WTB-TAM says Caltrans's 95%-design crosswalk plan needs a second look before it's locked in

Walk Bike Marin's Tamalpais Drive committee, WTB-TAM, followed up in writing on public comment its leaders gave at the September 15 Town Council meeting, laying out specific objections to Caltrans's 95%-design plans for the Tamalpais Drive/Highway 101 interchange project. The letter, from Planning Director Matthew Hartzell and President Patrick Seidler, zeroes in on the new crosswalk that would connect pedestrians and transit riders to the relocated southbound bus stop across the onramp.

“This project is something Corte Madera will live with for the next 50 years. It is essential that we get it right now and do not build something we regret.”— Matthew Hartzell and Patrick Seidler, WTB-TAM

The group identifies three concrete safety problems with the current design: signal phasing that lets vehicles entering the onramp and pedestrians crossing it get a green light at the same time, crosswalk geometry that is skewed so drivers and walkers have poor sightlines to each other, and a sweeping 150-foot curb radius that the letter says invites cars to swing into the onramp at speed right through the crossing.

WTB-TAM is asking the Town to invite Caltrans to present its latest designs at an upcoming Council meeting so officials and residents can weigh in before anything is finalized. Suggested fixes include a NO RIGHT TURN blankout sign or red arrow, a pedestrian-activated 'PEDS IN X-WALK' lighted sign, reorienting the crosswalk to a 90-degree angle against the onramp, and tightening the curb radius. The letter notes the stakes: the bus stop in question serves many of the retail and shopping-center workers who commute to Corte Madera by transit and is, in the group's words, one of the most-used stops in the county.