City Council Approves $650K Planning Contract for Miller Ave. Overhaul

Nearly two years after approving the Miller Avenue Streetscape Plan, the with BKF Engineers to take the massive overhaul of the main artery from a conceptual plan to preliminary designs. 

The project dates back nearly 12 years, and was famously derailed in the early 2000s when the Friends of Mill Valley led an opposition campaign against the Miller Avenue Precise Plan, which sought to have the overhaul incorporate zoning changes to encourage mixed-use development and affordable housing.

But either as an indication of widespread apathy or a validation of the City Council's revised plan, only three people weighed in at the public hearing Monday night.

“It is amazing that we're launching the biggest construction project the community has ever seen and the room is empty,” Mayor Andy Berman said. “I guess that's a good thing?”

BKF Vice President Robert Stevens will manage the planning process, which includes technical studies to develop a streetscape and infrastructure plan, estimating a construction cost and schedule, and finding additional funding opportunities to help alleviate a $7 million budget shortfall for the $20 million project.  

"We feel like the gap will close as we get a better estimates,” Public Works Director Jill Barnes said.

The work by BKF involves detailed studies of elements like pavement conditions and storm drainage, and taking precise measurements of everything on the street – from curbs to trees to lights – to lay out the groundwork of where everything will go.

“We need to make sure that all the buildings, thresholds, people’s front doors – that everything fits,” Stevens said.

BKF will also develop a "design catalog" that outlines specific designs for aspects like bus shelters, crosswalks, bike racks and other “street furniture,” and the city will establish a design advisory committee to provide feedback.

Barnes said the $650,000 price tag is average for this type of project.

“The reason we want to do that is to be thoughtful about how we delve into this, and make sure we understand what the costs are before we try to implement the project,” Barnes said.

In the meantime, the city will start making temporary improvements to Miller Ave. over the summer, which includes installing bike racks, restriping the street for one lane of traffic in each direction to make room for bikes and pedestrians, and piloting back-in parking.

“We see the project kicking off almost immediately,” Barnes said. “We have a lot of work to accomplish so we want to get into it right away.”

The renovation of nearly two miles of Miller from Sunnyside Ave. to Almonte Boulevard will involve multiple agencies and take an estimated three-plus years – from spring 2014 to the end of 2017.

The project calls for an overhaul of pavement, sidewalks, sewer pipes, storm drains, lighting, landscaping and the creation of a multi-use bicycle and pedestrian path adjacent to the traffic lanes.

It also involves working with Pacific Gas and Electric, Marin Municipal Water District, AT&T, Comcast and the Sewerage Agency of Southern Marin (SASM) to relocate or upgrade their facilities.

That work is expected to begin in the spring of 2014, with the first phase of actual streetscape improvements kicking off in mid-2015. As the project moves forward, BKM will post monthly updates on the city website, and public information will be available in the Mill Valley Public Library and the Mill Valley Community Center.

“This is the biggest public works project that the city is going to be doing,” Berman said. “It’s going to have a major impact for years to come.”

Upcoming Milestones

• Aug. 2013 – BKF presents "cost and implementation findings."
• Sept. 2013 – City Council adopts Streetscape Implementation Plan
• Oct.-Dec. 2013 – Public outreach on design elements
• November or December – public outreach about design elements
• Jan. 2014 – City Council adopts design catalog
• Spring 2014 – Utility work begins
• Mid-2015 – Streetscape construction begins

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3. Mill Valley Looks to Get $20M Miller Ave. Transformation Back on Track
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