April 18, 2025
San Rafael City Council
1400 Fifth Avenue
San Rafael, CA 94901
RE: Public Comment on April 21, 2025 San Rafael City Council Meeting Agenda Item 6b Dear San Rafael City Council,
WTB-TAM supports staff’s recommendations for Agenda Item 6b. Furthermore, WTB-TAM supports the overall direction of the City’s evolving design for the 2nd and 4th Street Intersection Project. This is a complicated project that has been through many iterations, but we feel that the City is taking the right steps to balance the safety and needs of all modal users, including motorists, transit riders, bicyclists, and pedestrians.
Since our organization focuses on bicyclist and pedestrian mobility and safety, our primary reasons for supporting the most recent design are related to improvements to bicyclist and pedestrian safety, connectivity, and comfort. The redesigned and relocated crosswalks are a major improvement over the existing crosswalks with their oblique angles that put pedestrians in the street for more time. The new designed crosswalks follow the shorted path possible, with the highest visibility to motorists, and in more of a straight line than the existing meandering path of travel.
The redesigned 4th Street to Miracle Mile right turn slip lane is also a major improvement over the existing slip lane. The redesigned slip lane has several traffic calming features built into it. Vehicle speeds will be lower, by design. Motorists will be discouraged from using the lane as a “cut-through” lane and it will be used primarily for local business access.
We understand that several residents on Marquard Avenue and nearby streets are upset because of the planned removal of the left turn lane and signal from westbound 2nd Street to Marquard Avenue. It is understandable that they do not want to lose the convenience of the left turn signal. However, all decisions require tradeoffs. In this case, WTBTAM believes that the benefits from closing the left turn lane outweigh the inconvenience to the nearby residents.
Marquard Avenue and nearby streets are accessible by alternate routes. From an operational standpoint, the benefits of closing the left turn lane are twofold. For motorists, removing the lane reduces the number of phases in the traffic signal cycle, thus shortening the amount of time spent at red lights. For bicyclists and pedestrians traveling east or west along the Cross – Marin Bikeway, closing the left turn lane removes an unexpected hazard and provides the Cross – Marin Bikeway with greater protection at a key location where the Class III route on West End Avenue transitions to the new two-way Class IV cycle track on 2nd Street. We believe the number of bicyclists using the Cross – Marin Bikeway through this intersection is greater than the number of residents inconvenienced by removing the left turn signal.
WTB-TAM’s suggestions are minor and concern striping and signage. Concerns the bicyclist eastbound path of travel along 4th Street, we recommend extending the skip-striping through the merge of the right turn slip lane from westbound 2nd Street onto eastbound 4th Street (see Figure 1). We also recommend installing a sign on this slip lane advising motorists to YIELD TO BIKES (see Figure 1).
Figure 1: WTB-TAM suggestions on latest design
Finally, we recommend installing a sign on westbound 4th Street in advance of the lane split advising motorists that the right lane is for LOCAL ACCESS ONLY (see Figure 1). The sign also could list the names of the businesses – Urban Remedy, Ziggy’s Pet Grooming, Ken’s Carpets.
We urge the Council to approve staff’s recommendations and commend the City for advancing the design to this level.
We know that there are still opportunities for minor design changes, some of which we have recommended above. But we feel that the overall direction of the design is correct and will result in a safer, more operationally efficient intersection.
Respectfully submitted,
Patrick Seidler, WTB-TAM President Matthew Hartzell, WTB-TAM Director of Planning CC:
Cristine Alilovich, City Manager
April Miller, Public Works Director
Lindsay Lara, City Clerk