Letter Asks Caltrans to Reconsider Freeway Interchange Design

Councilman Mike Healy has drafted a tentative letter to Caltrans asking the agency to redesign the Petaluma Boulevard South intercharge after concerns were raised over the high number of traffic signals drivers will encounter while trying to get on or off the freeway.

Read the complete letter here

Construction on the project is slated to start next summer and would include widening the road, creating frontage roads and getting rid of private drive entry points. It's also part of the larger Marin Sonoma Narrows widening that will add two lanes of traffic to Highway 101 from Novato to Northern Petaluma.

But in recent weeks, critics have called the design shoddy and said the transportation agency lacked vision in designing the interchange.

The city council, at last week’s meeting, agreed that the four northbound traffic signals and three southbound would cause congestion on the road. But many council members also agreed that not approving the proposed design would result in losing state funds for any redesign of the interchange.

“We are very mindful of the complex funding package that has been assembled for this project, as well as the tight timeframes associated with that funding, and we do not wish to do anything that jeopardizes the timely delivery of this important project,” Healy wrote in the letter, which will be presented for approval at next week’s council meeting and then sent off to Caltrans.

“With that caveat, however, we do request that Caltrans consider expeditiously whether a nonstandard design that is less disruptive of local traffic would meet the needs of Caltrans.”

Several councilmembers voiced concern of not only the traffic delays that would be created by the installation of the seven new traffic lights, but also the sound wall that would be seen from Shollenberger Park.

Healy's letter asks Caltrans to consider covering the wall with ivy or another plant, to make it more visually appealing. Healy was selected to write the letter in part because he is the former Petaluma representive on the Sonoma County Transportation Authority, on which he served from 2001 to 2006.