San Rafael approves contract for Canal transportation upgrades
March 27, 2025
By Krissy Waite | kwaite@marinij.com
PUBLISHED: March 24, 2025 at 6:07 PM PDT
A project to upgrade sidewalks, transit stops and lighting is slated for San Rafael’s Canal neighborhood.
The City Council unanimously voted to approve a $1.2 million contract with BKF Engineers, which has offices in San Rafael, for the project. The effort is intended to make the area more friendly to bicyclists, pedestrians and public transit users.
The Canal neighborhood has limited shopping, health services, education or job opportunities, and travel to other areas is limited because of poor cycling and pedestrian paths, according to a staff report prepared for the March 17 council meeting. This is compounded by the fact that many residents in the area do not own vehicles.
Grey Melgard, a city engineer managing the project, said the effort is a “conglomerate” of several city planning documents, including the Canal Community Transportation Plan that the council approved in 2022. The five-year plan determined a need for pedestrian, bicycle and public transit upgrades in the area.
The project will add Americans with Disabilities Act-compliant curb ramps and fill sidewalk gaps. It also will add lighting along the corridor — including new lights to Pickleweed Park, the Bahia Creek path and the Bay Trail. It will fix crosswalks that do not have signals on Canal Street.
Councilmember Rachel Kertz noted that the 2022 plan referenced a 2006 plan with similar goals, which shows how long the improvements have been discussed. She said many completed community studies are available.
“It’s great to see this move forward,” Kertz said. “We have a lot of data. We have a lot of literature that we don’t need to recreate that wheel again until we start getting some work done, and this is that step to get that work done.”
Three key streets along the bicycle corridor — Canal Street, Harbor Street and Yacht Club Drive — will be improved, and secured bike parking will be added at Pickleweed Park. For public transportation, new lighting at five high-ridership stops will be added, as well as a new transit stop at Kerner Boulevard and Novato Street.
Vice Mayor Maribeth Bushey questioned the cost.
“Doesn’t that seem like a lot?” she said.
Melgard said the contract includes project design, environmental analysis, and construction support — a three- to four-year process. The city sent a request for proposals in December, and BKF Engineers was selected out of two candidates because it was the most qualified team for the project, according to the staff report.
The project is projected to cost $6.7 million in total over three fiscal years. A $4.1 million grant through the Metropolitan Transportation Commission’s “active transportation program” will help fund the project.
Melgard said construction is planned for 2027 to 2028.
