San Rafael, CA – The Marin County Department of Public Works has initiated a five-year, $3 million program to increase nighttime and early morning road safety by improving street lighting in areas of unincorporated Marin County.
Auburn Street in Unincorporated San Rafael is the first of several locations to receive lighting upgrades in the Marin Street Light Program Capital Improvement Plan.The Marin Street Light Program Capital Improvement Plan was approved by the Board of Supervisors (BOS) in June and targets roads that have nighttime collisions at a rate higher than the state average. The first project under the new program, in which two new streetlights were installed on Auburn Street in unincorporated San Rafael, has been completed.
The two new streetlights installed on Auburn Street enhance nighttime safety for vehicles, bicycles and pedestrians between Woodland Avenue and Albion Street, near the Montessori School of Central Marin. The new lighting, which was installed onto the existing PG&E poles, improves visibility along a curve where parked cars frequently back into the roadway. Pedestrians will benefit from the increased safety, particularly during dark winter mornings when students and parents are approaching the adjacent school. Funding for the $4,000 project is through the Marin Street Light Program Special Fund, which is collected from property tax revenue.
In addition to installing new streetlights, the five-year improvement program will rehabilitate aging streetlights and upgrade streetlight power supply conduits that were installed years ago under previous standards. The $3 million fund will supply $375,000 for fiscal year 2018-19 improvements, $825,000 for 2019-20, $350,000 for 2020-21, $825,000 for 2021-22, and $625,000 for 2022-23. Nighttime safety improvements could be conducted as standalone projects or included as part of larger scope projects.
The next streetlight upgrade is planned to be implemented in conjunction with the Sir Francis Drake Boulevard Rehabilitation Project, which is intended to improve the major arterial road from Highway 101 to the Town of Ross. An assessment of the necessary streetlight and nighttime safety improvements is being conducted so the work can be completed with, or prior to, the large-scale corridor rehabilitation project. Planning the lighting improvements in this preemptive fashion will help minimize disturbance to pavement work associated with the rehabilitation project, which could begin construction as early as spring/summer 2019.
On September 11, the Board of Supervisors plan to address the proposed $78,600 contract increase for BKF Engineers to develop the streetlight plan along Sir Francis Drave Boulevard from Eliseo Drive to Laurel Grove Avenue in Greenbrae. The increase would bring the Sir Francis Drake Boulevard Rehabilitation Project contract with BKF Engineers to $2,506,600.