Sir Francis Drake Boulevard Median Landscaping

Overview and background

The Sir Francis Drake Boulevard (SFDB) Median Trees & Entryway Landscaping project is slated to start construction in summer 2023, following the SFDB Street Lighting construction project.

The initial landscape scope of the Upgrade The Drake project included landscape improvements only to areas directly affected by the street improvements. With the benefit of additional funds from County Service Area 17 (CSA 17), the landscape scope of the project was expanded to include new planting in all the center medians in the corridor within the area of work, as well as landscape improvements at key entryways. The median landscaping for the Upgrade The Drake project was placed on hold due to the drought and mandatory water use restrictions that were in place in 2021 and into 2022. Due to increased costs affected by inflation and budgetary limitations, the planting scope of the current landscaping project has been simplified to only include new trees within the center medians, with the ability to add shrubs and groundcover plantings in the future, if funding allows.

The SFDB Median & Entryway Landscaping project includes:

• Soil improvements and sheet mulching
• New irrigation systems
• New trees
• If funds allow, new shrubs and groundcover plants at key entryways

The landscape design incorporates:

• Trees that are drought tolerant, CA native, resilient to climate change, sequester carbon, and offer shade, color, and seasonal interest.
• Sheet mulching that will build the health of the soils to support the trees’ roots, as well as suppress weeds and reduce maintenance costs.
• New smart irrigation systems that are efficient and conserve water, and are also easily expandable to support future planting if funding allows.

Funding

Landscape improvements are funded in part by County Service Area 17 (CSA 17), as well as by the County of Marin Department of Public Works’ (DPW) Road and Bridge fund. CSA 17 funds ongoing maintenance of medians through this portion of the Sir Francis Drake Boulevard corridor. County Service Areas 16 (CSA 16) also will develop new plantings along the north frontage of the corridor to meet the same criteria.

Traffic impacts

Potential  traffic impacts associated with this median landscaping work should be expected, but efforts will be taken to minimize disturbance. The extent of any potential traffic impacts will be announced in advance of any active work. It is expected that much of the project implementation will be targeted for the summer months when school is not in session, to reduce related traffic impacts.

Timeline

Summer 2023

• Anticipated start

Fall 2023

• Anticipated completion