Nearly 300 parking spaces have been removed along a road in San Rafael, California, after a resurfacing project introduced a buffered bike lane – a change residents say they were not properly warned about.
The work on Point San Pedro Road was intended to improve safety for cyclists, pedestrians and drivers. But the new layout has triggered a backlash from neighbours in the Marin County area, where sections of the road have been restriped and parking restrictions are being introduced.
The roughly three-mile project runs from San Rafael High School to beyond Biscayne Drive and is being delivered jointly by Marin County and the City of San Rafael. The road crosses between city and county jurisdictions five times along the route.
Marin County said the updated markings would create a more continuous cycle lane and reduce the need for cyclists to merge into traffic. Vehicle lanes have generally been narrowed from 12ft to 11ft, with a painted buffer added between bicycles and moving vehicles where space allows.
However, approximately 285 on-street parking spaces are being lost in the new configuration. The Point San Pedro Road Coalition said signs marking the restrictions had been delayed while the city and county review the available parking arrangements.
The affected section runs from Marina Boulevard to just west of Beech Drive, although parking is expected to remain outside San Pedro Elementary School. The coalition said officials had acknowledged a failure to communicate clearly that the project would remove such a substantial amount of parking.
Public works representatives are carrying out a block-by-block engineering review to consider whether any spaces can be restored while retaining the new safety measures, according to reporting by the Marin Independent Journal.
The project also includes pedestrian-activated flashing beacons at crosswalks on Knight Drive, Peacock Drive and Riviera Drive, as well as new green road markings and selected kerb extensions. A separate High-Intensity Activated Crosswalk signal was installed at Summit Avenue earlier this year.
Marin County has defended the changes as part of a wider effort to modernise the corridor. County officials said resurfacing provided an opportunity to reassess how the road space was divided, rather than simply replacing the previous markings.
Further work, including signage and finishing measures, is expected to continue into late October and potentially November. The county has advised drivers, cyclists and pedestrians to follow temporary traffic controls while the review and remaining construction work take place.
