Holiday Parking, Tunstead Live, Holiday Open House, U-Turns on San Anselmo Ave, Traffic Signal Synchronization

Holiday Parking

The Central Marin Police Authority is pleased to announce that the Town of San Anselmo is providing free parking to holiday shoppers. The free holiday shopping period begins on Friday, November 29, 2013 and will continue through Wednesday, January 1, 2014. During this period, the parking meters will not be operating. As always, however, the disabled, red zone and other safety related parking violations will be enforced.

Concern has been expressed about the possibility of commuters or all day employees taking advantage of the free parking in the downtown.  Please be considerate of our shop owners and leave the downtown parking places for our holiday shoppers.

Morningside Neighborhood Meeting

On Saturday, November 2, Supervisor Katie Rice held a neighborhood meeting to discuss local flooding concerns in the Morningside neighborhood.  Flood Zone 9 and Town staff were on hand to present a brief overview of the measures planned for the neighborhood and to answer questions.  About 30 neighbors attended the meeting.  Supervisor Rice has provided a summary of the meeting that can be found on the Town’s website at http://www.townofsananselmo.org/DocumentCenter/View/2598.

Tunstead Live

On Friday, November 15, the Library hosted the first of a series of unique after hours events.  “The Author’s Journey” was a conversation with local authors Annie Barrows, Jan Harper-Haines and Jacqueline Winspear about their trials, travails and triumphs as published authors. 

The event began at 6:30 p.m. in the Library with a lovely wine and cheese reception that was enjoyed by all.  The fascinating conversation with the authors was moderated by our own Library Director, Linda Kenton, utilizing both prepared questions and questions from the audience, offering a rare insight into the world of an author.  The Council Chambers was bursting with captivated attendees, leaving standing room only in the lobby. 

Many, many thanks to all who worked to put together this event.  Special thanks to Rick and Debbie Lafranchi, Nicasio Valley Cheese Company and to Susan and Jonathan Pey, Pey Vineyards.  And, most especially, we extend a most sincere thank you to the authors who gave of their time to share their work with the community. 

Tunstead Live is sponsored by the Friends of the Library and the Library Parcel Tax.

Holiday Open House

Downtown merchants will host the annual Holiday Open House on Friday, December 13, 2013, from 5 to 8 p.m.  Get some holiday shopping done, and enjoy complimentary treats at your favorite shops.

U-Turns on San Anselmo Avenue

Town staff continues to receive a number of complaints from residents about illegal U-turns being made on San Anselmo Avenue, particularly in the center of the downtown area.   Since I have a birds-eye view of this part of San Anselmo Avenue from my office, I can attest to this problem.

On a recent Saturday morning, when the downtown was bustling with shoppers, children in the park, pedestrians crossing the street and numerous bicyclists coming through town, I saw no less than five illegal U-turns on San Anselmo Avenue in a 30 minute time period.  These are usually drivers travelling southbound on San Anselmo Avenue who spot a parking space on the northbound side of the street, and make a quick U-turn into the parking spot.  The Police Department advises that this is a dangerous practice and is also against the law!

The Police Department will be monitoring San Anselmo Avenue for unsafe driving practices in order to ensure a safe environment for all who want to enjoy the downtown area.

Traffic Signal Synchronization

The Town recently received a grant from the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) to conduct a signal timing study for sixteen traffic signals on Sir Francis Drake Boulevard and Red Hill Avenue/Fourth Street. 

The grant is called PASS (Program for Arterial System Synchronization).  The purpose of the PASS grants is to provide technical assistance to Bay Area agencies to help improve the safe and efficient operation on arterial roadways of regional significance. 

The goal of the project is to analyze traffic patterns at these intersections to better coordinate signal timing for smoother traffic flow.  Synchronizing signals can reduce travel time and delay, as well as reduce motor vehicle emissions and fuel consumption. Thirteen of the traffic signals are in San Anselmo, one is in Ross, one is in Fairfax and two are in San Rafael.

You may have seen traffic counting devices installed on a number of poles in the project area.  These devices have been temporarily installed as part of the PASS grant and will give us valuable traffic data, such as number of vehicles, wait times, turning movements, etc.  These devices are used solely for data collection purposes.

The PASS project is just beginning with the data collection phase, with a final project report due in June 2014.

San Anselmo News, published weekly on Fridays, is available at the San Anselmo Town Hall, Library, on the Public Notice Bulletin Board. It is also available on the Town’s website, www.townofsananselmo.org, and by email subscription.