San Rafael's Park and Recreation Commission will hear a presentation on the city's updated Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan on Thursday, Sept. 17. The plan would guide walking and biking improvements citywide over the next five to 10 years.

The meeting begins at 6 p.m. at the San Rafael Community Center Lounge, 618 B St. Residents can also join by Zoom webinar or by phone at (669) 444-9171, ID 852 5586 4613.

The plan replaces the city's 2018 version. A draft released June 2 proposes improvements at 31 intersections, more than 8 miles of sidewalk and shared-use path upgrades, and roughly 30 miles of new bikeways across northern, central and southeastern San Rafael.

Among the priority projects: a $3.5 million, 10-foot-wide multiuse path along the south side of the SMART train tracks under Highway 101 between Merrydale Road and Civic Center Drive.

The draft also calls for a bridge crossing San Rafael Creek to connect the Canal neighborhood to Montecito Plaza, plus improvements on Bellam Boulevard and a downtown east-west connection.

The plan is organized around four goals: connectivity, comfort, Vision Zero (eliminating traffic fatalities and serious injuries) and implementation. The city's project page notes that over the most recent six years of data, San Rafael recorded 229 pedestrian collisions, including six fatalities, and 199 bicyclist collisions, including two fatalities.

The Marin County Bicycle Coalition noted in its June 2026 review that the California Office of Traffic Safety ranked San Rafael sixth out of 103 similarly sized cities for injury collisions. The city ranked second for senior pedestrians injured and third for bicyclists injured.

City officials have stressed the plan is not a construction schedule. Individual projects would still require further study, design, funding and community input before breaking ground. The city had targeted summer 2026 for City Council adoption, but no council vote has been scheduled as of Sept. 16.

At a June 10 Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee meeting, consulting transportation engineer Jimmy Jessup said the plan is built to help the city target funding. "We prioritize the projects so that the city is focusing on the right and the most important projects," Jessup told the committee, as reported by the Marin Independent Journal.

The commission will also receive the San Rafael Pacifics' annual report at Thursday's meeting. Residents who cannot attend may email comments to [email protected] by 4 p.m. Sept. 17.