The City of San Rafael Schools on Tuesday presented a targeted safety and circulation redesign for Sun Valley Elementary School, proposing a new 15-foot bike-and-arrival lane separated from vehicle drop-off and marked with bollards to reduce bike, pedestrian and automobile conflicts.

District representatives said the changes respond to extensive public outreach and are being finalized in construction documents so the project can be submitted to the Division of the State Architect for approval. Tim Ryan, senior director of strategic facility planning for the district, said the revisions include a dedicated arrival court for bikes, relocated parking, widened paths, improved crosswalks and added bike parking tailored to cargo bikes and multi-child loaded bikes.

The district described a multi-step engagement process that included staff meetings, parent and neighborhood association meetings, a community input event attended by about 100 people and multiple written comments. Ryan said the newest design changes were made after receiving suggestions from bicycling advocates and residents and that the district prioritized cost-neutral alterations where possible.

The plan calls for a continuous sidewalk along Fifth Avenue, a reconfigured parking pattern to reduce cars projecting into the travel lane, and a separated 15-foot drive lane at the campus entrance that will use bollards rather than a curb cut to avoid creating an unintended pedestrian path. The district said it has Hexagon under contract to perform a warrant study for a stop sign at the intersection; Ryan said a stop sign would require about 800 vehicles per hour over four hours to meet standard warrant criteria and that the study will determine whether that threshold is met.

Bob Marcucci, deputy superintendent, and Corey Bannon of BKF civil engineering joined the presentation. Marcucci said the objective is to reduce conflict among students arriving by bike, foot and car on the dead-end street serving the school. The district indicated bond funds will pay for the work and said the bond program covers improvements only on district property unless an encroachment agreement with the city is negotiated.

Committee members praised the outreach and iterative design. Multiple committee members highlighted the project’s fit with city bicycle-and-pedestrian planning and asked for coordination on details such as trash-can placement and bike repair stations. The district said it will post project materials to its website shortly and is aiming to submit construction documents quickly because the Division of the State Architect typically requires six to nine months for review.

The district did not present a construction start date; representatives said scheduling depends on DSA approval and contractor procurement.