Road Advocacy Updates Marin’s Five Newest Bikeway Upgrades

Throughout the year, we try to cover all the big new projects opening around the County. But because we’re juggling a lot, we don’t always have time to do a full blog post on every project. Read on to learn more about Marin’s five newest bikeway upgrades.

We wanted to close the loop on some projects that finished construction last year but didn’t get a full post.

Larkspur’s Wornum Drive Path Widening and Nellen Class IV Bikeway

Riders in Central Marin will be very familiar with the Wornum Drive path running underneath US-101 between Redwood Highway and Tamal Vista Boulevard, where the Sandra Marker Trail picks up. As crucial as this path was, it had a substantial root problem, with sections of asphalt being lifted up into de facto speed bumps. 

Larkspur Wornum Dr pathway repave image with cars beside path at dusk

Newly smoothed pavement on the Wornum Drive pathway looking west toward Mt. Tam.

Thanks to a grant received by Larkspur from the State of California, this segment of pathway has been substantially widened and smoothed out, significantly improving this short but important segment. The project also included a two-way Class IV bikeway on Nellen Avenue, between Wornum Drive and Fifer Avenue. 

Fifer Ave bike path with green bike lane pain and truck beside pathway

Fifer Avenue two-way separated bikeway looking north.

Unfortunately, the crossing of the Fifer Avenue on/off ramps leaves something to be desired. Drivers are given very wide lanes (17’, ~50% wider than necessary), which reduces their willingness to yield, and bicyclists headed north are rudely dumped onto the sidewalk with no indication of where to go next or how to transition to the northbound side of Nellen. 

Crossing at Nellan AVe and Fifer Ave - with image of the Larkspur City Hall and wars parked in front

New crossing at Nellan Avenue and Fifer Avenue, looking south. Unfortunately, the project does little to slow drivers entering or exiting the freeway, making the crossing less safe than it could be.

Overall, the project is a bit of a mixed bag. We love the improvements on Wornum Drive but think that the City missed the mark on the Nellen Avenue portion of the project, particularly the crossing of the Fifer Avenue ramps. 

Corte Madera Creek Pathway Extension

In 2022, the Transportation Authority of Marin (TAM) cut the ribbon on a new bridge over Corte Madera Creek, replacing the barely usable 4’ path with a pleasant 12’ multiuse path. This spring, the bridge path was extended by another 900’ from the southern landing of the bridge to the Lucky Drive pedestrian overcrossing. This wide two-way bikeway lets riders avoid Redwood Highway and provides a walking path on a stretch of road that previously had no sidewalk.

BIke path along highway 101 with orange pylons

Redwood Highway multiuse path, looking north toward the new Corte Madera Creek Bridge.

This segment of pathway might not exist without the fast action from MCBC in the fall of 2023. One of Larkspur’s city council members, the late Kevin Carroll (who lived across the street), led an unsuccessful attempt to block the pathway from being implemented despite it being fully designed and funded. After a delay to give the project additional consideration, we were able to convince the rest of the council of the project’s importance, and they gave it the green light over Carroll’s objections. 

There is still an important gap between the southern end of this project and the Wornum Drive path. Happily, the City of Larkspur has developed preliminary plans for this segment, and they are applying for funding to complete a path on the east side of Redwood Highway past the Bevmo and Trader Joe’s.

San Rafael’s Grand Avenue Separated Bikeway

This past summer, San Rafael quietly opened a two-block section of a two-way separated bikeway on Grand Avenue between 2nd Street and 4th Street. The south end of the project connects to the bike/pedestrian bridge over San Rafael Creek, which opened in 2019. While the north end still leaves riders short of Downtown San Rafael and the San Rafael Transit Center, the city is actively pursuing funding to close the bikeway gap on 4th Street between Grand Avenue and Tamalpais Avenue. MCBC wrote a letter of support for a recent grant application, and we hope to hear good news in early 2025.

Two-way separated bikeway on Grand Avenue, looking north toward 4th Street painted green with bike symbols

Two-way separated bikeway on Grand Avenue, looking north toward 4th Street.

Once that connection is funded and complete, the new Grand Avenue bikeway will be a key part of the bike connection between the Canal neighborhood and Downtown.

Richmond-San Rafael Bridge Pathway Connector

Over five years after the RSR Bridge was opened to biking and walking, MTC has…finally…almost completed the pathway connector along Francisco Boulevard East. Frequent users of the bridge will know that, until this summer, the multiuse path connecting to the Marin landing of the bridge only extended halfway to the I-580 flyover, forcing riders onto a busy segment of road for a quarter mile.

Francisco blvd East pathway along 580 ramp to Richmond San Rafael Bridge

Though we are happy to see this pathway project finally finished, it comes too late for the four people hit while riding on Francisco Boulevard East between when the bridge path opened in 2019 and this summer. Had the project actually been built to coincide with the bridge path’s opening, these crashes might not have happened. We should always remember that bike projects delayed represent safety denied. 

Furthermore, it is deeply frustrating to us that the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge pilot evaluation period (four years starting in November 2019) concluded before construction on this segment even started, leading one to wonder how much more bike traffic the bridge would have seen if there were actually a seamless route to the Marin side rather than a piecemeal one.

The project is essentially complete at this point and open to riders, with just a couple of driveway ramps left to finish. 

Casa Buena Complete Streets

Corte Madera is currently in the process of implementing a project that will make minor improvements on Casa Buena Drive next to US-101 between the Horse Hill Path and Conow Street near the Tesla dealership. While this project represents an improvement over the existing conditions, it missed a real opportunity to provide an all-ages-and-abilities route. 

Casa buena complete streets cross section with map image of the project area

The project includes 1,800’ of new sidewalks, connecting the apartment complexes on the west side of the road with the city’s sidewalk network, which currently stops at Marin Joe’s. For bicyclists, a paint-only bike lane will be provided in the southbound direction, while northbound riders will still share a lane with cars. The city refers to this as the “downhill” lane, which is mostly true. However, anyone familiar with Casa Buena knows that it is characterized by rollers, meaning that northbound riders still have to travel uphill at times.  

We would have preferred a multiuse path on the west side of the road, which could have been provided if the lanes were narrowed and the bike lane removed or if the on-street parking had been dropped. 

We are happy that the project will improve safety at the on-ramp to US-101 southbound, where we know several severe bike collisions have occurred. 


MEMBERS MAKE IT HAPPEN

Making Marin safe for everyone who wants to ride is a marathon, not a sprint, and all of the projects described above move us just a little closer toward our goal. Thanks to the support of members like you, we can keep pushing projects forward, both big and small. 

Support Marin County Bicycle Coalition. Become a member today!


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