City joins campaign against boulevard bike lanes

Caltrans plans to create bikeways on the north and south sides of Tiburon Boulevard as part of its 2026 repaving and rehabilitation project that extends from Mill Valley to downtown Paradise Drive. The blue segments represent Class-2 bike lanes, or marked on-road lanes alongside traffic that don’t have a physical barrier; the red segments are Class-4 separated bikeways, which are also on the roadway but protected from traffic; and the gold segment is a Class-1 bike path, which is away from the road, like the Old Rail Trail. (The Ark graphic; Apple Maps)

The Belvedere City Council is again raising safety concerns about Caltrans’ plans to add bike lanes along Tiburon Boulevard as part of a wider repaving project next year — this time taking its appeal directly to the state.

But Caltrans’ officials have made it clear: “The bike lanes will stay.”

In Belvedere’s latest letter, to Caltrans Bay Area district chief Dina El-Tawansy, Mayor Jane Cooper and City Manager Robert Zadnik cited “safety hazards” from “unprotected bike lanes,” particularly near Reed Ranch Road, Blackie’s Pasture and the Highway 101 interchange. The letter also cited impacts to Marin Transit bus stops, likely loss of school-bus stops between Blackfield Drive and Trestle Glen Boulevard, emergency-response risks and “increased congestion and commuter disruption.”

“The pace and lack of transparency have blindsided key stakeholders and left critical concerns unresolved,” it says. “We also question whether early letters of support from county and state officials were based on a complete understanding of the project’s real-world impacts — and whether that support still stands in light of current agency and community objections.”

The $23 million project’s design is 95% complete as of Feb. 28, with finalization expected by mid-summer, when it will go out to bid. Construction is planned to begin in winter 2026 and last one year.

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