Sausalito Bike Advocates - July update

[Kieran Culligan]

Hi Sausalito Bike Advocates,

Last week we had a PBAC meeting to connect with the City's new consultant focused on grant writing and to discuss projects we'd like to see prioritized for grants. The following 3 projects were at the top of the list for the PBAC members:

1) Bridgeway Waterfront between Princess and Richardson. We received a small grant already to do a design for this stretch. Now it's time to get a preferred design (which will include lots of community engagement) so we can then seek more funding for construction.

2) Bridgeway between Napa and San Carlos (including a potential roundabout at Napa). We have a safety study just getting underway now, so we expect to have specific recommendations to implement in a couple of months.

3) Extending the Sausalito/Mill Valley Multi-use Path to Harbor Blvd. This would be a major step forward on the "greenway" vision. Unfortunately the City has been reluctant to prioritize this for grant funding at this moment, so more discussion to come.

What else would you like to see? Feel free to respond to me directly.

As an aside, I've noticed a lot of new faces on bikes about town, especially on ebikes! If you meet someone around town, ask if they are on this list. The more, the merrier!

Finally, do you have any interest in running for Sausalito City Council? If so, the filing period is open and we could use some great bike-friendly candidates! (note: this is email group is hosted by MCBC and as a 501c3 they can't make any recommendations)

Best,

Kieran

[Sandy Stadtfeld]

Good afternoon -

    I am a Sausalito resident, and a pedestrian, bicyclist and automobile user.   I hope it is high on the agenda of Sausalito Bike Advocates to address the safety of the Alexander Avenue/South Street/Second Street corridor.   Narrow in width, with short sightlines, and with numerous driveways and a side street, this stretch is not designed for the use it is getting.   Of particular concern are the for-profit ventures that guide groups of as many as 30 people through this gauntlet, frequently with patrons whose bicycling skills are limited.   Sunday I was driving into town from Alexander (I live on Sausalito Boulevard).   Upon rounding the corner from South Street onto Second, I stopped suddenly for a group of at least 20 cyclists who were stationary, most of them in the street, while their guide held them, waiting for their entire group to catch up.   Those catching up included small children and seniors, all riding with trepidation down the hill amongst traffic and other, speeding and more 'serious' bicyclists.  This is an increasingly dangerous stretch and it's going to be tragic when someone is hurt who paid for what they were told would be a pleasant afternoon's ride.  Again I hope this getting your organization's attention and concern.

Thanks very much - Sandy Stadtfeld

[Matthew Hartzell]

Dear Sandy,

Thank you for your message. I concur with you that the South Street/Second Street corridor at the southern edge of the City of Sausalito suffers many flaws, including narrow lanes, lack of separate or dedicated bicycle facilities, poor sightlines, numerous driveways, and heavy vehicle traffic. 

Let me share a useful resource for examining dimensions on our streets: MarinMap. Click "Accept" in the left-hand column, scroll down in the left-hand column and check "Aerial photography", then zoom into your area of interest. Here, you'll see the parcel boundaries (shown as grey lines). If you click "Analysis" at the top of the screen, then "Distance", then click and drag to make a line, you can measure the distance along that line. When I do this for South Street, I measure that the roadway is 30 feet wide, which includes two 11-foot travel lanes, and one 9-foot parking lane. Assuming that the parking lane remains, there is no space in this roadway for addition of any new bicycle facilities (either Class II lanes, or Class IV protected cycleways). 

I also measure that the width of the public right-of-way (measured from the parcel boundary on one side of the street to the other) as 50 feet. In theory, this means that there is enough space for the addition of new bicycle facilities. However, the on-the-ground reality is less favorable, because the public right-of-way as it stands includes portions of private residence driveways, landscaping, and numerous trees which would require removal. 

So in short, I don't see any easy solutions for this corridor based on existing conditions. That said, I'd be happy to brainstorm or listen to others' ideas. This corridor is also technically part of two regional trail systems (the North - South Greenway, and the Bay Trail). 

Based on your description of the problem, it sounds like the best short-term solution might actually be behavioral modification as opposed to design modification. However, if the problem is poorly coordinated tour groups, I'm not sure who (if anyone) would have jurisdiction. Probably the Sausalito Police Department. Have you contacted them yet? If these tour groups are stopping in the middle of the street, that's not legal or safe. Do you know which tour groups, specifically, are guilty of this behavior? If so, it might be worthwhile to try to reach out to them directly to discuss. 

Matt Hartzell

Director of Planning and Research, WTB-TAM

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From: Sandy Stadtfeld <sandy.s...@gmail.com>
Sent: Tuesday, August 23, 2022 3:03 PM
To: Sausalito / Marin City Bike Advocates <saus...@marinbike.org>
Cc: kieran....@gmail.com <kieran....@gmail.com>
Subject: [MCBC-Sausalito] Re: Sausalito Bike Advocates - July update

 

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[David Suto]

For additional context.  Below is the link to the 2016 report on possible solutions to some of the issues.  Unfortunately Sausalito has a 90 year history of blocking any substantial changes to the southern entrance and the City Council and resident reaction ranged from concerned to vitriolic with only the crosswalk at 2nd and Richardson getting any support.  The report was so toxic that any further discussion was avoided, even for the crosswalk. 

https://www.sausalito.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/18167/636326254065130000

Sent from my iPhone

On Aug 24, 2022, at 10:59 AM, Matthew Hartzell <mhar...@wtb.com> wrote:



To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/a/marinbike.org/d/msgid/sausalito/SJ0P221MB0691A6C70CC26B632173954AA9739%40SJ0P221MB0691.NAMP221.PROD.OUTLOOK.COM.

[Matthew Hartzell]

Sandy,

Following up David's email, here is a link to the full 58-page report that was completed on the Second/South/Alexander Corridor in 2016.

Matt

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From: David Suto <david...@gmail.com>
Sent: Wednesday, August 24, 2022 2:10 PM
To: Matthew Hartzell <mhar...@wtb.com>
Cc: Sandy Stadtfeld <sandy.s...@gmail.com>; Sausalito / Marin City Bike Advocates <saus...@marinbike.org>; kieran....@gmail.com <kieran....@gmail.com>
Subject: Re: [MCBC-Sausalito] Re: Sausalito Bike Advocates - July update