One of Novato's Worst Roads Gets Fixed ... What Should be Next?

The days of requiring a four-wheel drive safari vehicle to traverse Cain Lane in Novato are over. The city of Novato’s has repaved a short stretch of the alleyway in Old Town, and drivers no longer require a helmet to drive on it between Sherman Avenue and Reichert Avenue.

Cain Lane first appeared on a Novato map in the 1890s but there has been an ongoing debate about who owns it and who was supposed to maintain it, said Jason Nutt, the city’s public works director. The reason it wasn’t automatically the responsibility of the city was because there was no written action taken by the county when the road was first made, which would have shifted responsibility to the city once Novato incorporated in 1960.

“It’s apparent that many city managers and public works directors have talked about this for decades,” Nutt said. “Michael (Frank, the current city manager) and I were certainly aware of the poor surfacing, and because of the things going on in that area we felt it was finally time to step up as a city and assume responsibility for it.”

In the past eight years, Novato has made its civic center area a high priority. It has given Grant Avenue $11 million worth of surfacing and aesthetic upgrades, renovated City Hall for $6 million and at Cain Lane and Machin Avenue that is estimated to cost $12 million to $15 million.

Work on Cain Lane started the first week of August and wrapped up last week following notification of nearby businesses. Old layers of pavement and gravel were excavated and city workers laid down a new layer of asphalt.

Nutt said it was considered a temporary solution and not major reconstruction. “It depends on what the city does in the future,” he said. “We will improve it to alleyway standards when the council makes a decision on how they want it to look.”

Blodgett Lane, another alley between Sherman and Reichert, has been maintained by the city because the city owns adjacent property.

Nutt said streets and roads throughout the city limits are on a resurfacing rotation as part of the routine maintenance program and that standards are constantly evaluated. He said resurfacing should last five to 10 years before it comes up for reevaluation.

“We look for roads in the worst condition and make sure that what we’re producing is the highest quality and longest lasting,” he said. “We won’t let them deteriorate to an unsafe condition, but we’re programming it in such a way that we maximize our local resources.”

A recent Metropolitan Transportation Commission study gave Novato’s streets a very good grade compared to other municipalities, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t room for improvement. Nutt said it’s an ongoing challenge to take advantage of federal funds that become available for roads that are eligible for federal aid.

What stretch of pavement makes your car scream in pain? Which one prompts the most hubcaps to roll into the bushes? What’s the bumpiest, most cracked, most potholed street in Novato?

Send in your submissions and we'll see what the city's road improvement crew can do about them.