San Rafael prepares 2-way conversion of downtown street

San Rafael is getting ready to convert a one-way section of B Street to accommodate two-way traffic.

The plan is an offshoot of the $20.8 million Third Street rehabilitation project, and is expected to be ready for construction this summer, said Nhat Phan, the city’s traffic engineer.

While the City Council supports the project, council members and residents asked if more pedestrian or bicycle amenities could be included.

“How creative can we be to include now — and would we gain efficiency by trying to include some of those improvements now?” Councilmember Eli Hill asked staff at the Feb. 6 council meeting.

April Miller, director of public works, said it’s a budgeting issue, but that the two-way conversion work will not preclude additional bicycle or pedestrian improvements down the line, and it was designed that way intentionally. Miller said staff will be seeking grant funding.

The project will convert B Street from Fifth Avenue to Second Street into two-way traffic. The project was designed with collaboration among public works, police and fire officials. With two-way traffic, emergency response time would be improved, officials said.

The change is also expected to result in slower driving speeds, decreasing the number of collisions and increasing overall safety.

The concept was introduced as a way to facilitate the traffic pattern changes expected with the Third Street overhaul. C and D streets were also converted to two-way traffic as part of a first phase in 2020.

“What we’re doing is actually moving traffic from heavily congested roadways and balancing them through by giving them another outlet,” Phan said.

The Third Street contract covers a majority of the B Street project. An additional $125,000 in Third Street contingency funds is being allocated to support the two-way conversion. The contingency was $2.5 million, Miller said.

Gerstle Park resident Phil Mooney said the two-way conversion is a good thing, but that more is needed for pedestrians. He said B Street is a designated pedestrian priority route in the city’s downtown precise plan.

“We know the street is very busy with pedestrians and we know that it is surrounded by abundant and underutilized parking,” Mooney said. “So let’s rethink this project and sacrifice a small amount of street parking to make it safe and inviting for pedestrians.”

Mooney suggested wider sidewalks, improved lighting, seating, fenced-off loading zones and bicycle parking.

Resident Frank Lindh agreed.

“Let’s try to do this in a comprehensive sort of holistic way — take care of the pedestrian friendly aspects and the traffic rearrangement at the same time,” he said.

Councilmember Rachel Kertz said the city does need more north-south bikeways, and suggested staff continue considering that.

“The focus on safety is obviously the most critical piece to this,” Kertz said. “At the end of the day, once we get the right solution it will really improve downtown.”

Councilmember Maribeth Bushey called the project a “first step” in creating a pedestrian- and bicycle-friendly corridor.

“And every journey begins with one step,” Bushey said. “So let’s get this one done, and all the comments and suggestions that we can use to foster a vision for the future.”

Phan said staff will be doing community outreach for the remainder of the month. The final design is expected to be completed in April. Construction will be done in three phases, and is expected to wrap up around the same time as the Third Street overhaul.

More information on the project is at cityofsanrafael.org/bstreet-conversion.