Tiburon selects contractor for traffic study

Tiburon has enlisted an engineering firm to help revamp its major streets.

The Town Council awarded Parametrix, a construction engineering company with an office in Sausalito, a contract of up to $360,000 for a transportation and infrastructure study. The study will analyze the needs of the town’s transportation network, specifically around Tiburon Boulevard, and help come up with solutions to congestion and other issues.

“I think it’s really important that any consultants we bring in and any plan that we have, we have to identify the problem, what is causing the problem,” Councilmember Isaac Nikfar said. “And then we have to have a reasonable set of solutions that we can do to alleviate the traffic, because at least from what I’m experiencing and from what I’m hearing about, it’s only getting worse.”

The study will focus on three major areas: Tiburon Boulevard from Blackfield Drive to Beach Road; the route between Tiburon Boulevard and Paradise Drive on Trestle Glen Boulevard; and the stretch between Main Street and Trestle Glen Boulevard along Paradise Drive. It also will look at traffic patterns around Reed Union School District schools and St. Hilary Catholic School during pickup and dropoff times.

The goal is to have a report with possible improvements to Tiburon’s roads and infrastructure that could be made within five years, as well as other long-term ideas.

Three firms were interviewed for the job, and Parametrix was the most qualified, according to town staff. The Town Council voted unanimously to award the contract at its May 15 meeting, with Vice Mayor Holli Thier and Councilmember Jon Welner absent.

Parametrix showed a commitment to community outreach, has experience working with Caltrans and successfully completed similar projects in the county, among other qualifications, said David Eshoo, public works engineering manager.

“Parametrix also submitted a separate fee proposal to perform the work totaling $378,265, and staff negotiated that down to $368,000,” Eshoo said. “We removed one public outreach workshop and we are combining it into a Town Council meeting.”

Councilmember Jack Ryan said he wants the study to result in a list of projects, estimated costs and an explanation about how each project would improve traffic.

“So that subsequent to that, we can go and decide what we spend money on to improve traffic,” Ryan said.

Eshoo said such a list would be part of phase two of the project between December and February. The list will be vetted by Caltrans before it is presented to the Town Council.

Nikfar added that the study will need to include the proposed housing development requirements outlined in the town’s housing element — about 400 new dwellings downtown and 200 elsewhere —  and how that housing could affect traffic.

The award required some budget adjustments. The budget for the 2023-24 fiscal year was amended to include $100,000 from American Rescue Plan Act funding to pay for the project. Additionally, the budget for the 2024-25 fiscal year was changed to include the projected remaining amount for the contract.

The firm hopes to have study results to analyze by next summer.