The City-hired consultant Scott Bodensteiner of Haley & Aldrich is moving forward with the next steps in coordinating the permitting process for the dredging of private docks and harbors along the San Rafael Channel. The USACE is only responsible for the dredging of the federal channel – the limits of which do not extend all...
Earlier this month the City completed the Class IV bikeway on Francisco Blvd West between Rice Drive and 2nd Street. This segment is part of the larger North-South Greenway through Marin County, which is one of the Marin County Bicycle Coalition’s highest priorities. San Rafael is thankful to all the project funding sponsors for contributing...
On January 27th the Facilities department was contacted by SRPD about a frequently used service road gate on Makin Grade that needed repair. The left gate post was rotted out and unable to be secured and the latch and hinges needed to be replaced as they were extremely rusted and worn. Facilities staff members Michael Rieser, Anthoney Heaven and Omar Garcia worked to install a...
DPW recently acquired a used bucket truck for our Maintenance Divisions. Purchasing a used truck saved the City approximately $30,000 dollars compared to a new one. The truck will also help to save the City money by not having to rely on a contractor for work requiring a bucket truck. The truck will be used...
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...
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...
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 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...
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...
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!
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...
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...
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...
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...
