From: Amanda Hoehler
Sent: Tuesday, July 15, 2025 4:10 PM
To: Distrib- City Clerk <[email protected]> Subject: Urgent Need for Safer Streets – Redesign Freitas Parkway Dear San Rafael City Council,
Though I am not a resident of San Rafael, I frequently ride my bike through the city and care deeply about the safety of its streets — for your residents and for everyone who travels through.
Six crashes at the same intersection are six too many. It’s unacceptable that these incidents continue to occur at a location where safer design is both needed and long overdue.
In 2018, the City of San Rafael adopted a Bicycle Master Plan that recommended narrowing travel lanes on Freitas Parkway to improve safety. Yet those recommendations have not been implemented. The wide, high-speed design of Freitas Parkway remains inherently dangerous for cyclists, pedestrians, and even drivers.
It is time to finally take action. Streets like Freitas must be redesigned before more lives are lost. Proven safety improvements — such as narrower lanes, protected bike infrastructure, and traffic-calming measures — can prevent injuries and fatalities.
Safer streets don’t just save lives; they also encourage more people to walk and bike, reduce car dependency, and help San Rafael meet its climate goals.
I urge you to prioritize people’s safety over speed and to fully commit to the goals of your own Bicycle Master Plan. Lives depend on it.
Sincerely,
Amanda Hoehler
Cyclist, bike commuter and pediatric emergency physician From: Alexis Morgan
Sent: Tuesday, July 15, 2025 4:16 PM
To: Distrib- City Clerk <[email protected]> Subject: Public Comment - 7/21/2025 CC Meeting - Chris Brignetti Dear Councilmembers,
Chris was killed while riding through the intersection of Freitas Parkway and Lea Drive - a site where at least five other bicyclists have been seriously injured in nearly identical crashes.
Despite identifying a need for improvements on Freitas in its own 2018 Bicycle Master Plan, the City of San Rafael made no significant safety improvements, even after you were urged to do so during a 2023 repaving project.
We cannot let this happen again.
Please ensure that all humans can travel safely on our streets. Implement traffic calming measures, enforce speed limits and penalize speeders to the extent the law allows.
Motor vehicle operators are behind the wheel of machinery that uses lethal force. Speeding, aggressive driving and distracted driving kill.
Sincerely,
Alexis Morgan
Alexis Morgan (she/her) | Girls Rock Women's Mountain Biking @girlsrock-mtb, a volunteer-run non-profit, EIN #82-1239857 -----Original Message-----
From: Deborah Dueñas
Sent: Tuesday, July 15, 2025 4:14 PM
To: Distrib- City Clerk <[email protected]> Subject: Public Comment - 7/21/2025 CC Meeting - Chris Brignetti To San Rafael City Council,
As a member of Marin County Bicycle Coalition I am writing you to say enough is enough. It’s time to take action. Six crashes in one intersection is too much. Please take action to put a stop light or something to slow cyclists who gain much speed going down that steep hill on Freitas Parkway, and make motorists stop and look for bicycles coming towards them.
Thank you for your consideration of this issue following the tragic death of a beloved community member.
Deborah Dueñas
From:
Sent: Tuesday, July 15, 2025 7:44 PM
To: Distrib- City Clerk <[email protected]> Subject: Public Comment - 7/21/2025 CC Meeting - Chris Brignetti TO: CITY COUNCIL, SAN RAFAEL
FROM: DAVE MENZ
DATE: July 15, 2025
RE: ROAD SAFETY AND CHRIS BRIGNETTI / CITY COUNCIL MEETING JULY 21 I have friends and family in and around San Rafael, some of those families with young cyclists regularly using your roads.
I have benefitted personally from the nearby events hosted by, and the great integrity of, Marin County Bicycle Coalition (MCBC) and their work to improve the community.
I am an attorney working from Seattle with extensive litigation experience for both defense and plaintiffs in injury accidents and wrongful deaths.
When I heard the news about the death of a beloved citizen - and also heard from MCBC that it was preventable and the City was fully on notice - I cringed at your insensitive and wrongful conduct in neglecting road safety designs throughout town, particularly at the intersection of Freitas and Lea. Your justifications will not be viewed as reasonable. You were aware of repeated, nearly identical bicyclist crashes there, critically serious ones - and now a death - damaging the lives of your citizens.
Don't be the expert defense accountants in the McDonalds hot coffee case who told a jury there was an acceptable modest business valuation of people's serious injuries.
There is no placing a dollar value on the repeated maiming and deaths of your community members caused by your failures.
