...
Facilities team staff Omar Garcia and Anthoney Heaven disconnected four electrical outlets at the corners in the intersection of Fourth St and D St and installed tamper proof covers. This was done to prevent both unsafe tampering and unlawful loitering in the downtown area.
Francisco Boulevard East is an important connection between the Richmond-San Rafael bridge and the Sir Francis Drake Flyover to Larkspur and is used by many bicyclists. The Richmond-San Rafael bridge is expected to reach their 100,000th bike rider in January! Together, the City of San Rafael, the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC), and the Bay Area...
Construction is moving along for the new signalized crossing on Third Street at San Rafael High School. The south (shopping center) side is complete and the driveway for the delivery trucks is open. The north (school) side is nearly complete. The last phase is the median, which the contractor broke ground on Tuesday January 5....
Streets and Parks Division crews have made a concerted effort to pick up as much of the fallen leaves as possible along City streets. Sometimes it seems like a losing battle as it takes some time for the leaves to stop falling! Different types of equipment are used to aid workers such as rakes and...
Garage Division staff picked up a new electric vehicle that will be used as a Parking Enforcement buggy. We anticipate these vehicles will be more reliable and cost effective than the vehicles that have previously been used. Here you see mechanic Jay Arieta securing the vehicle for transport back to DPW to be retrofitted for...
Along with assisting the Streets Division with storm preparation, the Parks Division continues with regular maintenance throughout the City. Here we see Parks Division Mechanic Jim O'Hagan painting over graffiti on a wall along the Puerto Suello bike path. Any type of derogatory or gang related graffiti is removed immediately as graffiti in this area...
City contractor Maggiora and Ghilotti Inc. recently rebuilt the small timber lagged retaining wall on the Northwest corner of Second Street and Irwin Street that had been damaged. This small project took place over a period of three nights and the City will be reimbursed for the repair work. ...
On the week of Dec 28th, demolition work began on the existing Southern Heights Bridge. Most of the bridge deck has been removed and the remaining supportive structure will be demolished in the coming weeks, weather permitting.
Last week the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) brought their sediment testing plan for the San Rafael Channel to some of the regulatory agencies last week, the first key step in the dredging permitting process. Regulatory agencies involved in the dredging permitting process (yes – USACE needs a permit too!) include the DMMO (Dredge...
The Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR) for General Plan 2040 and the Downtown San Rafael Precise Plan is now available for public review and comment. The City is providing a 62-day comment period on the document, extending from January 7 to March 9, 2021. The Planning Commission will hold a hearing on the DEIR on...
