Hope you all had a great weekend.
It was just cloudy enough to remind us the biggest American event of the year is coming up.
Two passionate fanbases. One outcome. And a Mascot with way too much power.
Yes, that’s right: Groundhog Day.
Shadow = six more weeks of winter.
No shadow = early spring. And with these clouds… we might already know where this is headed.
Besides slogging a bit longer in winter, here’s what you should know for this upcoming week:
Flood Update (Carry-Over From the Weekend)
That coastal flood advisory is not done with us just yet.
NWS has a Coastal Flood Advisory Monday, Feb 2 from 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM for bayshore spots along San Pablo Bay.
Expect up to ~1.0 ft of water in low-lying shoreline areas, plus the annoying part: flooded lots, parks, and a couple roads around high tide.
The move:
If you’re going to any bayshore spots Monday late morning, bake in one random closure. Realistically, anything in town you’ll probably be fine.
Don’t drive through standing water even if it “looks shallow” even if you see other people doing it. It’s not worth the risk of stalling or engine damage.
First St. (Kohl’s) Construction Update
This might be the biggest real change happening in town right now.
Well, it feeeels huge in my head because I live right by it.
So maybe you already know what the old Kohl’s is turning into. But I did some digging this weekend and here’s what I learned:
What’s getting built…
Two separate seven-story buildings (including rooftops)
Building 1 - Hotel building (up to 161 rooms)
161 rooms? Ya that is “full-service hotel,” not a cute little inn. They’re planning the whole package: restaurant, retail, spa, banquet and ballroom space, plus rooftop stuff (terrace, and they’re even talking a rooftop pool).
Building 2 - Residential building (up to 78 condo units)
This is a condo building with ground-floor retail, plus a second-level pool and spa, and rooftop terrace. There’s also some on-site parking planned on the first level of the residential building.
What else is bundled with it
Brown Street corridor reconstruction (they call it enhanced public space)
Circulation improvements (translation: traffic patterns, access, and how you move through it)
Landscaping + public art (hmm interested to see what this is about)
What to watch for week-to-week
Overnight pours (they explicitly call these out)
Short-term closures or lane shifts that pop up for safety
Truck traffic routing (inbound: Jefferson, outbound: Soscol)
Extra restrictions near First + Main (they’re trying to keep construction trucks from clogging the most sensitive intersection)
These are the big “calendar” items and I will keep you posted on anything that comes up there.
Mentioned this before but think it is worthwhile to reiterate
If you’re heading downtown at peak times (farmer’s market, dinner reservations, etc)…
Assume a detour and give yourself 5–10 extra minutes.
Try to be strategic when picking parking and don’t freak out if you have to circle this zone a few times.
If something feels off, don’t guess. The project has Neighborhood Disturbance Coordinators listed for construction questions: (707) 608-9866 and (415) 605-6536.
One For The Commuters
Caltrans is rolling back the US 101 carpool lane hours in Marin County and Sonoma County after months of complaints.
After all that construction, we still couldn’t use it 9 hours a day, and it just feels like such wasted road space…
What’s changing (not yet, but soon):
New HOV hours: 6–9 AM and 3–6:30 PM, weekdays.
Current hours (for now): 5–10 AM and 3–7 PM, weekdays.
Where it applies:
The whole signed corridor from the Richardson Bay Bridge up to Windsor.
When it actually hits:
Late February (weather permitting) after signage gets swapped. So you won’t feel it this week, but you will soon.
If you drive 101 a lot, just clock the new hours once the signs go up. And don’t make that jump early…you don’t want to be an accidental HOV villain.
That’s the Monday intel.
Stay warm, drive sane, and I will catch you all Friday :)
Callie