What's happening: City council voted unanimously Wednesday night to approve a three-month pilot program converting the dedicated left-turn lanes on both approaches of Miller Avenue at Montford Avenue and La Goma Street into protected pedestrian buffers, marked with flex posts and bollards. The lane next to each former turn pocket becomes a shared lane, carrying both through traffic and left turns, so drivers can still turn left from both directions, just from a different lane than before.
A rendering shows the new lane configuration under the pilot program, with the dedicated left-turn lane eliminated. (City of Mill Valley, staff report)
Senior Project Manager John Brencic and Deputy Director of Public Works Jared Barrilleaux presented the plan for Public Works, following council questions and public comment.
Why it matters: The timing works out. Miller Avenue finished a slurry seal this week, and staff told council permanent striping is due within days. Whatever gets painted down will shape how residents navigate the intersection for months to come.
The context: Consultant Kittelson & Associates identified the intersection as the highest priority in an 11-intersection corridor safety study, citing 31 crashes there between 2015 and 2024, with broadside collisions the most common type.
A Briefing review of the state's crash reporting system found Montford/La Goma ranks 21st in Marin County for crashes at a single intersection over the past decade. Five of the six highest-crash intersections countywide, ranging from 60 to 89 crashes over the decade, are in San Rafael; the sixth is in Novato. That ranking counts raw crashes, not traffic volume, so busier intersections naturally rank higher regardless of whether they're actually more dangerous.
The new design narrows the distance pedestrians cross by one fewer car lane, adds median refuge areas, and extends bike lane markings through the intersection for better visibility. A full signal was ruled out because the existing intersection layout doesn't allow left turns off the side streets to run at the same time as a signal phase without conflicting, which would require adjusting the signal timing in a way staff said defeats the purpose. A turn restriction at Montford and La Goma was dropped after emergency services said it would add complexity for emergency response.
The discussion: Brencic told council the redesign is projected to add about 11 seconds to the average wait through the intersection during the weekday evening peak, rising from 17 to 28 seconds, with the increase concentrated on Miller Avenue rather than the side streets.
Councilmember Urban Carmel backed the pilot and put it in context. "This has been something that has been discussed as long as I've been in city government, which is now over 10 years," Carmel said. "We need to take some action here." He named the tradeoff directly: "The reward is going to be better safety, we hope. The cost is a delay. And we need to clearly communicate that it’s going to be a delay, but it becomes a more clear intersection." He set expectations for what happens if it doesn't work: "Let's monitor this closely. If this is a disaster, let's pull the plug."
The Miller Ave intersection at Montford and La Goma on July 23. The city finished a slurry seal this week, and staff told council permanent striping is due within days. (MVB, July 23)
Councilmember Stephen Burke raised a different angle, pointing to driver behavior rather than the intersection's design. "I think it's less about volume and more about driver behavior and human behavior," Burke said, "and how people drive today versus the way they drove 10 or 15 years ago." Burke estimated, and staff confirmed, that the corridor carried roughly 73 million trips through the intersection since 2015, against the 31 crashes cited in the study. That figure lines up closely with a Briefing calculation based on Kittelson's own peak-hour traffic counts.
A resident who spoke during public comment echoed a related concern from the other side of the podium, arguing the intersection's problems come down to enforcement rather than design. He described drivers who roll through the stop signs without checking cross traffic and called for more police presence at the intersection.
A before-and-after look at Miller Avenue looking west. Under the pilot, pedestrians cross one fewer car lane and have a wider median refuge area. (City of Mill Valley, staff report)
Vice Mayor Caroline Joachim pressed staff directly on emergency access and whether police had weighed in on evacuation planning for the new configuration. Staff said the question came up at the Traffic and Mobility Advisory Committee and that emergency response shaped the design itself. Fire apparatus can maneuver around stacked traffic into the bike lane or the old turn pocket, driving over the flex posts, which aren't rigid barriers, and evacuation flow out of the neighborhood wouldn't typically involve left turns off Miller in the first place.
Brencic summarized staff's rationale for the design: "Success is a safer intersection. Less crashes, less confusion. That's why we are reducing the number of lanes that you have to pay attention to, providing more visibility of bicyclists and pedestrians."
Joachim also raised a timing concern of her own. "My concern is that we're rolling out this pilot program before school... I don't know how many people know this is coming."
What's next: Staff said Kittelson expects enough before-and-after data within about three months to recommend keeping, modifying or removing the changes. If the data isn't conclusive, staff said they would return to council to request a three-month extension. A three-week public survey is planned to gather resident feedback once the new striping is in place.