Action time is now. (Court Evidence Rules protect your "subsequent remedial measures"!) Cycling, for commuting and pleasure, is a well-known passion throughout San Rafael and the surrounding communities and uplands. Please embrace this culture of your citizens and visitors, keep them safe, and always prioritize their needs. Hire bicycle friendly consultants. Slow the cars down. Create visibility. Help with signage and education. Walking and cycling solutions raise the quality of life for everyone in San Rafael. Thank you.
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From: H A
Sent: Tuesday, July 15, 2025 4:38 PM
To: Distrib- City Clerk <[email protected]> Subject: Public Comment - 7/21/2025 CC Meeting - Chris Brignetti Please narrow and redesign this road and implement your own recommendations for improvement! This was an unnecessary accident.
Hannah Ake
-----Original Message-----
From: Joe Breeze
Sent: Wednesday, July 16, 2025 10:29 AM
To: Distrib- City Clerk <[email protected]> Subject: Public Comment - 7/21/2025 CC Meeting - Chris Brignetti Hello,
Regarding the recent death of Chris Brignetti at Freitas Parkway and Lea Drive I would hope the City of San Rafael makes safety improvements at this intersection. I understand there have been numerous conflicts here.
I feel westbound vehicles turning from the left-turn lane on Freitas should be required to come to a stop before preceding to Lea. There should be an additional sign warning these left turners of downhill vehicles, specifically bicycles.
Motorists are the likely party at fault in these conflicts, not yielding the right of way.
I think you know the problem with placing a stop sign for vehicles headed eastbound (downhill). That will only increase conflicts. Speed bumps would create an unnerving distraction. A sign warning about speed would be useful.
Freitas Parkway and Mission Pass (Fawn Drive) is a vital link in bicycle transportation for Marin.
Thank you for your attention to this matter.
Sincerely,
Joe Breeze
Fairfax
From: James Reyff
Sent: Tuesday, July 15, 2025 10:22 PM
To: Distrib- City Clerk <[email protected]> Subject: Public Comment - 7/21/2025 CC Meeting - Chris Brignetti Wow, 6 bicycle accidents at the intersection of Freitas Parkway and Lea Drive. So tragic. Does anyone have the power to make this safer? I hope so. This is a stretch of roadway I’ve cycled through many times as I have friends who live in the neighborhood. Please act to make this safer.
Thank you.
James Reyff
Petaluma, CA
From: Jana Zanetto
Sent: Tuesday, July 15, 2025 6:56 PM
To: Distrib- City Clerk <[email protected]> Subject: Public Comment - 7/21/2025 CC Meeting - Chris Brignetti Dear San Rafael City Council members,
We were saddened to hear that the intersection of
Freitas Parkway and Lea Drive had claimed another
victim: Chris Brignetti, a devoted father and coach of the Terra Linda HIgh School mountain bike team, was hit and killed by a motorist at that intersection. This is the same intersection where five other cyclists have been seriously injured. This is SIX accidents too many, so action MUST be taken now to prevent any further collisions.
Freitas Parkway's wide lanes are designed for high speed, and Lea Drive angles off mildly rather than forming a full 90-degree angle, together creating an inherently unsafe situation. Despite identifying the need for improving
Freitas in its 2018 Bicycle Master Plan, San Rafael has done NOTHING in response to all these crashes. It is time to redesign this intersection, and make other identified changes on Freitas Parkway, before another cyclist is
injured or dies. Please act now!
Jana and Jeff Zanetto
Lincoln Hill, San Rafael
From: Kelly O'Mara
Sent: Wednesday, July 16, 2025 10:44 AM
To: Distrib- City Clerk <[email protected]> Subject: Public Comment - 7/21/2025 CC Meeting - Chris Brignetti Hi,
I've lived in the Meadows (at the turn where Chris was hit and killed) for over a decade and have been a cyclist that whole time — so I've probably made the left turn in a car from Freitas onto Lea Drive 1000+ times (which is the turn where there have been a number of incidents) and I've ridden down the hill on Freitas on my bike 100s of times.
The problem is there simply needs to be a stop sign at that left turn lane from Freitas onto Lea. It's very very easy to blow through the left turn as a driver without slowing or stopping because there's so little traffic on the road there; and so when there is occasionally, especially when there's a cyclist, drivers often aren't expecting them or can't see them with the median & trees or misjudge the speed of the cyclist.
