November 2022 Election 2022 San Rafael City Council Candidate Questionnaire

2. If you own a bike, what type of bike(s) do you have and ride? If not, when was the last time you rode a bike, and where (on vacation, for example)?

District 2

Gerrod Herndon: No response

Eli Hill:

I own a utility hybrid.

District 3

Maribeth Bushey:

My bike is a well-worn standard street bike.

Jonathan Frieman:

I own 3 bikes: a Jamis hybrid Tangier that is about 20 years old; an Orbea road bike, and a Riese-Mueller e-bike, a Mixte: Class 3.

Vision

3. In your own words, describe your vision for the future of transportation in San Rafael.

District 2

Gerrod Herndon: No response

Eli Hill:

San Rafael has the potential to become a public transit hub and a place in which community members who would utilize safe alternatives to cars can do so. As best described in the San Rafael Bicycle and Pedestrian Master plan the goals are to:

• Make San Rafael an excellent place to walk and bicycle and reduce overall carbon emissions by increasing the number of residents who walk and bike

• Gather public input to help identify and guide investments in pedestrian and bicycle facilities over the next 5 to 10 years

District 3

Maribeth Bushey:

Super interesting and very pertinent question. Post-pandemic the daily migration to and from offices has substantially decreased. I rode transit to work in San Francisco for many years. Travel into the City has decreased substantially, Golden Gate Transit statistics here. I haven’t regularly commuted to an office since March 2020 and I don’t foresee that changing.

The future of transportation in San Rafael will be different from its past. With the daily commute patterns probably permanently changed, the future will be less predictable in volume and direction. That change is already impacting our transit agencies.

With outbound commuting reduced, San Rafael residents remain here and are making more local trips during the day, or so it seems.this is actively being studied by transit agencies as we work together to shape the response to changing travel patterns while keeping transit opportunities available

Jonathan Frieman:

San Rafael is so decentralized geographically that there are least 3 distinct areas at some distance from each other–a unified vision and plan may not be the most realistic goal. 

San Rafael faces a number of transportation flow challenges. Highway 101 carries about 100,000 people going South every weekday morning—that creates traffic congestion going east and west about 4 or 5 times a day: the morning rush hour; the noon lunch hour at SR Hi; when SR Hi lets out; and the evening rush hour. Additionally, the empty train cuts through downtown and adds to congestion. The bike paths alongside a good portion of those tracks are mostly used for recreation rather than commuting.

One way to attract bicyclists from Gerstle Park, Bret Harte, the Canal, and East San Rafael is to close the part of the downtown section of 4th Street to cars. That might get us closer to increasing bike usage.

Traffic

A large proportion of peak hour traffic is made of people driving their children to school. While some people live too far to easily walk or bike to school, many parents are simply afraid to let their children travel by foot or by bicycle because of the high volume and speeds of car traffic.

4. What strategies would make more parents feel safe with their children walking or biking to school, thereby reducing traffic and making everyone else’s trip to school a little safer?

District 2

Gerrod Herndon: No response

Eli Hill:

Traffic safety needs to be a huge priority for our entire community. We are hearing too many stories about community members who experienced traffic accidents while walking or biking. Increasing and supporting the infrastructure for bikers and pedestrians to feel safe on our streets, especially in high traffic areas is part of what would encourage parents and families to take advantage of non-carbon emission modes of travel. Specifically, the East/West and North/South bicycle corridors intersecting at the San Rafael Transit Center have several sections that need to be completed so that they are usable end-to-end.

District 3

Maribeth Bushey:

My first strategy was implemented, much to my children’s chagrin, when they rode their bikes to Glenwood Elementary School – orange safety flags on bikes!

The Safe Routes to School program is also a long standing and very successful strategy. The City in collaboration with the school districts uses this program to fund the improvements to help parents and the entire community be safe as students walk or bike to school.

Jonathan Frieman:

The first step is to work with Safe Routes to Schools, https://www.saferoutestoschools.org/. Involving community organizations is critical to determining where students are living in relation to their schools, and then ensuring safe routes using bike paths and sidewalks.

It is important to also take note of the many students do who walk to school, such as from the Canal area to the high school. It is a matter of fairness and environmental justice that, in addition to increasing the number of students who walk to school, we must ensure that those who already walk to school are safe and as far from car pollution as possible.

A survey from the Transportation Authority of Marin (Figure 18, p. 51) found that over half of Marinites would like to bike more than they currently do. This backs up research that shows that over 50% of adults are interested in biking, but concerned about the threat of fast-moving cars.

5. What concrete steps can be taken to allay these concerns and make people feel safe on bicycles?

District 2

Gerrod Herndon: No response

Eli Hill:

Protected bike lanes are necessary to keep bikers safe on the road. Many neighbors have expressed their opinion on this in District 2, but we need to reduce our reliance on cars. Building and maintaining the infrastructure for cyclists and pedestrians as well.

District 3

Maribeth Bushey:

The literally concrete steps are being taken on in the City’s Third Street renovation project – a project I voted to approve. Similarly, the bike path along the SMART train in San Rafael, also a City-funded project I voted to approve.

Jonathan Frieman:

A look at the numbers helps put things into perspective: the county has 255,000, and half of the ideal situation posed by the question means 125,000 people are biking every day. That also means 30,000 people in San Rafael

The most bike-friendly communities almost always have much greater density than San Rafael. While getting half the population to actually bike may be unachievable, investing more in bike safety infrastructure should help.

Safety

Traffic deaths and injuries are on the rise, both nationally and in Marin (this includes all road users, not just bicyclists). Many cities in California have enacted so-called Vision Zero
resolutions, setting an explicit goal to eliminate traffic deaths.

