This article breaks down Mill Valley’s unanimous City Council decision to fund and roll out an $18.2 million, five-year paving program. The project aims to upgrade more than half the town’s streets.
The plan depends on voters extending a $276-per-parcel municipal services tax. It also draws support from state and county funding streams to tackle local road surfaces, safety features, and drainage improvements in the Marin County community.
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Key elements of Mill Valley’s street-improvement plan
The five-year program will alternate between resurfacing and full repaving. This approach accommodates different construction needs around town.
Consulting engineer Joseph Ririe said the effort will reach about 53% of Mill Valley’s roadway area. With roughly 60 miles of city-maintained streets, the initiative targets raising the city’s PCI score from 79 to 80 as a baseline goal.
Preventive maintenance sits at the center of the plan. Crews will reseal surfaces to guard against cracking from heavy vehicles, constant traffic, and sun exposure.
Some streets could get wider, and they’ll address drainage, curbs, and corners during repaving. The plan tries to minimize disruption while delivering durable improvements, including on corridors that connect to Marin communities like Sausalito, Tiburon, and Corte Madera.
Funding framework and voter role
The funding strategy relies on voters extending the $276-per-parcel municipal services tax for another decade this November. City staff say additional money will come from a mix of state, county, and local sources to cover improvements across Mill Valley’s roads and sidewalks.
- Parcel tax extension of $276 per parcel annually
- State gas tax allocations
- County transit funds
- Local capital improvement, road impact and sanitation fees
Design considerations and safety enhancements
Safety kept coming up during council discussions. Staff clarified that restriping and bike-lane updates will come after paving wraps up on targeted streets.
The city pays close attention to how road design supports multimodal traffic in a town known for its bike routes and pedestrian corridors. A separate $300,000 2024 grant will fund sidewalks, crosswalks, and pedestrian signals at six busy locations to complement the paving work across Mill Valley and neighboring towns like Fairfax and Larkspur.
- Restriping and lane-marking upgrades to improve visibility and safety
- Post-construction bike lanes added where appropriate
- Sidewalks, crosswalks, and pedestrian signals funded by grant at six high-traffic sites
PG&E undergrounding and infrastructure coordination
Another big piece is infrastructure coordination. Pacific Gas & Electric plans to remove overhead electrical lines and shorten and cap poles along 13 miles of Marin County corridors beginning next year, syncing their work with the paving schedule.
PG&E offered to help repave streets they dig up. Telecom companies, though, chose not to join the undergrounding effort.
This collaboration could help streamline project crews and reduce future maintenance disruptions in Mill Valley and neighboring communities such as Sausalito, Greenbrae, and Kentfield.
Regional impact and neighbor town context
Mill Valley’s aggressive paving plan has caught the attention of the broader Marin County scene. Towns like San Rafael, Tiburon, Sausalito, Corte Madera, and Larkspur are watching how Mill Valley balances funding, voter support, and road safety as pavement ages.
The PCI improvements and the push for multimodal upgrades on key routes might set a template for neighboring counties. It’s possible other towns could pursue similar five-year strategies, linking street maintenance with pedestrian-friendly corridors and better drainage solutions across the North Bay.
Timeline, ballot, and what residents should know
The five-year program phases work over alternating years. Some cycles focus on resurfacing, while others tackle full repaving.
This approach matches up with funding inflows and the usual seasonal constraints. As Mill Valley residents get ready to vote on the parcel tax extension this fall, officials from Marin County’s other towns are paying close attention.
They’re well aware that state gas tax receipts, county transit allocations, and local improvement fees will all impact how quickly—and how thoroughly—roads get upgraded in Marin County neighborhoods like Ross, Fairfax, and Novato too.
Here is the source article for this story: Mill Valley approves 5-year paving plan
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