Separately, the city is seeking a $3.2 million grant to study and conceptually design longer-term options at the intersection, including a roundabout, before the community settles on a final approach. Carmel cautioned the funding isn't guaranteed. The Briefing will follow this as it moves through the Transportation Authority of Marin later this year.
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This week in Mill Valley history: The summer town
Before Mill Valley was a city, it was a season.
In the 1890s, San Francisco families arrived by ferry and train every June, settling into camps and hotels in the canyons for the summer. The train that brought them in was a narrow-gauge line of the North Pacific Coast Railroad, pulling into the original Mill Valley Station at Sunnyside and Miller Avenue.
Families gathered outside their homes on Creek Lane and the other narrow roads that wound through the redwoods.
The Haker family at 9 Creek Lane, circa 1890. (Courtesy of the Lucretia Little History Room, Mill Valley Public Library)
By August the camps were full. Three hotels competed for visitors: the Bellevue, the Monte Vista and the Eastland, the last of which sat in Blithedale Canyon, run by a woman named Mrs. Cullen, who kept a pet deer — and lost it that summer. The Blithedale Hotel drew guests who played croquet on the grounds in hats and long dresses on summer afternoons.
Guests at the Blithedale Hotel, circa 1890, playing croquet on the hotel grounds. (Courtesy of the Lucretia Little History Room, Mill Valley Public Library)
Some families came for the hotels. Others brought tents. The Bostwick and Stewart families were among those who set up camp in the redwood canyons, posing before their striped tents for a photograph that still survives in the History Room on Throckmorton.
The Bostwick and Stewart families camping in Mill Valley, circa 1900. (Courtesy of the Lucretia Little History Room, Mill Valley Public Library)
Constantine's Oyster House served seafood. Wheeler Martin's Grocery stood opposite the fountain. C.E. Cline ran the pool room. P. Rochefort had a lunch stand near the Cascade Falls, a popular destination for summer visitors. Dowd Brothers drove parties to the big redwoods.
Deer were plentiful enough that Ralston White shot two bucks. A minstrel show was held on a neighbor's grounds on Cascade Drive. Len Schwartz made the piano hum even though six notes were broken. The male quartet missed the last boat back to San Francisco.
The town had about 200 residents. The sewers were getting odorous. The fire company had collected money by subscription and was quarreling about how to spend it. There were no paved streets — in rain, they turned to mud several inches deep. The sidewalks, where they existed, were two planks wide, with a handrail.
By late August the camps were fast being deserted. The San Francisco families packed up and went back across the bay. Mill Valley waited for the following June.
The town incorporated in September 1900. The summer families stayed, built year-round homes, and eventually the season became a place.
Sources: Mill Valley Record, October 22, 1927; Mill Valley Record, March 1, 1940. Details drawn from the August 12, 1893 issue of the Mill Valley Times as reprinted in the Record. Photos courtesy of the Lucretia Little History Room, Mill Valley Public Library.
Why you didn't get a fire alert on your phone this week, and when you actually would
A wave of reader messages and social media posts after the July 27 Hillside Ave fire all asked some version of the same question. Residents who thought they were signed up for everything got nothing, or got an email with no text, while a plane dropped retardant half a mile from City Hall. Mill Valley Briefing spoke with MVPD Lt. Shaun McCracken this week to find out why.
What actually happened on July 27?
MVPD and Southern Marin Fire were dispatched to a vegetation fire near Hillside Avenue at about 4:42pm. Crews pinpointed the exact location of the fire by about 5pm, found no structures were threatened, and determined the rate of spread was slow enough to call in a helicopter and a fixed-wing aircraft rather than order any protective action. MVPD and fire officials never called for a shelter in place or an evacuation.
Why didn't Alert Marin send anything?
Alert Marin, Marin County's primary emergency alert system, only activates for a shelter in place, evacuation warning or evacuation order, targeted to a radius or zone set by the incident commander on scene. Because neither was issued on July 27, Alert Marin never activated at all, regardless of how close a resident was to the fire.
Why did some people get a Nixle email but not a text?
Nixle sends three tiers of message. Community messages go to email only. Advisory messages, the tier used on July 27, are supposed to go to email or text, but a platform-level default means any account with both an email and mobile number saved gets the advisory by email only. MVPD says that can't be changed on their end. Only a full alert reaches text and email regardless of settings. But a full alert wasn’t issued.
Why did it take until 5:37pm to send the Nixle advisory?
MVPD confirmed that timestamp. In the window right after the dispatch, officers' first priority was making direct contact with the residents closest to the fire, before turning to a broader advisory for the rest of the community. Lt. McCracken told the Briefing: "the Police Department's first priority is providing timely information and warnings to residents in the immediate vicinity of the fire. Once those notifications are complete, we will shift our focus to providing situational information and updates to the broader community as conditions and resources allow."
