Mill Valley is trying to cut traffic. Old Mill’s bike racks are part of it

What’s happening: Last school year, Old Mill Elementary Principal Jason Matlon looked at the bike racks and saw something the school had never seen. “I looked at the bike racks and they were completely full and overflowing,” he said. The school bought another rack.

The data points the same way. Before a pilot run by the city’s Traffic Mobility Advisory Committee, known as TMAC, a counter at the school’s lower gate recorded an average of 45 walkers and 10 bikers a day. In the last two-week period TMAC reported, May 24 to June 6, it averaged 66 walkers and 22 bikers, TMAC’s data shows. By our math, using TMAC’s figure of 250 students, that is the equivalent of about 22% of the school at the start and about 35% at the end.

Why it matters: The city is trying several ways to ease congestion. Adaptive signals on East Blithedale, activated in November 2025, have helped in some ways and not in others. Midday travel times fell around 13%, but eastbound afternoon times toward Highway 101 rose 4%, according to a February evaluation. Caltrans controls the two signals nearest the ramps, and the longer-term fix, a redesigned interchange, is years away. Councilmember Stephen Burke made the case in May that adding road capacity tends to draw more drivers. “Our behavior is the problem,” he said. The Briefing reported in May.

The city’s climate goals raise the stakes. Transportation is 61% of Mill Valley’s emissions, according to the 2024 greenhouse gas inventory, and passenger vehicles are 80% of that. The inventory counts trips that start or end in Mill Valley, so it covers more than residents’ driving. Mill Valley is 31% below its estimated 1990 level and has set a 2030 goal of 47% below 1990 levels, which leaves another 16% to cut. The Briefing reported in October. Staff says progress depends partly on behavior change.

That is where TMAC comes in. Bill Hoppin, who chairs the committee, told the Oct. 19 joint meeting of the City Council and school board that it was created to take over from a committee focused on bike and pedestrian access, and that its mandate is now reducing traffic. TMAC’s roadmap sets a target of 10% less congestion by 2030, measured by an annual review. Hoppin said school drop-off and pickup is one of the biggest areas of traffic in town. Each student who walks or bikes is one less car at the peak hours.

The context: TMAC chose Old Mill, a hilly downtown school, because Hoppin likes to start with the hardest case and the principal was willing. TMAC installed the counter and posted a progress sign out front, updated every two weeks. Principal Matlon steered the pilot toward a goal for the whole school rather than prizes for the kids who walked or biked the most. Matlon said the school doesn’t know why each family chooses how it gets to school, and it tries not to judge. A parent might have had a bad bike accident as a child, he said, or a family might live farther away in a more affordable home. The city paid for two bikes, which went to students who didn’t already have one.

Parent Nicole McClay, who has worked with TMAC on the effort, said she and her kids now see and say hello to the same families on the street. What it took, she said, was “having faith that my kids could be on their own without me.” Her older two sometimes go to school by themselves.

Ryan Loften grew up behind Old Mill Park. He founded and runs Mt. Tam Bikes Camp, helped install the counter and is the father of a former Old Mill student. His 11-year-old daughter now rides to Mill Valley Middle School two days a week. He said one-day bike-to-school events had been “somewhat performative,” and the goal was a daily habit.

What’s still needed: The school is getting close to how far this can go, Matlon said, though he would hate to say it’s there. “There’s going to be a cap on how many people will be able to do it,” he said. Parents worry about road safety, and some may stay out until driving etiquette improves and there are more dedicated bike lanes. He acknowledged that Mill Valley’s roads can’t really be widened.

McClay said parents hesitate over what the safest bike route to school is, and there may not be many good alternatives for them. She said it takes upfront effort from parents to teach kids road safety, and many don’t have the time. She would like to see more chances for parents to learn about bike safety in a community setting.

Loften said East Blithedale has a bike lane but he won’t lead groups on it. He said drivers cross the double yellow at a blind corner on Throckmorton Ave on the way up to the school. He said the remaining obstacles are finding time in the morning, hills and whether parents trust the route.

Infrastructure moves slower than a school year. A Lomita Drive bike lane at Edna Maguire, a county project, was funded six or seven years ago, according to January notes from the Mill Valley School District’s Safe Routes to School Task Force. Councilmember Urban Carmel said at the Oct. 19 meeting that the first phase is underway and the second comes next year.

The city has applied twice for an Active Transportation Program grant, a state program, and had not won funding as of April, according to notes from the Safe Routes to School Task Force. The notes say the city was advised to refocus its application on disadvantaged communities, including seniors east of Camino Alto, and to show better connections to schools and seniors. Separately, Hoppin told the Oct. 19 meeting that the Old Mill results make a good argument for funding the program at more schools.

What’s next: Edna Maguire is next. TMAC plans to set a baseline by the end of the year with a different counter built for the school’s wider entrances, then run the program after the holidays. At Old Mill, Hoppin said cargo-bike parking is under active discussion. After Edna, he said, he would like to reach three or four more schools, depending on budget.

TMAC expects a long-term traffic plan by its Nov. 18 meeting. Residents can sign up for TMAC updates and event invitations on the committee’s sign-up page.

