From: Joe Mulligan <[email protected]>
Sent: Monday, March 4, 2024 9:47 AM
To: Distrib- City Clerk <[email protected]> Subject: public comment for today's March 4, 2024 City Council Meeting Agenda Item 5.A Dear City Council,
Please consider this public comment for today's March 4, 2024 City Council Meeting Agenda Item 5.A.
Please also note that Marin Cyclists is a 500 member local cycling club that is separate from MCBC and Walk/Bike San Rafael, and we support their stance below:
We write to you today regarding the Golden Gate Bridge, Highway, and Transportation District’s (GGBHTD) San Rafael Transit Center Relocation Project, which will have a major impact in our community for generations to come. We have feedback that we ask you to consider and advocate in front of GGBHTD as our elected representatives.
Biking and walking is a major way people get to transit in Marin. We maintain a key to the Center’s success is ensuring a world class walking and biking experience to the new Transit Center. The better the experience of walking, biking and taking transit, the more people will use the system(s) which will help meet the City’s and County’s Climate, Sustainability and congestion goals.
Our recommendations to you and the GGBHTD:
Continue the community stakeholder engagement process
We are very pleased with the progress, engagement and conceptual design at this stage of the Transit Center project process. Kudos to GGBHTD and partner agencies for the collaboration and community outreach thus far - we greatly appreciate it! Moving forward there are a lot of details to figure out and design issues to resolve. We ask that the City and the GGBHTD continue your community stakeholder engagement throughout the next phases of design.
Begin planning and designing connections to the Transit Center outside of the project site
We ask that the City begin to plan and design safe bike and pedestrian connections to the Transit Center through downtown, specifically north to Mission Street (to the North-South Greenway along Highway 101) and east and west - especially to Grand Avenue, which connects to the Canal neighborhood. These are already included in the current 2018 Bike/Ped Master Plan (projects D-1 and D-2) and should be prioritized and also included in the updated 2024 Bike/Ped Master Plan.
Evaluate the reconfiguration or removal of the proposed alleyway west of the new Transit Center
The small proposed alleyway seems unnecessary and adds more conflicts between cars, trucks, pedestrians and cyclists. Figuring out a way to meet the needs of private property access and access to the Transit Center without a new street, while potentially using the land to enlarge the plaza would be a major benefit to the community and more comfortable for people walking and biking to the Center. We suggest not having one primary pickup/dropoff location, but instead have multiple around the Transit Center, which would distribute this activity rather than concentrate it and cause congestion and conflicts.
The bikeway through the Transit Center should be “above the curb” and not at street level
We advocate for either Option 1 “Sidewalk Level Bike Path” or Option 3 “Shared Use Trail” and not Option 2 “Bike Lane at Street Level” as presented by the GGBHTD. Option 2 creates unnecessary trip and crash hazards by locating the bike path below the sidewalk curb and bus platform curb.
Provide secure bike parking
We ask that the GGBHTD provide meaningful, high visibility, integrated, and secure bike parking as part of the project so that transit users can bike to the Transit Center. Secure bike parking contributes to improved access and utilization of transit by providing important and convenient “last mile” connections for users.
Again thank you for your work on the project so far and dedication to making San Rafael an amazing place to live and work!
Sincerely,
Joe Mulligan
Board Member at Large
Safety Coordinator
PO Box 2611 San Rafael, CA 94912
[email protected]
973.932.0667
March 4, 2024
City of San Rafael
City Council
1400 Fifth Ave
San Rafael, CA 94901
Via email: CC to Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District, City of San Rafael BPAC RE: March 4, 2024 City Council Meeting Agenda Item 5.A
Dear City Council,
We write to you today regarding the Golden Gate Bridge, Highway, and Transportation District’s (GGBHTD) San Rafael Transit Center Relocation Project, which will have a major impact in our community for generations to come. We have feedback that we ask you to consider and advocate in front of GGBHTD as our elected representatives.
Biking and walking is a major way people get to transit in Marin. We maintain that a key to the Center’s success is ensuring a world class walking and biking experience to the new Transit Center. The better the experience of walking, biking, and taking transit, the more people will use the system(s) which will help meet the City’s and County’s Climate, Sustainability and congestion goals.
Our recommendations to you and the GGBHTD:
Continue the community stakeholder engagement process
We are very pleased with the progress, engagement and conceptual design at this stage of the Transit Center project process. Kudos to GGBHTD and partner agencies for the collaboration and community outreach thus far - we greatly appreciate it! Moving forward there are a lot of details to figure out and design issues to resolve. We ask that the City and the GGBHTD continue your community stakeholder engagement throughout the next phases of design.
Begin planning and designing connections to the Transit Center outside of the project site We ask that the City begin to plan and design safe bike and pedestrian connections to the Transit Center through downtown, specifically between 4th Street to Mission Avenue (to the North-South Greenway along Highway 101) and east/west - especially to Grand Avenue, which connects to the Canal neighborhood and the new two-way cycletrack. These projects were highlighted in the 2018 Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plan, projects D-1 and D-2. Of the 124 projects in the plan, they were ranked as the 1st and 6th highest priority citywide. Now is the time to begin work on these crucial connections, so that their completion will not lag behind the development of the Transit Center.
Evaluate the reconfiguration or removal of the proposed alleyway west of the new Transit Center 1 The small proposed alleyway seems unnecessary and adds more conflicts between cars, trucks, pedestrians and cyclists. Figuring out a way to meet the needs of private property access and access to the Transit Center without a new street, while potentially using the land to enlarge the plaza would be a major benefit to the community and more comfortable for people walking and biking to the Center. We suggest not having one primary pickup/dropoff location, but instead have multiple around the Transit Center, which would distribute this activity rather than concentrate it and cause congestion and conflicts.
The bikeway through the Transit Center should be “above the curb” and not at street level We advocate for either Option 1 “Sidewalk Level Bike Path” or Option 3 “Shared Use Trail” and not Option 2 “Bike Lane at Street Level” as presented by the GGBHTD. Option 2 creates unnecessary trip and crash hazards by locating the bike path below the sidewalk curb and bus platform curb.
Provide secure bike parking
We ask that the GGBHTD provide meaningful, high visibility, integrated, and secure bike parking as part of the project so that transit users can bike to the Transit Center. Secure bike parking contributes to improved access and utilization of transit by providing important and convenient “last mile” connections for users.
Again thank you for your work on the project so far and dedication to making San Rafael an amazing place to live and work!
Best,
Dave Rhoads Stephen Locke
Walk/Bike San Rafael Co-Chair Walk/Bike San Rafael Co-Chair Walk/Bike San Rafael is a Marin County Bicycle Coalition Local Team www.walkbikesanrafael.org
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