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...
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...
