Courtesy of Marin County

At its Aug 23 public session, the Marin County Board of Supervisors plan to consider a no-parking restriction along Bayside Park on Point San Pedro Road in unincorporated eastern San Rafael. The restriction has been recommended by the Marin County Department of Public Works (DPW) following the completion of a parking survey of the area.

Based on the results of the survey, which indicated minimal use of on-street parking along the park and adjacent residential frontage, prohibiting parking along Bayside Park will not negatively impact park access or the residences south of the park along the eastbound side of Point San Pedro Road.

The proposed parking restriction will allow for a bike lane to be implemented along the entirety of the Bayside Park frontage, which is a requirement of the Bay Conservation and Development Commission (BCDC) permit. The permit that stipulates the bike lane requirement was renewed during the recent Bayside Park accessibility improvement project.

The no-parking zone will create enough room for a buffered bike lane, which provides extra space for bicycle safety, beginning at the southwest end of the park and connecting to the existing bike lane beginning near Main Drive. The only parking that would remain along the park frontage is an accessible parking spot to comply with Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requirements. The spot was created during the park improvement project as a paved indentation into the curb line of the park.

The recent parking study used automated video cameras to monitor weekday and weekend parking usage day and night. Both the 314-foot stretch of Bayside Park frontage and the 454-foot residential section of the road were monitored.

The data showed that parking usage is light along both sections of the roadway within the surveyed area. The park frontage theoretically has space for 14 standard-sized vehicles, but at any given time there were at most three parked vehicles during weekdays and four on weekends. The residential frontage south of the park along the eastbound side of Point San Pedro Road, which has capacity for up to 20 standard-sized vehicles, was recorded as having peak weekday usage of four vehicles at any one time and three on weekends.

With space for 20 vehicles along the residential section of the street, and the highest combined demand between Bayside Park usage and residential usage being seven vehicles at any given time, there is ample capacity for park users to use the residential stretch of the roadway without impact to residents.

Pending the Board of Supervisors’ decision on Aug. 23, the parking restrictions would go into effect once signage is posted, which may take a few weeks. Implementation of the bike lane would occur when the parking restriction signage is installed. Members of the public interested in viewing or attending the Supervisors session can find the instructions online.

While the previously proposed Point San Pedro Road Roadway Modification Pilot Project will not be moving forward at this time, the County of Marin remains committed to bicyclist and pedestrian safety. As new potential projects are identified, DPW will collaborate with the City of San Rafael, community members, and stakeholders on roadway improvement projects.

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