Hwy. 101 Overhaul Panel Decides on Southbound Recommendation to TAM Board

After discussing alternative plans for the proposed overhaul of Hwy. 101 around Greenbrae and the Twin Cities for nearly four hours on Monday, the appointed working group agreed on a recommendation to the Transportation Authority of Marin (TAM) for the southbound section of the highway.

The proposals were presented as an alternative to the $143 million project that has been put forth by TAM and Caltrans that seeks to make the busy interchange safer and reduce traffic congestion on Highway 101, improve local access to and from the highway, improve accessibility to local and regional transit and improve pedestrian and bicycle access. It initially featured a 33-foot-tall flyover into Corte Madera from southbound Highway 101 and Sir Francis Drake Boulevard, and has been met with community opposition from the start.

TAM received a total of 13 alternatives – seven related to roadways and six related to bicycle and pedestrian facilities – during a process that has sparked public tension over which option would be best for the region.

"We think there might be a combination of features from the various proposals that could result in a project that has 20 years life for the investment and doesn’t make traffic worse, which is what w’ere trying to do," said TAM Executive Director Dianne Steinhauser 

The working group did just that, and the southbound Hwy. 101 recommendation includes a combination of elements from proposals by Marin Deserves Better, Corte Madera Town Manager David Bracken, and a revised plan from Caltrans that eliminates the originally proposed flyover - and which was presented to the group for the first time shortly before the 3 p.m. meeting Monday at the Redwood High School cafeteria.

After an intense discussion where at one point Group Facilitator Gina Bartlett asked members the "take a deep breath," members unanimously approved a motion to recommend that the TAM board further analyze a southbound project that includes:

• A two-lane off-ramp from southbound Hwy. 101 to Sir Francis Drake Blvd.
• A three-lane on-ramp over the creek from Sir Francis Drake, that includes a bike path
• Preserving the pedestrian over-crossing
• Adding an auxiliary lane south of Sir Francis Drake
• Establishing a right turn onto Nellen from Fifter

“We think there should be further study of those five constants, and a lot of variables,” said Larkspur Councilman Brad Marsh.

One of those variables - which the group at first approved 5-2 and later rejected in order to bring a unified recommendation to the TAM board - included an amendment from San Rafael Mayor Gary Phillips to study closing the Lucky Drive exit. 

“When we’re talking about trying to be prudent with the money being spent on consultants, which is a quarter of a million dollars already and we haven’t even gotten to step B yet – and we’re adding all these extra variables – I think it’s adding to the abuse we’ve seen so far in the process,” said Corte Madera Councilwoman Carla Condon.

Money and time were the two constraints members faced in developing a recommendation for the project.

The group has been meeting since March in an effort to “focus on a balanced solution for the area,” and has explored alternative plans to the controversial $143 million project from TAM and Caltrans. 

While Monday was supposed to the final meeting before the group presented a set of recommendations to TAM officials on how to proceed, members agreed to continue the discussion process and intend to request additional funding from TAM to do so.  

“For this to be called the last working group meeting is very disappointing,” said Corte Madera Mayor Diane Furst. 

But the clock is ticking.

In order to receive funding for the project from the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC), TAM needs to present a proposal by November. The working group plans to bring its recommendations to TAM on Sept. 9.

In addition to discussing details of the project itself, working group members also took issue with the revised proposal presented by Caltrans, which would potentially require a new environmental impact report that could take two to three years.

Although members said MTC chairman Steve Kinsey has vowed to ask for a time extension based on the plan that’s ultimately proposed, Steinhauser encouraged reasonable expectations.

“If I were MTC and we came in and said we needed six years, I would frown,” she said. “If we came in and said two, I think that would be more acceptable.”

San Anselmo Councilman Tom McInerney also suggested recommending that the TAM board hire an independent traffic engineer to extract the best ideas from the Marin Deserves Better, Bracken, and revised Caltrans proposals. 

“Frankly, because they know what they’re doing,” he said.

In addition, members pointed to a lack of information in the revised Caltrans plan, such as the impact that removing the Wornum off-ramp would have on Madera and Tamal Vista traffic.

“So in essence it increases the cars coming out on Madera, which in turn increases the traffic through Tamal Vista and the residential areas there?” Condon asked. “Part of our mission was to diminish those issues and I’m concerned the revised project is aggravating these issues.”

As Marsh put it, “the devil is in the details.”

While in favor of the five elements the group intends to recommend to TAM, Marsh also expressed the importance of the working group taking responsibility and researching avenues of cause and effect when exploring different options.

“I don’t want these five points to go underground for two years, and then have it pop back up and have someone say the working group supported that,” he said. “There are a lot of variables.”

By the same token, community members urged the group to take its time, to be thoughtful, and to look at the project from a holistic perspective by considering all aspects of the plan and determining how they fit together.

“If you’re only going to look at the southbound without looking at the cumulative, you’re not going to understand the whole impact,” Karen Nygren, a member of the TAM Technical Advisory Committee, said during public open time.  “… I realize people are in a rush for the money, but this project is going to go on until 2035, 2040. … I can understand the rush to not lose the money but this a long term project that’s not going to be done again for a long time.”