San Rafael parking spots ease hillside fire risks

Work is underway on some narrow hillside streets in San Rafael to create designated parking boxes to ease the passage of emergency vehicles.

The painted boxes are intended to show drivers where it is safe to park while still leaving enough room for fire engines and ambulances on roads near wildlands.

They are also meant to be a clearer guide than municipal code, which bans parking on a narrow street unless it is unobstructed for at least 6 feet from its center. The city says the standard is confusing and difficult to enforce.

The city is the latest Marin community to install the reserved spaces, a process similar to what other communities did to improve safety after the East Bay Hills fire in 1991, said Robert Sinnott, San Rafael’s deputy fire chief. He said officials realized that fire engines could not navigate the neighborhoods because of parking congestion on the tight streets.

The designated parking also increases convenience for drivers trying to use narrow roads, Sinnott said.

The project, part of the city’s wildfire protection plan, started in late August with initial markings and street analysis. The parking boxes and roadside vegetation removal are also part of countywide efforts to improve evacuation routes.

The streets receiving the parking boxes include Coleman Drive, Fair Drive, Chula Vista Drive, Tampa Drive, Vineyard Drive, Robert Dollar Drive, La Vista Way and Prospect Drive. The contractor is Bayside Striping.

The length of each space is determined by road conditions and might accommodate more than one vehicle. Boxes in other neighborhoods will be added later this year and next year, Sinnott said.

The costs for the project are covered by the Marin Wildfire Prevention Authority with funds raised through Measure C. Revenue from parking tickets will go toward expenses from paint and sign maintenance after Measure C expires.

Nina Murphy, president of the Lincoln San Rafael Hill Neighborhood Association, said many neighbors called her with concerns about the project, especially in households with multiple vehicles.

“We’re one of the most diverse and impacted neighborhoods there is when it comes to parking,” Murphy said. “Our roads are used all the time in our neighborhood.

“If they just abide by them, I think it’ll all work out really well,” she said, referring neighbors using the designated parking spaces. “It’s very important that we work together to make it work for all of us.”