Freeway connector plan must benefit San Rafael residents
DICK SPOTSWOOD
IJ political columnist Dick Spotswood returns with a new commentary soon.
The Transportation Authority of Marin presented the status of its project for a direct connector between Highway 101 and Interstate 580 to the San Rafael City Council in November.
A proof-of-concept analysis of Resilient Shore's East San Rafael Interchange proposal was also presented. Resilient Shore is my Marin-based nonprofit project focused on local sea level rise adaptation and flood risk reduction. TAM intends to move forward with environmental analysis of three alternatives for the direct connector. Each of these are in East San Rafael.
The direct-connector project's goal is to provide a freeway-tofreeway connection from northbound Highway 101 to eastbound Interstate 580.
Unfortunately, longstanding problems at Bellam Boulevard are not being addressed. Traffic problems from Bellam onto northbound 101 and the one from Bellam to eastbound 580 are being ignored.
Nearly all this traffic is bound for East San Rafael's residences and businesses including the Canal neighborhood. The latest accident records available (from 2020), show a total of eight accidents on 101 exiting to Bellam and three exiting from 580 to Bellam. All except one were rearend collisions. A total of 17 injuries were reported. Fortunately, there were no fatalities. The proposed direct-connector ramps will not improve this situation.
It's appropriate for San Rafael to question impacts on our city, who benefits and who is harmed. The direct connector will divert traffic currently using Sir Francis Drake Boulevard in Larkspur to San Rafael. While this may benefit northbound 101 commuters and remove vehicles from Drake Boulevard, it routes them through San Rafael.
Impacts include visual, air pollution, loss of businesses and usable land, temporary construction, and noise — particularly for the ramp alternatives elevated above the surrounding community. It appears TAM intends to repeat the injustice of freeway construction over the objections of a poorer community.
East San Rafael representatives and organizations including Councilmember Maika Llorens Gulati, Supervisor Dennis Rodoni, the San Rafael Chamber of Commerce, Canal, Spinnaker, Baypoint and Bret Hart neighbors, East San Rafael businesses and others have voiced their concerns. East San Rafael's needs must be addressed in good faith for the direct connector project to justify the city's support.
Currently, all that is being offered is a multi-use pathway on Bellam and widening the offramp from 101 to Bellam to allow more vehicles to stack up at the signal. While these may be positive, they don't address essential needs.
Needs that must be addressed include improving access to
East San Rafael, eliminating the congestion on Bellam and the backup onto 101 and 580, as well as improving pedestrian and bicycle safety. Mitigating air quality, noise, visual and right-ofway impacts are also required.
As executive director of Resilient
Shore, I think my Interstate 580 interchange proposal for East San Rafael, which connects Andersen Drive to Kerner Boulevard adjacent to Home Depot and Target, helps to address city needs by providing an additional East San Rafael access and eliminating much of the traffic and congestion at Bellam.
Northbound 101 traffic would have two access points to East San Rafael. Reduction of congestion may also help to mitigate air pollution impacts.
TAM's proof-of-concept analysis demonstrated the interchange could be built. Alternative 3 should be selected to keep the ramp low profile and as close to the existing interchange footprint as possible. In addressing environmental and community concerns, TAM should include Resilient Shore's proof-ofconcept study as an alternative in the environmental analysis and include a detailed traffic analysis of all ramp alternatives.
Flooding and sea level rise adaptation must be addressed by San Rafael stakeholders and TAM to protect the floor of the valley, including both freeways, commuter train tracks, 25% of the city's homes and 66% of its business — all of which are currently in a “100-year flood” zone. This is required for Caltrans to permit shifting the 580 freeway south enough to avoid impacting businesses along East Francisco Boulevard.
Design exceptions from Caltrans standards will be needed. This requires political will.
Our elected representatives need to do the right thing:
Stand up for San Rafael and make sure the direct connector project meets our needs while solving a regional transportation problem.