Measure B Vehicle Registration Fee Expenditure Plan Updates Reviewed at the December 15 TAM Board Meeting
Measure B, the Marin County $10 Vehicle Registration Fee (VRF) was approved by voters in 2010. The 2010 Measure B Expenditure Plan lists projects and programs that are eligible for the VRF funds and establishes the percentage of funds that is allocated to each Element. The VRF currently generates approximately $2.3M each year providing funds for three Elements: 1) maintaining local streets and roads, 2) improving transit for seniors and persons with disabilities, and 3) reducing congestion and pollution.
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The Measure B Expenditure Plan includes a provision that it be reviewed every 10 years. As part of the review process (which was delayed due to COVID-19), any amendments are to be available for a 45-day public comment period. At the upcoming TAM Board meeting on December 15, the TAM Board is expected to hear proposed changes to the Measure B Expenditure Plan and open the public comment period.
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SR 37 Corridor Update Meetings
State Route (SR) 37 is a key transportation corridor linking the four North Bay counties. Due to its strategic transportation role and environmentally sensitive natural footprint, SR-37 has been the subject of numerous planning studies conducted by transportation agencies and organizations, including the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) and California Department of Transportation (Caltrans). Staff and elected officials from these various agencies have been in discussion over the past seven years about how to advance improvements in the corridor.
At the December 15 TAM Board Meeting, the project team, including staff from MTC and Caltrans, will provide an update regarding the following corridor projects:
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1) Caltrans SR-37 Planning and Environmental Linkage (PEL) Study – A “pre-environmental clearance” effort that seeks to collect preliminary input from stakeholders, develop initial project concepts and facilitate the subsequent environmental clearance effort for the long-term (formerly called “Ultimate”), corridor-wide, sea level rise project. This study is nearing completion.
2) MTC/Caltrans Sears Point to Mare Island Improvement Project – Currently in the environmental clearance phase (Draft EIR issued, Final EIR expected soon), the project would widen the existing roadway segment at the existing elevation to address congestion and shore up the existing roadway. There has been significant interest from environmental stakeholder groups to modify the current scope of work for this project. Design work would commence immediately after environmental clearance has been completed.
3) Caltrans Segment A Flood Reduction Project – Currently in the environmental clearance phase, the project scope is being revised and now proposes to focus on long-term solutions to flooding events along the Marin sections of the corridor, with early-deliverable elements. A public scoping meeting will be held on December 14 at 5:30 p.m. (details below) and a Draft EIR is expected in 2023.
The meeting will inform the public of the changes to the proposed Project and provide an opportunity for question and comments. To view project information and find the link to access the virtual public scoping meeting, please visit the following website: http://www.sr37corridorprojects.com/. All comments must be received by 5:00 pm on January 13, 2023.
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Free Bike Helmets Given Away at Three Novato Elementary Schools by SR2S
A recent collaboration between the Safe Routes to Schools Program (SR2S), Mike's Bikes, and the Novato Unified School District (NUSD) resulted in free bike helmets for students at three Novato elementary schools: Loma Verde, Lu Sutton, and Lynwood. At these schools, students were observed riding to and from school without proper safety equipment. NUSD trustee Dianne Gasson spearheaded the effort to raise funds with support from the District and the SR2S team, and helmets were provided at cost by Mike’s Bikes. A big thanks to our partners and the community for this successful helmet donation effort.
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Interchange and Approaching Roadways Studies and Implementation Plan
In case you missed it! TAM conducted extensive studies on 12 US-101 interchanges, including approaching roadways, and released an implementation plan. View the Studies and learn more about potential planned improvements at www.Tam101Study.com. Based on the evaluation process, three interchanges were selected for further concept development and planning.
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Access to Highway 101 in Marin is a major source of congestion on local roads that impacts communities across the county. Interchanges vary in age; many of them were built in the 1950s and 1960s and have not been changed in any meaningful way to meet modern engineering standards or to meet the current demands for vehicles, buses, bicyclists, and pedestrians. The Study results provide valuable insight on existing conditions and deficiencies at the selected interchanges and shed light on opportunities to modernize Marin County’s interchanges with improved safety features and greater multimodal access.
Funding for the Interchange Studies was approved by Marin voters as part of the Measure AA Transportation Sales Tax and will be used to pursue federal, state, and regional grant opportunities in the future. The following interchange locations were included in the study:
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- Alexander Ave / Vista Point
- Donahue St / Bridgeway
- East Blithedale Ave / Tiburon Blvd (SR131)
- Tamalpais Drive / Paradise Drive
- Sir Francis Drake / Fifer Ave / Industrial
- 2nd Street / Hetherton Ave
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- North San Pedro Road / Merrydale Road
- Manuel T. Freitas / Civic Center Drive
- Lucas Valley Road / Smith Ranch Road
- Alameda Del Prado / Nave Drive
- Ignacio Blvd / Bel Marin Keys / Nave Drive
- San Marin Drive / Atherton Ave
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For more information about the Interchange Program and to offer comments or suggestions visit TAM’s website at www.Tam101Study.com.
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Fall Street Smarts Campaign Sees Grassroots Support for Safety Messages
TAM's annual Street Smarts campaign is a traffic safety program that educates drivers, pedestrians, and cyclists about safety issues, including distracted driving. The Fall Campaign featured all new graphics and updated messages to help spread the word. Banners were placed throughout the county in October and November as a targeted campaign and local municipalities also offered residents lawn signs that could be placed in yards to help spread the message. Novato resident Stan Dennison proudly displays one of the lawn signs he picked up from the City of Novato and then distributed to many of the houses in his neighborhood. The banners will be reinstalled in the Spring. Eyes up Marin!
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New Mural Connects Sausalito and Marin City
A new community mural, All Our Children United, has been installed at the Highway 101 underpass connecting Sausalito and Marin City. The 200-foot mural features more than 500 stenciled handprints of local children on background colors that capture a sunrise to sunset color spectrum. The lightest and brightest background colors are in the center, at what was the darkest point in the tunnel.
The mural represents the culmination of two years of planning, fundraising, and coordination with Caltrans and the County of Marin by a steering committee of local organizations that includes Marin City Performing Stars, Arts Plus Foundation, the Sausalito Foundation, and Sausalito Beautiful. Learn more about the All Our Children United project.
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San Rafael Transit Center Relocation Project: GGBHTD Releases Final EIR
The Golden Gate Bridge, Highway, and Transportation District (GGBHTD) recently released the Final Environmental Impact Report (FEIR) for the relocation of the San Rafael Transit Center. As the Sonoma Marin Area Rail Transit (SMART) train was extended further south to Larkspur, the tracks bisected the existing San Rafael Transit Center (SRTC) site. This impacted how buses and people access and travel through the site as well as reduced the amount of space available for buses and riders. As a result, the transit center must be replaced in another location in downtown San Rafael. This is an opportunity to create a more accessible transit facility for all users and improve both connectivity and safety. You can get more project information here, as well as the FEIR here. Public meetings will be held on December 15 at the GGBHTD Transportation Committee Meeting, and on December 16 at the GGBHTD Board of Directors Meeting.
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MTC Releases 2021 Pavement Condition Index Report - Larkspur Scores High!
The Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) just released their annual Pavement Condition Index (PCI) report for 2021. The report tracks the quality of 44,000 lanes miles of pavement in the Bay Area on a three-year moving average basis.
The City of Larkspur, which twice in recent years passed local sales tax measures with funding for rehabilitating the city’s 65 lane-miles of streets, is the only Bay Area city to outpace Oakland’s year-over-year improvement, recording an 11-point increase to 76 last year from 65 in 2020. You can read the full report here.
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