Supes Rename Tennessee Valley Path the Charles McGlashan Pathway

Many of Carol Misseldine’s first dates with her late husband, Marin County Supervisor Charles McGlashan, involved riding their bikes together when they moved to Marin in 2000.

The Tennessee Valley Pathway offered, “good climbs and killer mountain views," she said, "and Charles would tell me, again, how beautiful it would be when it was done."

“I’m certain he would be deeply honored to have this pathway named after him,” Misseldine said.

The Marin County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved such a request on Tuesday. The path, which just got a massive facelift as part of the (not-yet-finished) $3.4 million overhaul of the Hwy. 1-Tennessee Valley Rd. intersection, will soon become the Charles McGlashan Pathway.

McGlashan died of heart failure at the age of 49 in March 2011 after a day of skiing in the North Lake Tahoe area with a group of friends and colleagues. His untimely death sent shockwaves through Marin. The Tennessee Valley Pathway is one of many initiatives McGlashan is credited for pushing forward during his seven years on the board. He was elected to his first term in 2004 and helped find the funding for it as part of the $25 million federal grant to fund the Nonmotorized Transportation Pilot Program (NTPP) in 2007.

Submitted by the Marin County Bicycle Coalition and backed by Marin County Parks & Open Space Commission the proposal to name the path after him generated enthusiastic community support - which many people vocalized at the meeting.

Heidi Adler, a board member at Access4Bikes, remembered McGlashan as a “visionary, a great environmentalist and a true hero.”

“Thank you so much for considering this beautiful tribute,” Adler said. “Charles was a dear friend to the bike community.”

San Rafael resident Dave Coury remarked that people along the pathway experience a natural beauty that transcends even what Marin in known for.

Perhaps it does McGlashan justice?

“I don’t know if anyone will ever come up with an adequate memorial because he burned very bright,” Coury said. “But this is a good step.”