I know it's tempting to focus on getting cyclists to slow down coming down that hill, but 1. there's a lot of kids that ride up and down there, which is hard to control, and focusing on that won't solve the problem, 2. most adult cyclists aren't riding excessively fast (Chris certainly wasn't doing anything dumb), it's just a steep downhill so it's not reasonable and arguably dangerous to force cyclists to come to a complete stop mid-descent or to go too slow, especially when they have the right of way, and 3. the problem is really cars turning left into the cyclists who are descending, regardless of the speed of the bikers coming.
All the intersection needs is a stop sign on the median at the left turn lane, it would have saved Chris and would likely save lives in the future, especially with all the young riders who go up and down that hill.
Thanks
kelly o'mara
phone:
subscribe: triathlonish
socials: @kellydomara
From: Laura Marquit
Sent: Tuesday, July 15, 2025 6:56 PM
To: Distrib- City Clerk <[email protected]> Subject: Public Comment - 7/21/2025 CC Meeting - Chris Brignetti Hello, my name is Laura Marquit and I have a public comment for your meeting regarding bike safety along Freitas Parkway. I am an avid cyclist myself, and have used Freitas Parkway for years as do many of the people that I know. I was deeply saddened by the recent tragedy and death of a cyclist at an intersection on Freitas Parkway, which is inherently dangerous because of the design of the road. I know there are ways to implement safety for cyclists and motorists on this road. I know there have been other accidents and other people injured.
I want to express my concern and desire to make changes to save lives and prevent injury.
In this case, it was an adult that was killed. I can’t imagine how tragic that would be if a child or a youth, or another adult lost their lives because of negligence or lack of action to make the road safer.
My email and contact information is listed below.
Thank you for your attention on this matter and support of safe cycling throughout San Rafael.
Laura Marquit
-----Original Message-----
From: Martin Day
Sent: Wednesday, July 16, 2025 8:44 AM
To: Distrib- City Clerk <[email protected]> Subject: Public Comment - 7/21/2025 CC Meeting - Chris Brignetti To whom it may concern.
I often stay in Sandalwood Court and I am an avid cyclist. I witnessed the aftermath of the recent crash, resulting in the unnecessary death of Chris.
The left turn into the apartment complex needs a stop sign, and a warning light. The entire stretch of road after Monticello needs a 25 mile an hour speed limit and speed bumps up and down, BOTH SIDES of road. The vegetation needs to be kept trimmed as the left turn out of Sandalwood Court is extremely precarious. Perhaps one of the city officials should try driving it once in a while just so they realize how dangerous that whole area is.
While sitting in the backyard, I often hear cars and motorcycle stunting going up the parkway and down, especially at night.
I was very surprised to read that had been six incidents now and it looks like a complete lack of action on your part, this is a dereliction of duty.
Please make the necessary safety changes to the road ASAP.
Martin Day
Terra Linda
Sent from my iPhone
From: Michele Rose
Sent: Friday, July 11, 2025 9:31 AM
To: Distrib- City Clerk <[email protected]> Subject: 7/21/25 meeting
Freitas parkway @Montecillo Rd. all the way up to Terra Linda Sleepy Hollow open space divide trailhead
Please install 25 MPH speed limit signs starting at Montecillo Rd Please erect the black and yellow sign indicating the upcoming turn onto Lea Dr from Freitas parkway, for driver's and cyclists, traveling down the steep Freitas hill Install speed humps on both sides of the road, on the entirety of this commonly shared stretch of roadway.
Please put in bicycle imagery/signage, share the road signs and street lettering on the actual asphalt
This hill is a "destination" for cyclists of all types and also a shortcut, over the divide, for more western parts of the county, to San Rafael and vice versa. Let it exist, supporting travel and recreation with all the beauty it provides, with the city installing safer, speed restricting measures.
Thank you.
Michele Rose
San Rafael CA 94903
Yahoo Mail: Search, Organize, Conquer
From: Paul Lightfoot
Sent: Tuesday, July 15, 2025 4:06 PM
To: Distrib- City Clerk <[email protected]> Subject: Public Comment - 7/21/2025 CC Meeting - Safe Streets for Cycling I’m a resident of Mill Valley and I lead a business in Marin, and I spend a lot of time in San Rafael.
I’m dismayed to learn that Chris Brignetti, coach of the Terra Linda High School mountain bike team, was killed on his bike by a car in San Rafael. And that at least five other bicyclists have been seriously injured in nearly identical crashes.
Please make your streets safe for cyclists.
- Paul
Paul Lightfoot (he/him)
General Manager // Patagonia Provisions
We’re in business to save the home planet. Patagonia pledges 1% of its sales to environmental protection and is a proud member of 1% For The Planet.