San Rafael To Activate Pedestrian Hybrid Beacon

SAN RAFAEL, CA — A long-awaited San Rafael pedestrian safety project is about to go live.

The pedestrian hybrid beacon (PHB) signal on Third Street in front of San Rafael High School is expected to be activated Thursday, city officials said.

The San Rafael High School Crosswalk project has been in the works since 2018 and had been expected to be completed earlier this year but it was delayed by the late arrival of some parts.

The traffic signal cabinet and controller arrived finally arrived in March and city officials on April 5 announced the project had finally been completed.

“A long-range goal of the City and San Rafael City Schools and has been a more direct connection between San Rafael High School and the Montecito Shopping Center,” city officials said in a statement.

“Because of the speed and volume of vehicles on Third Street, a PHB is the most appropriate treatment for this crossing.”

The School District and the City collaborated through the outreach, design, and applications for grant funding and were successful in securing $400,000 to construct the new crossing.

The project cost around $500,000 according to the city's website, $200,000 of which went toward planning and $300,000 toward construction.

The project was funded by Local Measure AA to provide a midblock pedestrian crossing between the school and Montecito Plaza.