Editorial: Goals for San Rafael streets may be too ambitious
Traffic in downtown San Rafael during commute hours is a mess. It’s been that way for a long time.
In recent years, that mess has only been made worse due to the seemingly constant street repairs underway on busy streets and intersections, not to mention the impacts of the Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit train.
A big part of the traffic problem is having to squeeze more local and regional traffic on city streets and through intersections than they were ever designed to accommodate.
Second and Third streets carry more traffic than some highways. Fifth and Mission avenues often get the traffic that is trying to avoid those one-way arterials.
Another significant problem is pedestrian safety.
The city has been trying to fix the problem without widening the streets and removing buildings.
The latest effort is a $13.9 million plan to overhaul Second and Third streets.
The City Council approved the city’s application for funding from the Transportation Authority of Marin.
Mayor Kate Colin calls the proposal “visionary,” predicting it “will really transform the area.”
The plan involves installing new traffic signals, extending sidewalks near intersections in a move to bolster pedestrian safety and adding a barrier-protected two-way bike lane along Second Street, between West and Shaver streets. Heavily traveled Second and Third will also get repaved.
The plan also responds to local residents’ concerns about losing the trees that line the streets.
Saving trees, adding a two-way bike lane and pedestrian safety measures, along with a goal of moving traffic more efficiently, is a lot to ask for any project that doesn’t involve dramatic changes to the city’s landscape.
Second and Third streets are among the most important east-west arterials in Marin. They are of countywide importance and they should be a top priority for TAM funding.
Still, while Colin calls it “visionary,” motorists may well wonder if that vision includes effective untying of the traffic knots that now bind the smooth flow of traffic during, for example, afternoon and evening commute hours.
It is a major public investment. And taxpayers should get their money’s worth. Certainly, during construction, which could begin as early as late summer, there will be more delays. But when it’s done, will it make a difference for those motorists or transit riders relying on those city streets?
That’s supposed to be a primary goal of the plan.
Traffic can’t get much worse.
We hope that Mayor Colin’s ambitious prediction is correct.