PROJECT NEWS: MILL VALLEY/CORTE MADERA CORRIDOR STUDY

NTPP Project #2720

• Public Information
• What is this Study Intended to Do?
  
• DRAFT Mill Valley to Corte Madera Bicycle and Pedestrian Corridor Study - NEW! Public comment period extended until January 29, 2010
  
• Public Meetings
• Background and Technical Documents
• Get Involved!

Project Information

This project will study the three alternative routes between Mill Valley and Corte Madera, including (1) the Horse Hill/Alto Hill Pathway and connecting roadways, (2) reopening the Alto Tunnel for bike/ped use, and (3) the Camino Alto/Corte Madera Avenue on-street route. The connection between Corte Madera and Mill Valley was identified as one of the top priority projects in the county, based on public input in the 2006 Marin County Bicycle Plan Update public workshops. Currently, bicyclists use either Camino Alto or the U.S. 101 “Horse Hill” bike path via local neighborhood streets.

While most of the corridor is in incorporated Mill Valley or Corte Madera, sections of the project are located within the unincorporated “Alto Area,” which is situated at the northeast edge of Mill Valley. Furthermore, the County of Marin owns portions of the Alto Tunnel and its approaches. The County of Marin is the lead agency on this multi-jurisdictional corridor study and will work closely with staff from Mill Valley, Corte Madera and County Parks & Open Space.

• Project Scope
• Project Schedule

What is this Study Intended to Do?

This Study is intended to give us information, not select a specific course of action or identify a preferred alternative.  This is not a plan but a study of design concepts and technical information related to the feasibility of improving facilities along three corridors between Mill Valley and Corte Madera.  Decisions on whether or not to pursue progress on any conceptual improvements will be made during a separate process by your local decision makers, such as, but not limited to: DPW director and/or City Council and/or County staff/BOS, depending on which jurisdiction(s) would be responsible for constructing any improvements.  This study does not set policies on which improvements to implement.  This Study provides the technical tools and information to allow your local policy makers to make informed decisions on next steps.   As with any project involving construction, a contingency amount is assumed to account for unexpected conditions.  The contingency rate differential between the three corridors reflects the degree of additional uncertainty for some corridor segments, most notably the tunnel.  

While this Study does not make direct comparisons between the three routes, it provides the necessary information for interested parties and policy makers to make comparisons using their own set of weighted criteria (i.e. projected use is higher weight than cost of implementation, or vice versa, etc.). This is why the Study does not make recommendations on which projects to move forward with, as these decisions require additional vetting given a number of factors such as political support and securing additional funding, which can prove difficult during uncertain budgetary times.

DRAFT Mill Valley to Corte Madera Bicycle and Pedestrian Corridor Study

Available for public review and download is the DRAFT Mill Valley to Corte Madera Bicycle and Pedestrian Corridor Study.  Hard copies are available at the Mill Valley, Corte Madera, and Marin County Civic Center libraries, and the Mill Valley and Corte Madera public works offices for reference.

Public Workshop #2 was held on Wednesday, December 9, 6:30 PM to learn more about the conceptual improvements to each of the three corridors and ask questions.  This was the final public workshop for this Study.  Public comments and input will continue to be accepted after Public Workshop #2 by email (clando@co.marin.ca.us) or by mail until the recently extended date of January 29, 2010.

Please feel free to print your own copy of the document.  To save paper, the document is designed to be printed back to back (starting with page 4, the Table of Contents).

You will need Adobe Reader to view this document. Download Adobe Reader for free.

DRAFT Study Download Options:

        Full Version:

• DRAFT Mill Valley to Corte Madera Bicycle and Pedestrian Corridor Study (7.0 MB PDF)
  
• See below for Appendix downloads

• Cover, Table of Contents, Executive Summary (1.2 MB PDF)
  
• Improvement Concepts-Summary (228 KB PDF)
• Improvement Concepts-Horse Hill Route A (3.1 MB PDF)
• Improvement Concepts-Alto Tunnel Route B (2.1 MB PDF)
• Improvement Concepts-Camino Alto/Corte Madera Ave. Route C (1.8 MB PDF)
• Alternatives Evaluation (285 KB PDF)
• Cost Estimates and Implementation (276 KB PDF)

