New Signs Will Direct Fairfax Kids Safely to School

By Chris Rooney

Getting to school is about to get safer in Fairfax.

New green school bike route symbols and signs will soon appear on Fairfax streets as construction begins on the Fairfax School Bike Spine.

The School Bike Spine identifies a bicycle route to and from schools through the installation of signage and street markings. The overall goal is to improve the safety of the Town’s streets for student bicyclists, as well as increase awareness of motorists who share the road with them. This unique project will be the first in the nation to specifically identify school bike routes as part of a Safe Routes to Schools program.

The new school bike route was dubbed the "bike spine" because it traverses the central residential areas in Fairfax. The “imaginary ribs" leading to the "spine" are all of the various streets from individual neighborhoods. The route will run along Bolinas Road, Park Road, Spruce to Arroyo to Azalea to Sequoia to Scenic, Scenic to Manor Road, Marin Road to Sir Francis Drake Boulevard, and Oak Manor Drive. The bike route will connect much of Fairfax with Manor Elementary, Cascade Canyon, and White Hill Middle schools. A potential route along Olema Road will be considered in the future.

See the route outlined in the above map. 

Special school bike route signs will be strategically located along the route to notify both bicyclists and motorists of the location of the route. These will be combined with green thermoplastic street pavement markings to maximize route visibility. Two types of street markings will be used: a shared lane (“sharrows”) along local streets and a bike lane marking within the Sir Francis Drake Blvd bicycle lane. Sharrows are place markings in the road which punctuate the “Share the Road” principles. In addition, crosswalks and other markings along the route will be refreshed. As the number of Bike spine travelers increases, it will also serve as a natural speed mitigation measure in some of our chronic speeding areas.

“We’re really excited about this project because it both raises the awareness of motorists to the presence of children and also directs students to where it is safer to ride their bikes to school,” said Fairfax Mayor John Reed. “Fairfax has always been a pioneer for the Safe Routes to School program, providing sidewalks, bike lanes and safe crossing along our arterial routes. This project takes Safe Routes to Schools into the neighborhoods as well. We are hoping that the new Bike Spine raises awareness and guides kids to the safest route through our community. Many other towns and cities in Marin have been asking about this project, so we look forward to providing the example of safe, local bicycle travel for the county, right here in Fairfax.”

“It is critical that Fairfax’s student commuters have a well marked route and a place on the roadway which keeps them a safe distance out of the cars’ door zones,” said Councilmember Renee Goddard. “The Spine's innovative road markings will alert and remind drivers that bikers are legally entitled to their place in the roadway, especially where there are no designated bike paths."

The School Bike Spine project was developed over the last three years based on input from children and parents, the Safe Routes to School program, numerous public meetings, and Town Council hearings. In October 2011, the Transportation Authority of Marin granted the Town of Fairfax $110,000 for constructing the project, which was subsequently awarded to Bruce Enterprises in November 2012.

It was reported last year that the bike route begins on Bolinas Road near Cascade Drive and continues down Bolinas Road until it turns on Park Road, then takes either Sequoia Road or Arroyo Road to Scenic Road, then continues on Manor Road to Sir Francis Drake Blvd, where it will branch out for the three different schools – Manor Elementary, Cascade Canyon School and White Hill Middle School.

“This is the route we figured out is the safest,” Reed said at the time.

Pam Hartwell-Herrero, who was mayor at the time, said the project has been in the making for many years.