Twin Cities/Hwy. 101 Overhaul Panel Set to Wrap, Send Proposals to TAM Board

After listening to a series of alternative proposals to the proposed overhaul of Hwy. 101 around Greenbrae and the Twin Cities, on Monday the appointed working group of local officials will to decide which projects to recommend to Transportation Authority of Marin.

The group has been meeting twice a month since March in an effort to “focus on a balanced solution for the area,” project manager Bill Whitney said in June when the group heard alternative plans to the controversial $143 million project that has been put forth by TAM and Caltrans.

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.

The project 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 features a 33-foot-tall flyover into Corte Madera from southbound Highway 101 and Sir Francis Drake Boulevard.

However, it has incited backlash from the outset, courting controversy when TAM was forced to revise its data on traffic collisions around the interchange, which Corte Madera Mayor Diane Furst exposed as being flawed at a meeting in February.

In the aftermath of the data mishap, the Corte Madera Town Council approved a resolution that stated it does not consent to the closure of Nellen Avenue, a key component of what had been proposed. The language of the resolution suggested the Town Council would be open to exploring alternate project designs with Caltrans.

Whitney said the working group was designed to get a wide range of community input not just on the proposed project but on the larger problems it sought to address.

The working group includes Marin County Supervisor Katie Rice, TAM Chair and Tiburon Councilwoman Alice Fredericks, San Rafael Mayor Gary Phillips, Larkspur Mayor Dan Hillmer, Corte Madera Mayor Diane Furst, Corte Madera Councilwoman Carla Condon, Larkspur Councilman Brad Marsh and San Anselmo Councilman Tom McInerney.

The group planned to meet through the end of July, and on Monday at 3 p.m. in the Redwood High School Cafeteria they’ll discuss recommendations to the TAM board on the southbound Highway 101 options, the northbound Highway 101 options, and bicycle and pedestrian facilities.

The discussion will be followed by open time to hear comments from the public.