San Rafael, CA – Muir Woods Road, a heavily used arterial for traffic to the Muir Beach community and other popular destinations in West Marin, soon will have two temporary stop signs installed to control traffic and improve safety on a narrow stretch of the road.
Erosion next to Muir Woods Road has led to the need for temporary stop signs to regulate traffic.By mid-February, the signs will be placed entering a 150-foot section of alternating one-way, single-lane roadway about one mile northeast of an existing stop sign on Muir Woods Road near Santos Meadow that also controls traffic in another one-lane, one-way section.
A 35-foot edge of the roadway near mile post 2.2 has eroded and narrowed one of the lanes, increasing risk for motorists. The signs will be in place until a $5.9 million rehabilitation project for 2.4 miles of Muir Woods Road begins in spring 2020. The repair, funded with $5.2 million of federal grant money, will enhance safety measures, correct drainage problems, alleviate hillside erosion, and reduce water quality impacts to the nearby Redwood Creek. A public meeting will be held this summer to present a project update before the final design submission in the fall.
In the meantime, Marin County Department of Public Works (DPW) has identified two additional locations where spot widening on the roadway shoulder will improve stability and passage. The first location is along the portion of road near Santos Meadow where the current stop sign controlled section is located. The second site is approximately 200 feet north of the stop sign.
The planned improvements will include widening the paved width by approximately two feet, shifting the centerline to allow for two full-sized lanes of traffic, and improving sightlines for travelers. Due to seasonal environmental restrictions on construction work in that area, those improvements are slated to take place between September and December 2018.
Marin County also is considering a resolution to prohibit vehicles longer than 30 feet on Muir Woods Road between the Muir Woods National Monument and Panoramic Highway. Vehicles over 30 feet have a documented track record of being unable to stay within their lanes along Muir Wood Road at several key stretches, particularly at some of the more intense turns. The proposed restriction will help prevent this issue from occurring, and help to improve safety for all other travelers along the roadway.
Residents of Muir Beach have expressed concerns with buses passing each other on narrow portions of Muir Woods and Franks Valley Road. The Marin County Board of Supervisors adopted the 30-foot vehicle ordinance on January 9, 2018, and in March it will discuss issuing a resolution that will apply the ordinance to the specific section of Muir Woods Road. If the proposed length restriction is approved, the restriction would not be implemented, nor have its respective signage installed, until after the planned road improvements are constructed this fall.