Recently, the Bay Area saw a historic storm pass through the area on Sunday, October 24th. San Rafael received over 8 inches of rain in a 24-hour period along with strong gusty winds and a storm surge that caused a predicted 5.6ft tide to swell to a 6.9ft observed height. San Rafael saw significant flooding...
Snapshot in Espanol Spotlight Photo The Downtown San Rafael Day of the Dead Car Procession was held last Saturday, October 23rd. Join continued Day of the Dead festivities Saturday, November 6th at our Albert J. Boro Community Center—see our events section for more details! PHOTO CREDIT: Jim Schutz, San Rafael City Manager Last Quiz Question Congrats to Edward Chin for being...
On Saturday, October 30 and Sunday, October 31, Point San Pedro Road between Main Drive and China Camp will be closed from 8:30 am to approximately 1:30 pm for the Marin Endurance Festival. Detours will be in place. Motorists are advised to drive with caution and follow all posted traffic signals. For questions and concerns,...
Last week, the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) was scheduled to fully close the 101 Northbound Central San Rafael exit for the full weekend for work on the 101 NB Central San Rafael Off-Ramp Bridge Replacement project. Due to weather conditions, they had to shorten the closure. Subsequently, to complete the remaining work, Caltrans will...
The City of San Rafael, through its Fire Department, is soliciting proposals from qualified and licensed tree service contractors for multiple wildfire mitigation fuel reduction projects throughout San Rafael. All projects are funded by the Marin Wildfire Prevention Authority (MWPA) and will help improve defensible space within the wildland-urban interface and improve emergency responder access...
The current storm has caused damage and flooding across Marin County and San Rafael, damaging trees and power lines, causing localized flooding and street closures, and keeping first responders busy. Flooding is currently focused east of A Street. Road closures are in place around 2nd and 3rd street from A street to the freeway onramp....
Due to weather conditions, the dates and closure times for the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) 101 NB Central San Rafael Off-Ramp Bridge Replacement project have now changed. The closure will start on Friday, October 22 at 7 pm and reopen on Saturday, October 23 at 12 pm. Please note: these dates and times are subject to...
REMINDER: The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) will begin the second 55-hour weekend closure for the 101 NB Central San Rafael Off-Ramp Bridge Replacement project. Due to weather conditions, the closure times have now changed. The closure will start on Friday, October 22 at 7 pm and reopen on Monday, October 25 at 5 am. Please note: these dates...
Fall rain often marks the end of wildfire season in Marin. While we can’t yet be sure if this will be enough rain to truly reduce the wildfire risk or have an impact on drought conditions- its certainly a hopeful start to the winter rainy season. Sandbag Locations As in the past, the City has...
The Caltrans engineering team is working to relocate the bus stop at the northbound Freitas Parkway offramp to make it safer and ADA accessible. As a part of the project, they are proposing to improve the intersection of Freitas Parkway, Civic Center Drive and Old Redwood Highway by installing a round-about there. This exciting change...
Program Manager: JC Agcaoili Since the beginning of 2020, the Sidewalk Repair Program has been making its way through the Peacock Gap neighborhood. Today, in October 2021, we are excited to be finishing up the last of the properties that signed up in this area. In the 20-month time span, Van Midde Concrete has repaired...
Construction began on October 6th for the Bungalow Ave and Woodland Ave Resurfacing Project. Thank you to our neighbors for your patience as improvements are continually made. Currently Ghilotti Bros Inc. is working on curb ramps all along Woodland Ave and a sidewalk gap closure on Bungalow Ave. Over the next few weeks, weather permitting,...
Contact: Faby Guillen-Urfer / Sr. Project Manager – Public Works We are very excited to announce that on Monday, October 18, Council authorized us to move forward with construction of Fire Station 54 & 55. Council was extremely supportive of the project and enthusiastic to continue with the City’s essential facilities upgrades. The lowest responsive bidder and approved contractor is Wickman Development and Construction. Their base bid amount is approximately...
The B St Culvert Replacement Project was advertised on Sept 17th and bids were opened on Oct 7th. Maggiora & Ghilotti, Inc. was found to be the lowest responsible and responsive bidder. On Oct 18th, City Council awarded the construction contract to Maggiora & Ghilotti, Inc. Construction is estimated to start in November 2021. More...