6. If elected to town Council, will you support such a resolution? If so, what actions do you see as being needed to improve safety? What are the relative roles of infrastructure, enforcement, and education?

District 2

Gerrod Herndon: No response

Eli Hill:

I believe it to be the role of the City to educate community members and to maintain the City’s infrastructure. Enforcement is always a capacity issue but I am open to hearing more ideas from community members about how enforcement can improve to prevent any accidents. All three of infrastructure, enforcement, and education/engagement are needed to move toward Vision Zero; each must be continuously examined and improved.

District 3

Maribeth Bushey:

I would be open to considering a Vision Zero resolution, especially with input from our Bike and Pedestrian Advisory Committee. Balancing infrastructure, enforcement, and education will be key decision points in considering a Vision Zero resolution.

Jonathan Frieman:

Yes, I would support such a resolution. Safety and traffic are ultimately interlinked, both are fundamentally about quality of life and feeling safe & peaceful. Good policies can lead to a life with more exercise all centered around a paradigmatic shift in the way human beings live.

Climate Change

The latest IPCC report states clearly that greenhouse gas emissions need to be reduced quickly in order to stave off the worst effects of climate change. According to San Rafael’s most recent Greenhouse Gas Inventory, transportation accounts for a majority (53%) of local greenhouse gas emissions. Given that battery electric cars make up 3% of California’s vehicle
fleet, and only 12% of new cars sold.

7. does reducing overall driving have a role in meeting our climate targets? If so, what policies can support transit, walking, and bicycling in place of driving for short trips?

District 2

Gerrod Herndon: No response

Eli Hill:

Yes and I am very committed to getting cars off the road as much as possible. As I mentioned above, we have a huge opportunity to expand San Rafael’s transit hub.

District 3

Maribeth Bushey:

I have been an active supporter of San Rafael’s Climate Change Action Plan since its inception. Our last two General Plans, both of which I worked on and supported, have included numerous policies and actions to reduce automobile use for all trips.

Jonathan Frieman:

Yes, reducing overall driving has a significant role in meeting our climate targets. Our perspective in this moment in time means we look to government policies such as ensuring that only electric cars be sold after a certain date. There very well could be a dramatic shift in what kinds of cars we drive.

Project Delivery

Bicycle/pedestrian plan implementation is notoriously slow with typically fewer than one new bike lane project opening every year.

8. What steps would you take to hasten the project delivery process from inception to ribbon-cutting?

District 2

Gerrod Herndon: No response

Eli Hill:

The Marin County Bicycle Coalition, the San Rafael Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee, and other stakeholders have identified and prioritized the projects to achieve end-to-end infrastructure for cyclists. As many of the projects involve multiple jurisdictions (CalTrans, County, etc), many stakeholders must be engaged. I will coordinate with these groups to accelerate shovel-readiness and align funding.

District 3

Maribeth Bushey:

This depends completely on the project. In San Rafael, we have an extensive planning process for our capital improvement projects with detailed priorities and study requirements. Bike lane projects often impact street paving planning, underground utilities and street lighting, to name a few. Adequately assessing all impacts of such projects is necessary for prudent planning of these long-lived projects.

Jonathan Frieman:

City staff would have an idea as to what kinds of grants would be available to generate such improvements at a quicker pace. They are aware of the developmental models, and where the city is increasing in density.

In all things, there is a tension between “perfect but slow” and “quick and good enough.” Recent years have seen a move toward so-called “quick-build” infrastructure, allowing reconfiguration of streets to facilitate safer walking/biking without a years-long engineering process. While quick-build projects may be less aesthetically pleasing than the standard process, they are cheaper and happen much faster.

9. How do you rank aesthetic concerns of biking/waking infrastructure in comparison to those of cost and project speed?

District 2

Gerrod Herndon: No response

Eli Hill:

I agree with this framing; there are benefits and drawbacks to “perfect but slow” versus “quick and good enough”. I personally favor “quick and good enough” insofar as the immediate outcome is that additional community members would utilize these facilities, but am open to considering “perfect but slow” if there is evidence that this approach would result in better utilization. I am open to learning more.

District 3

Maribeth Bushey:

As with most significant public projects, the relative weight to be given to aesthetic concerns and cost/implementation timing will depend on the project. Highly visible projects merit greater consideration of aesthetics, and urgently needed projects justify a greater focus on implementation timing.

Jonathan Frieman:

Aesthetics will attract more people, so it’s imperative that not be sacrificed for speed of implementation. While there are ways to cut corners, both in expense and engineering, the look of a project should not be completely jettisoned. I’m confident in our engineering ability as humans that we’ll be able to cut down construction time as well as build products that please the eye and the soul. 

Car Parking

Much of Marin has narrow streets, but on-street parking typically takes up between 30-40% of the street space between the curbs, and is often in tension with the need for dedicated bike lanes.

10. In your mind, are bike lanes ever sufficiently important to justify removing on-street parking, and in what circumstances would you consider that to be the case?

District 2

Gerrod Herndon: No response

Eli Hill:

This should be done on a case by case basis. Our neighbors in District 2 are very concerned with the lack of parking but I also think that we need to do more to promote non-car travel. I’m open and willing to listen to try and balance everyone’s concerns with the need to reduce car travel.

District 3

Maribeth Bushey:

This depends completely on the area of San Rafael. Conceptually, providing safe bike travel could in the right circumstances justify removing on-street parking.

Jonathan Frieman:

Yes. Fourth Street San Rafael is a perfect example where this should be implemented. Remove parking on both sides of the street and close down that street to car traffic. On-street parking is a euphemism for downtown, but San Pedro Road is an example where cars can park in the bike lane. That needs to be change, especially at San Pedro Elementary School.