City set to seek contractor for regional path segment

Larkspur is moving forward with a key link in the North-South Greenway bicycle and pedestrian network.

The City Council voted 3-1 on Wednesday to authorize staff to solicit contractors to construct the approximately $2 million multiuse path near Highway 101.

Councilmember Kevin Carroll dissented, saying that residents of the Marin RV Park directly across from the project area had no idea the project was happening. He said only the property owner received notice, and the information

wasn't relayed to the tenants.

The new path will run along the west side of Redwood Highway. It will connect to the Corte Madera Creek bridge to the north, which was completed by Caltrans in 2022. The bridge is the bicycle and pedestrian link to East Sir Francis Drake Boulevard.

The new path would extend south toward Industrial Way, where there is a pedestrian overcrossing spanning Highway 101. It links to Nellen Avenue in Corte Madera.

Carroll said he has concerns about lighting, freeway noise and flooding. He said the Corte Madera Creek bridge path is well

lighted and the new segment should be too.

“I think that's a startling transition to go from that very well lighted path to the very dark path that's going to be existing,” Carroll said.

Julian Skinner, the director of public works, said the city has been working with the Transportation Authority of Marin and Caltrans on the project for years.

The project was conceived around 2013, and the city allocated funding toward the project in 2019.

About $1.12 million is coming from federal funds and another

ALAN DEP — MARIN INDEPENDENT JOURNAL A bicyclist rides along the bike lane on the Redwood Highway frontage road in Larkspur on Monday. The path is part of the North-South Greenway route intended to run from the Golden Gate Bridge into Sonoma County.