Residents urge city to fix Tamalpais Avenue after years of heavy construction

At the start of the March 24 meeting the Planning Commission heard two public comments about damage to Tamalpais Avenue from heavy construction activity. David Ray, who said he lives at 269 Tamalpais, told commissioners the street has been used heavily by contractors over multiple multi‑year projects and that the pavement has deteriorated as a result.

"It's taken a toll on our street," Ray said, urging the commission and the Department of Public Works to target streets that have borne heavy construction traffic and to start with Tamalpais Avenue. He also referenced permit fees, saying "I think one of them is called the road impact fee" and asked that those funds be used to maintain and repair streets in neighborhoods affected by construction.

Neighbor Cloud Porteus (278 Tamalpais) told the commission that trucks routinely turn around in the neighborhood driveway nearest the project site and that the repeated heavy traffic has increased cracking and wear. Porteus said they support the applicants’ design but requested mitigation and clearer staging/traffic management so residents aren’t left bearing repair costs: "We're hoping that it doesn't accelerate us having to spend... tens of thousands of dollars to fix that."

The chair acknowledged the comments as "taken under advisement." No formal direction or funding commitment for immediate repairs was made during the meeting; staff did not provide a timeline in response. The concerns were raised again during the project deliberations as commissioners asked applicants to minimize import and consider using on‑site cut material where feasible.