What would have happened if the fire had gotten worse?
A shelter in place, evacuation warning or evacuation order would have made Alert Marin the primary system, but MVPD supervisors are trained to duplicate that message as a full Nixle alert too, for residents who never registered for Alert Marin. For a mass evacuation, the backstops are the city's LRAD siren system, along with officers going door to door and Hi-Lo sirens.
So what should I actually do?
The email-only default for Nixle advisories is a platform limit, not something you can toggle in your existing settings. But there is a workaround. Since the default only kicks in when an account has both an email and a phone number saved, removing your email from your Nixle account, or setting up a new account with only your phone number, will get you text messages for advisory-level notices like the one on July 27. A full alert, MVPD's highest tier, always reaches your phone, whether you have an email listed or not.
What matters most is being registered for Alert Marin. The county has been direct about the distinction between the two systems: Nixle can't place phone calls or send full-length texts, so it isn't considered an emergency alerting tool. Alert Marin is the only system built to deliver alerts by phone call, text, and email together, and it's what MVPD and the county are actually steering residents toward.
Sign up for Alert Marin here: https://emergency.marincounty.gov/sign-alertmarin
What we covered this week
🚌 Transit overhaul boosts ridership, speeds up Mill Valley's Route 17. Three months into MASCOTS, the regional transit overhaul that realigned SMART, Golden Gate Transit and Marin Transit schedules on April 12, ridership is up across the board and the Route 17 bus through Mill Valley runs faster on weekdays after dropping its Strawberry Village detour. We reported on the numbers behind the rollout.
✔️ Council approves sewer fees, forms district to send municipal service tax to voters. City Council approved new sewer fees for fiscal year 2026-27 and formed Community Facilities District No. 2026-1, sending the Municipal Service Tax to a special election.
🔥 Minute by minute: how crews stopped Monday's Hillside Avenue fire. A vegetation fire broke out above Hillside Avenue Monday afternoon, drawing a fast, multi-agency air response before firefighters stopped it in under 90 minutes. We reported minute by minute on the aircraft involved, what fuel-break work did to slow the fire and what one family did as helicopters dropped water nearby.
🚗 Take one car: the math behind Mill Valley's evacuation plan. Mill Valley's evacuation plan asks residents to take one car, not two, if a bigger wildfire ever forces the city out. We reported on the traffic modeling behind that ask, the on-ramp that is only an option during an evacuation and where the city's preparations stand.
⚾ 12U All-Stars' historic state tournament run ends. Mill Valley's 12U All-Stars, the town's last Little League team still playing this summer, saw their season end in the Northern California state tournament. We reported on how the run compared to the team's history and the numbers behind it.
📰 Survey: Marin residents struggle to find local news. A countywide survey found Marin residents have an unusually hard time finding local news. We reported on what the numbers show and where to read the full study.
If you want to read about any of these stories as they develop, the weekday Briefing lands in your inbox at 6am (Mon/Wed/Fri through the summer). A paid subscription makes this reader-funded, local news operation possible. It’s $12 per month, which you can cancel anytime, and the annual subscription comes out to less than $2.50 a week. Upgrading is only two clicks if you use Apple Pay.
📅 Next week in Mill Valley
Mon, Aug 3 – Coffee Chat with Mayor Perrey, Mendocino Farms, 4-6pm. Join Mayor Max Perrey and Councilmember Katherine Jones at Mendocino Farms (745 E. Blithedale Ave) in the Alto Center shopping plaza for a casual opportunity to ask questions, share feedback, and chat with local city leadership. Free entry; all ages welcome.
Mon, Aug 3 – Brian Melvin’s Grateful Jam, Sweetwater, 8pm. The Days Between Jerry Garcia celebration continues at 19 Corte Madera Ave with drummer Brian Melvin leading an all-star lineup through improvisational Grateful Dead classics. All ages; doors open at 7pm.
Tue, Aug 4 – National Night Out 2026, Depot Plaza, 5-7pm. The Mill Valley Police Department hosts its annual community-building celebration in the plaza at Throckmorton and Miller. Enjoy free burgers fresh off the grill, Angela's Ice Cream, face painting, games, vehicle displays from Police, Southern Marin Fire, and DPW, plus booths from local organizations. Free entry; all ages welcome.
Tue, Aug 4 – First Tuesday ArtWalk, Downtown Mill Valley, 5:30-7:30pm. Take an evening stroll through downtown Mill Valley and local venues for opening receptions, light bites, and new exhibitions. Highlights include photography by Dana Christensen at Throckmorton Theatre, mixed-media work by Rachel Davis and Stela Mandel at The Depot Cafe, abstract group works at the O'Hanlon Center for the Arts, and regional oil paintings at City Hall. Free entry; all ages welcome.
