Marin Real Estate Blog

I hesitate to jump on the bandwagon to sing praises to the improved 101 traffic in Marin County since they opened the lanes on a stretch of San Rafael in first quarter, 2009. 

It amazes me to see people who hardly drive on 101 filming the traffice at 6:00AM while reporting how great the traffic is ;-) 

As a Realtor, commuting during traffic hours is not the norm as I have the priviledge to schedule appointments away from traffic hours and that is what I normally do.

I feel that for reliability, I have to wait until I actually have the chance to drive during traffic hours regularly before reporting with confidence about the improvement, if any. 

Well, my younger son signed up for classes at Cal.  The classes start at 8:10am / 9:10am; and I have the priviledge of driving him to UC during traffice hours every morning for the last two weeks.

So far, I am very impressed by how much traffic has improved.

During the height of construction period, it took me up to 1 hour  to inch from North Novato to just befroe Central San Rafael.  This includes finding all local detours (which many don't know) to avoid the heavies 101 traffic depending on how each stretch of traffic is moving at the time.

And now, I can be on the Richmond bridge in just over 20 minutes and be in the middle of Cal campus (which includes driving through the famously painful Unversity Avenue) in abuot 35 minutes. 

O.K. I have to admit that I took advantage of the car pool lane with my younger son in the car.  However, I was able to observe the heavier part of traffic when I drove by.  There are still stretches where the traffic slows down but the stretch is much shorter - just before St. Pablo and right after that exit.  The traffic, although slower, is not that bad.  The cars still move along nicely isntead of the agonizing stop and go.

In addition, I also surveyed my clients who commute to the city for work.  The reports are a resounding YES! on how much better the traffic is now.  A client told me the improvement is anywhere from 30 to 45 minutes driving the 101 stretch in Marin county.  I am pleased to hear that. 

So, my overall report on the 101 widening project in Central Marin, although slow in coming, is - Yes, A Great Improvement!   

Nestled in the hills of desirable Gerstle Park; this almost new, immaculate bungalow with bay, bridge and city view; is a rare find.  Walk up the stairs to the tiled front deck framed by gorgeous surrounding views.

The glass front wood door welcomes you while allowing sunshine into this sweet and compact but high efficient home.

Small but cleverly designed kitchen has slate tile floor, granite counter, stainless steel appliances, spotlights, under counter lighting and ample storage.  There is a breakfast area and an adjacent granite top breakfast bar/workstation combination. 

Cozy living room with dramatic fireplace set the stage.  Huge picture windows bring in plenty of sunlight and the gorgeous surrounding views.  Gleaming hardwood floors throughout; exposed wood beam ceilings add much warmth and charm to the home. 

Slat tiles in entry way and kitchen.  Double pane windows with shutter blinds frame gorgeous distant bay, bridge, and city views.  Enjoy the view while observing deer right at home outside the master bedroom windows.  2nd bedroom has access to the backyard.  Side deck outside of master bedroom is accessible through the door next to the kitchen.      

Small courtyard sanctuary provides a peaceful place to gather.  Level side yard to enjoy the view.  Side and backyard attract wildlife from surrounding hills. 

Centrally located with easy access to downtown San Rafael shops, restaurants, 101 and 580 freeways to east bay and the city.  Award winning schools.

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Sylvia Barry, Realtor, ePRO
Marin Realtor for Marin Real Estate
Marin, San Francisco North Bay
Frankk Howard Allen Realtors
website: www.SylviaSellsMarin.com
Blog: www.AllAboutMarinHomes.com

 MARIN, SONOMA, S.F. BAY AREA REAL ESTATE - Beveldere, Corte Madera, Greenbrae, Kentfield, Larkspur, Marinwood, Mill Valley, Novato, San Anselmo, San Rafael, Sausalito, Tiburon; Cotati, Penngrove, Petaluma, Rohnert Park, Santa Rosa. Starter Home to Luxury Property. REO (Bank Owned), Short Sale, View Homes, Architecural Distictive Homes. Investment, 1031 Exchange. Chinese Realtor.

I have never be 'IN' the Novato July 4th parade before.  A few times I was there, I was a bystander, watching for my then young sons marching down Old Town Grant Avenue as part of Novato Summer Music Institute Marching Band.  It was fun watching them, but I had never be IN one before.

Yesterday, I got the taste of actually being in the Parade while riding the truck with the Penguin Empire Robotics Team (San Marin High School Robotics Club).  I have to say that it was a lot of fun riding with the students, pretending that I was helping (they knew exactul what to do). and waving to the bystanders (now that I am in it, might as well enjoy the parade!)

The parade drew record entries and recrod crowds presumably the difficutl economy kept a lot of people home during the summer; but being in Marin for the summer can not be considered a hardship, I have to say.  

There were over 200 entries; including the perennial entry of tleet of antique tanks and military vehicles (a private collection), basset hound parade (yes, hundreds of them and their proud owners), MY personal favorite Pini Hardware Plunger Brigade, this year, with an automatic toilet built by Penguin Empire adviser Mike Sousa (I think Pini Hardware did the garbage can routine one year), many student groups - the Novato Summer Institute, Five Charming Lads from San Marin, San Marin Jazz Choir, Marin Summer Theater, Novato Unified School District, Various Novato schools and Novato School Fuel thanking Novato for passing Measure A+ for Kids campaign, dace clubs, Taken do clubs, anti-tax protesters, archers, musketeers, Coast Guard Strike Team, and much more.

It's also fun to see so many friends and neighbors out there watching and enjoying the parade.  Novato, a town of 50K+ population, a lay-back and very friendly town can seem so small and personal where we seem to know and care about everybody!

Oh, not to forget about the Penguin Empire Team - the students did great and the crowd were awed by the awesome robot whenever we stop.  The students remotely controlled the robot, drove it down the ramp, performed a couple of routines (unfortunately, due to the crowd, we were not able to show the full potential of the robot) and drove it back up the float.  The crowds were quite enthusiastic about the robot and the team :-)  

Here are a few picturs to share with you (sorry, I was too busy to be IN the parade, and did not take as many pictures as I would have liked!)