To help firefighters hear dispatchers better and with less distortion, Facilities team members Michael Rieser and Anthoney Heaven assisted with the installation of new acoustic panels at Fire Station 57. The installation of these panels will help reduce the echo noise in the apparatus bay area
The Facilities and Garage Division supervisors Omar Garcia and Gerardo Paredes assisted in the coordination of removing several large storage containers that were located in the lower parking lot of City Hall. Originally, the containers were being utilized by the Police Department, but since their relocation to the Public Safety Center, they no longer have...
Online meetings have become popular in recent times. It helps businesses to conduct video conferences, online meeting and even webinars. Recently, a request was made to have a television hung in the City Hall conference room located on the first floor. This conference room has not been updated since 2016 Facilities crew installed the tv...
When it comes to ensuring the safety of drivers and integrity of City vehicles, preventative maintenance is the best way to reduce and even avoid vehicle breakdowns. In the photo below, Garage technician Angel Lopez is shown replacing the driver's side drive axle shaft on one of our patrol vehicles (the axle shaft is a...
Earlier in the year, the maintenance crews were asked to remove the ivy in the medians in order to reduce nesting spots for rats and other rodents. Last week, the Parks Department placed down weed blocker fabric and covered the area in wood chips. In the photos, Parks Staff members Jose Tellez and Jorge Hernandez...
To increase safety at traffic lights during power outages or Public Safety Power Shut Offs, Public Works sign crew members Arturo Tinoco & Tyler Nord, have recently started installing reflective tape around the signal heads. When the signals go dark, vehicle headlights will reflect from the tape making them aware of the upcoming intersection. They...
The long awaited resurfacing of Francisco Boulevard East from Grand Avenue to Vivian Street has commenced. The City’s contractor Ghilotti Construction Company started preparatory work for the Francisco Boulevard Resurfacing Project on Wednesday, October 13th and will be switching to nightwork on Monday, October 18th. The resurfacing of the roadway will take approximately two weeks...
The City of San Rafael continues to operate the Service Support Areas (SSA) for those experiencing homelessness and continues to see positive results. As part of the collaboration with Caltrans, the County of Marin, CHP, and multiple service organizations, this designated space located between Fifth and Mission in downtown San Rafael provides: Full time security Restrooms Handwashing stations Garbage pick-up Regular...
On Saturday, October 16, Overaa Construction will be closing Mission Ave between Cottage Ave and Bryn Mawr Dr from 8 am to 1 pm. This weekend closure is to avoid disrupting children on a school day. During this time, Overaa Construction will be delivering materials for the Marin Aquatic Center development. Neighboring businesses and and residents...
REMINDER: The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) will begin the second 55-hour weekend closure for the 101 NB Central San Rafael Off-Ramp Bridge Replacement project. The closure will start on Friday, October 22 at 10 pm and reopen on Monday, October 25 at 5 am. Please note: these dates and times are subject to change. If you would like to...
Shirley Fischer has dedicated her life to civic participation for the greater good of the community, and since she moved to Terra Linda 40 years ago she has been consistently active in bringing together community members and organizations to foster communication between residents and the City, to develop a common vision of community needs and...
Anyone travelling from the south on 101 with a destination in the East Bay or East San Rafael knows how frustrating it can be to wait in the queue to at the 101-580 off ramp with Bellam Boulevard. Right now, many drivers use Sir Francis Drake to get to the Richmond Bridge. The 101-580 off...
We’re approaching the tail end of the Southern Height Bridge Replacement construction project that started in December 2020. The primary bridge structure has been completed but several items of work remain including timber fencing, paving, bridge lighting, new road signage, and other items. As part of the project, several eucalyptus trees were cut to a...
The City of San Rafael, Department of Public Works is actively reviewing an application for a grading permit to surcharge or “preload” the 1075 Francisco Boulevard East property in preparation for construction of the proposed Hilton Hotel. The surcharging is required due to challenging soil conditions that exist below the property, specifically the presence of...
The Fire Department assisted Public Works and Sanitation District maintenance staff with CPR and "Stop the Bleed" training in the past few weeks. In the photos, you see Facilities Maintenance workers Michael Rieser and Anthoney Heaven practicing CPR chest compressions and learning how to apply a tourniquet. We would like to thank the Fire Departments...
Public Works is usually known for its big, noisy, and (maybe) controversial construction projects but sometimes we need to take a step back and study our options before proceeding. For example, there is a half-mile gap in the North-South Greenway between the Puerto Suello Path at the top of Lincoln Avenue and where the trail...