Mill Valley is in line for $453,000 to design the roundabout it proposes for Miller, Montford and La Goma, the first money the city has won from the regional grant program, according to Metropolitan Transportation Commission records. It would not pay to build it. The Transportation Authority of Marin (TAM) backed the nomination Thursday, and the regional commission decides early next year. The full story, including how a last-ranked project got funded and what has to happen before anyone builds it, is in Monday’s Briefing for paid subscribers.

Meanwhile, the city is surveying residents on the interim pilot at the intersection, which swapped the left-turn lanes for protected pedestrian buffers in August. Survey here.

On Oct. 12, 1918, G. G. Hurt published a notice in the Mill Valley Record for local parents. Mill Valley, he wrote, was “free from contagious diseases just now.” Influenza was spreading rapidly in San Francisco. Parents should use caution when their children played with others from the city. There was nothing to worry about here.

Two weeks later, there were 54 cases in town. Two people were dead.

The epidemic had been arriving in stages, visible in the Record if you knew where to look. On Oct. 5, the “Passing Throng” column noted, between a recital and a fishing trip, that a Mill Valley man had reached Mare Island but could not come home: the naval base was quarantined on account of a case of Spanish influenza. A week later, the Red Cross Shop closed pending “abatement of the disease.” At Lockwood’s Pharmacy, a throat spray called Dobell’s Solution went on sale as a preventative.

The Board of Health convened on Oct. 19. District health officer Dr. Gillihan recommended keeping schools open: children running unsupervised through town posed more risk than supervised classrooms. The Record reprinted the Surgeon General’s full bulletin the same week. Influenza spread through “droplet infection,” it explained: tiny particles expelled by coughing, sneezing, forceful talking. The subhead read: “As Dangerous as Poison Gas Shells.”

By Oct. 26, Dr. Spottiswood was treating 54 cases. Two people had died. Among those who would not survive the epidemic was Eva A. Finn, a 50-year-old Mill Valley resident. All public gatherings were discontinued. Church services moved outdoors. Red Cross workers returned to the rooms with new instructions: “All must wear masks.”

On Oct. 28, the city passed Ordinance No. 202. Masks were required in public, made of “not less than four plys or layers of gauze.” Violations were a misdemeanor, punishable by fine or imprisonment. On Nov. 3, Raymond Coyne photographed a group at the train platform at Locust and Miller avenues. One woman wore a sign across her chest: “Wear a mask or go to jail.”

By Nov. 9, two days before the Armistice, the grade schools were still closed. School board secretary Edna M. Boland explained why in the Record. Mill Valley had recorded 84 cases, nearly 3% of the town’s population. The schools would not reopen until conditions improved in San Francisco. “Mill Valley,” Boland wrote, “because of the large number who daily commute, is a part of San Francisco.”

Sources: Mill Valley Record, Oct. 5, 1918; Oct. 12, 1918 (2); Oct. 19, 1918 (2); Oct. 26, 1918 (2); Nov. 2, 1918; Nov. 9, 1918. Eva A. Finn: Mill Valley Historical Society. Photo: Raymond Coyne, Nov. 3, 1918 / Lucretia Little History Room, Mill Valley Public Library (2018.023.126); copyright The Annual Dipsea Race.

Delphine, the restaurant taking over the former Gravity Tavern space, is targeting a late November opening, possibly Thanksgiving week, pending final approvals. Owner Betül Akdag Kinalilar, who also runs Troya in San Francisco and Troya Mediterranean in Tiburon, told the Briefing the timeline depends on completing the remaining approvals and inspections. There is no firm opening date yet, and the last outstanding step is the health department’s final inspection.

The Briefing’s downtown storefront tracker is updated the minute we can confirm something.

Sunday, October 25

🐶 4th Annual MV Howl-O-Ween Dog Costume Contest, Mill Valley Lumber Yard (129 Miller Ave), 10:30–11:30am. Costumed canines parade the outdoor courtyards with prizes awarded for the most creative outfits. Free to spectate and participate.

🎃 Pumpkin Painting on the Plaza, Downtown Plaza (85 Throckmorton Ave), 11am–1pm. Outdoor family pumpkin painting session hosted by the Mill Valley Chamber of Commerce and Tamalpais Paints ($30 per pumpkin; supplies provided).

🎸 Dan Patrick, The Depot Cafe & Bookstore (87 Throckmorton Ave), 4–6pm. Live acoustic set on the downtown plaza. Free entry; all ages (weather permitting).

Monday, October 26

📚 Author Talk: How to Look Away with Daniel Peña and Sasha Vasilyuk, Mill Valley Public Library, 6:30–7:30pm. Authors discuss borderlands, politics, and historical memory in the Creekside Room at 375 Throckmorton Ave. Free; registration required.

🎸 Marin School of the Arts Rock Bands Showcase, Sweetwater Music Hall (19 Corte Madera Ave), 7pm. High school rock ensembles perform live on the Sweetwater stage. All ages; doors open at 6pm.

Tuesday, October 27

🎤 Open Mic Night with Caroline DeLone, Sweetwater Music Hall (19 Corte Madera Ave), 7pm. Local singer-songwriters and musicians perform live on the historic stage. All ages.

🎭 Tuesday Night Comedy, Throckmorton Theatre (142 Throckmorton Ave), 8–10pm. Weekly stand-up showcase featuring top Bay Area comedians, rising talent, and special guests. Doors open at 7:30pm.

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