Sir Francis Drake Boulevard streetlight project resumes after delay

Marin County’s streetlight abatement project along Sir Francis Drake Boulevard has resumed this week after being hung up for several months.

The Marin County Department of Public Works began phase one of the project in Greenbrae and Kentfield in August. However, the second phase, which involves the installation of new light poles, was delayed because of supply chain issues, officials said.

On Monday, crews began swapping out streetlights that residents deemed too tall and too bright for new ones with shorter, more decorative poles and dimmer bulbs. The project is connected to the recent $18 million overhaul of the artery.

“When the original lights were installed, they were very bright and cast light into backyards and against buildings,” said Rosemarie Gaglione, director of public works. “The community told us that the lighting was not appropriate for the area.”

Gaglione said county officials worked with consultants to meet with the community to resolve the issue. The county had to figure out how to provide lighting for road safety while ensuring that backyards were not awash in bright light.

The solution, Gaglione said, is shorter poles and dimmer lights, but it came with a trade-off: the light poles had to be spaced closer together. In all, 20 poles in the medians between Manor Road and Eliseo Drive will be replaced with the 28 new ones.

“I think we’ve all played with flashlights as kids and noticed that the closer we held the flashlight to a wall, the smaller the circle of light became, and the farther away we stood, the larger the circle of light,” Gaglione said. “That is basically how the height of the light posts, or standards, affects the dispersion of light onto the street.”

The materials cost $300,000; the planning and design are $196,000; and the removal and installation cost $233,000. Columbia Electric Inc. of San Leandro was hired for the project.

The project is expected to take three weeks to complete. There will be intermittent single-lane closures during work, primarily on the eastbound side. Lane closures will not exceed 500 feet, and traffic wait times will be limited to 10 minutes or less, the county said.

In a related effort last year, the county also replaced lighting fixtures on existing poles with dimmer bulbs and added back shields to help block light from leaking into residences.

The $18 million overhaul of the boulevard was completed in 2021 after 18 months of work. Crews repaved and restriped more than 2 miles while replacing and reconfiguring crosswalks, traffic signals, turn lanes and lighting, among other changes.

The project included 79 single-light poles and 42 double-light poles, for a total of 163 lights, according to the public works department.

The lights were turned on in February 2021, which is when residents complained their yards and bedrooms were suddenly under a spotlight.

Community members said they felt blindsided by the streetlights because they were not part of the environmental impact report, a required study under the California Environmental Quality Act.

Greenbrae resident Kari Isaeff, whose home was affected, said that if the county had done the proper review it could have avoided the costly mistake.

“Money could have have been spent to enhance our natural environment, not detract from it,” Isaeff said. “Replacing lights with more lights is not a solution.”

Larkspur Councilmember Kevin Haroff, who lives in Greenbrae, got involved with neighbors and the county to figure out what was going on. He said that, from his perspective, the community uproar has subsided.

“The county took the concerns of the community seriously and they’re moving forward in the way we expected them to,” Haroff said.

Meanwhile, a permanent replacement of the post-and-cable fence — a second revision along the boulevard — is still in the works, Gaglione said.

Sections of the fence were mangled in a series of crashes last year. The county installed a similar fence as a temporary solution while staff explored options to correct the problem. County officials said they had planned to provide an update by the end of January.

Gaglione said that because of staffing shortages, the project was delayed. The county is working with a consultant on the problem.

“We hope to have some answers soon, and will share them with the community as soon as we have them,” Gaglione said.