Tue, Aug 4 – Big Steve Parish & "All Things Jerry", Sweetwater, 5:30pm. Legendary Grateful Dead roadie, stage manager, and Jerry Garcia Band confidant Steve Parish hosts an evening of stories, history, and lore celebrating the life of Jerry Garcia at 19 Corte Madera Ave. All ages; doors open at 5pm.
Tue, Aug 4 – Tuesday Night Comedy, Throckmorton Theatre, 8-10pm. Throckmorton’s acclaimed weekly comedy night brings a theater-style stage and an intimate club atmosphere to 142 Throckmorton Ave. Hosted by Cody Smit, tonight's lineup features headliner Scott Capurro alongside Mateen Stewart, Natasha Vinik, and Hayden Remi. Doors open at 7:30pm.
Wed, Aug 5 – Wednesday on Stage: Oakland Originalz, Mill Valley Public Library, 3:30-4:30pm. Head to the Outdoor Amphitheater at 375 Throckmorton Ave for an energetic performance by Oakland Originalz break-dancers. Expect agility, flips, spins, and freestyle moves celebrating hip-hop culture. Free entry; open to all ages with no registration required.
Wed, Aug 5 – First Wednesday: Maria Muldaur, Mill Valley Public Library, 6:30-8pm. Multi-Grammy-nominated singer and raconteur Maria Muldaur ("Midnight at the Oasis") joins interviewer Larry Carlin in the Creekside Room at 375 Throckmorton Ave for a special conversation exploring her six-decade career in American roots music and 50 years living in Mill Valley. Registration required; currently full (waitlist available). Designed for adults.
Thu, Aug 6 – End of Summer Party!, Mill Valley Public Library, 3:30-5pm. Celebrate the end of summer reading in the Outdoor Amphitheater and Smart Garden at 375 Throckmorton Ave. Features a live reptile show by the East Bay Vivarium, face painting, bubbles, food, and family-friendly activities. Free entry; all ages welcome with no registration required.
Thu, Aug 6 – Trivia Night, The Depot Cafe and Bookstore, 5:30pm. Co-hosts Lynne and Simon "The Brit" lead a popular night of quiz show fun and playful group therapy on the plaza. Picture trivia, wild categories, and gift card prizes await those who know a little too much about obscure topics. Free entry; all ages welcome.
Thu, Aug 6 – See What Love Can Do: Jerry Garcia Band Tribute, Sweetwater, 8pm. Continuing Sweetwater's Days Between series at 19 Corte Madera Ave, this high-energy tribute band re-creates the soulful, gospel-infused grooves of the Jerry Garcia Band. All ages; doors open at 7pm.
Fri, Aug 7 – Musical Feast, The Depot Cafe and Bookstore, 5:30pm. An alt-country-folk-rock ensemble blending Bonnie Raitt, John Prine, Springsteen, and Petty with guitars, flute, violin, and gorgeous vocal harmonies live on the plaza. Free entry; all ages welcome.
Fri, Aug 7 – Creekside Unplugged at the Cabin: Fog City Swampers, 60 Tennessee Valley Road, 5-7:30pm. The neighborhood series moves over to the Cabin for an intimate outdoor concert featuring classic rock favorites from the Fog City Swampers. No food or drinks will be sold on-site, so pack a picnic or grab takeout from local spots in Tam Junction. Free entry; all ages welcome.
Fri, Aug 7 – Flamin' Groovies with Hot Laundry, Sweetwater, 8pm. Iconic San Francisco garage-rock pioneers hit the stage at 19 Corte Madera Ave alongside Hot Laundry for a night of classic rock-and-roll energy. All ages; doors open at 7pm.
Sat, Aug 8 – August Maker's Market, Mill Valley Lumber Yard, 11am-5pm. Head over to 129 Miller Ave for a sunny outdoor artisan market featuring 15 local makers offering handmade jewelry, pottery, candles, apparel, and leather goods. Enjoy live music, community vibes, and kid- and pet-friendly fun. Free entry; open to all ages.
Sat, Aug 8 – Artists Talk: In the Abstract, O’Hanlon Center for the Arts, 4-6pm. Artists featured in the current "In the Abstract" exhibition gather at 616 Throckmorton Ave to discuss their work, creative processes, and inspiration. Free entry; all ages welcome.
🔍 Businesses and venues mentioned in this section are covered on editorial merit only. No business has paid for coverage. Promotional content is always labeled.
