Sep. 11, 2025
Dear San Rafael City Council,
I am writing to make you aware of a dangerous condition that exists at one of San Rafael’s busiest intersections: The intersection of Third Street and Grand Avenue.
On the eastern leg of this intersection, the left-most lane is a left-turn only lane intended for left turn movements from Third Street to Grand Avenue. However, many motorists ignore the left-turn only marking and proceed straight from the Left turn lane across Grand Avenue and onto Lane 1 of Third Street. This puts them in direct conflict with cars from the through lane who are the only cars legally allowed to enter into Lane 1 west of Grand Ave.
I drive through this intersection multiple times a week, and I see cars making this dangerous and illegal move more than half the time I am there. This tells me that this illegal move is extremely common.
Every day, cars make this illegal move,
proceeding straight across the intersection from the
This puts them in conflict with cars in
Lane 2 which merge into Lane 1 west of
Grand Ave
This is both an enforcement and a design problem. I would like to see increased enforcement of traffic laws, especially at busy intersections such as this one. However, I suspect that many of the motorists who make this illegal move are doing so not out of mallice but out of ignorance. It is easy to overlook the left turn arrow painted on the street (especially if traffic is thick). It is not hard to understand how many motorists could be confused. It is easy to assume that they can travel from Lane 1 east of Grand Ave to Lane 1 east of Grand Ave. There is a simple solution: Install additional signage, specifically the following type signs:
Thank you for your consideration.
Matthew Hartzell
Larkspur, California