• Appendix A-Geotechnical Study (2.9 MB PDF)
• Appendix B-Tunnel Feasibility Study (2.3 MB PDF)
• Appendix C-Drainage Study (10.9 MB PDF)
• Appendix D-Multi-Modal Traffic Study (1.8 MB PDF)
• Appendix E-Emergency Response Analysis (1.2 MB PDF)
• Appendix F-Environmental Considerations Study (224 KB PDF)
• Appendix G-ROW Conditions Study (509 KB PDF)
• Appendix H-Use Counts and Projections Study (786 KB PDF)
• Appendix I-Inventory and Description of Routes (as presented at Public Workshop #1) (7.1 MB PDF)
• Appendix J-Public and Agency Comments Summary (106 KB PDF)
• Appendix K-Background Documents (183 KB PDF)
• Appendix L-Detailed Cost Estimates-Combined (719 KB PDF)

Public Meetings

There were two public workshops for this project – one in early 2009 and one in late 2009. The first public workshop was an opportunity for interested parties to review the project scope, existing conditions, and provide input and comments for each of the three alternative routes being studied. The second workshop reviewed conceptual improvements to each of the three alternative routes. 

Public Workshop #1 - March 4, 2009, 6:30 PM - Flyer (161 KB PDF)

Public Workshop # 1 was held on March 4, 2009 as an information meeting for Marin County residents to learn about the study scope for these 3 corridors and provide input on existing conditions, concerns, and opportunities. It was held at Edna Maguire Elementary School in Mill Valley (map).  Videos and other records of the information presented at Public Workshop #1 are available below:

• Interview with Craig Tackabery, Assistant Director, County of Marin Public Works (WMV format)
• PowerPoint presentation with narrative (WMV format)
  
• PowerPoint presentation (28.9 MB PDF)

• Public Workshop #1 Comments by Breakout Session Group (1 MB PDF)
• Public Workshop #1 Comments sorted by route & subject (1 MB PDF)
• From the DRAFT Corridor Study: Appendix J-Public and Agency Comments Summary (719 KB PDF)

This was the final public workshop for this effort where Improvement Concepts along each of the three routes were presented (click here to download the presentation). Like Public Workshop #1, Public Workshop #2 was also held at Edna Maguire Elementary School (map).  The workshop reviewed the draft corridor study, which was released on December 3, 2009 and is available for download here.  After the workshop, there is an additional public comment and input period until the recently extended date of January 29, 2010.  Please send comments to Ms. Carey Lando at clando@co.marin.ca.us.

A PDF of the presentation given at the workshop is available to download, or view the embedded presentation slideshow at the bottom of this page.

• Public Workshop #2 PowerPoint Presentation (9.4 MB PDF, or click to view embedded)
• Comments recieved at Public Workshop #2 will be summarized and posted soon.
  

• Marin IJ article, December 7, 2009
• Mill Valley Herald/Twin Cities Times article, December 16, 2009
  

Background and Technical Documents

• Request for Proposals (closed July 30, 2008)
• Board of Supervisors letter authorizing consultant contract – November 18, 2008
• Alto Tunnel Scoping Study – Volume I and Volume II
• Mill Valley City Council Alto Tunnel Support Resolution (PDF)
• Corte Madera Town Council Alto Tunnel Support Resolution (PDF)

Route Tours and Existing Condition Information

The following are pictorial tours of each of the three routes along with their corresponding location on the study map.  At the end of each tour is a list of some of the known noted existing conditions.  This information was presented at the Public Workshop #1.

• Horse Hill Route (9.4 MB PDF)
• Alto Tunnel Route (10.3 MB PDF)
• Camino Alto/Corte Madera Avenue Route (7.5 MB PDF)
  

Bicycle and Pedestrian Plans

• County Unincorporated
• Corte Madera
• Mill Valley

Get Involved!

To receive notices for public meetings, please contact Carey Lando, County of Marin project manager, at clando@co.marin.ca.us or 415.499.5078.

Public Workshop #2 PowerPoint Presentation:

To view the presentation at full size, click the button.