The Marin County Board of Supervisors last week voted unanimously to restrict the length of buses on the steep and winding Muir Woods Road to 30 feet, tightening a 36-foot restriction implemented three years ago. The new rule, which applies to the stretch between the entrance to Muir Woods National Monument north to Panoramic Highway, will go into effect later this year after improvements are made to Franks Valley Road, where longer buses will be diverted in the future. But some residents are concerned about that diversion, which will send longer buses from the monument south to Shoreline Highway rather than on the shorter route north to Panoramic. And many residents are worried the county is not doing enough to address problems resulting from increased vehicle and bicycle traffic along the steep and narrow mountain roads. At a community meeting in January, locals asked that a 30-foot restriction include Franks Valley Road. Residents have for years called for buses as short as 24 feet. And their concerns don’t stop there. Traffic congestion, illegal parking, the danger large buses pose to cyclists and pedestrians and buses squeezing past each other on the two-lane road are major concerns. “We don’t think these minor changes are going to do anything for safety,” Christian Riehl, a Muir Beach resident and a Muir Beach Advocacy Group board member, said of the planned bus restrictions and road repairs. “We wish the [Department of Public Works] and Marin Transit would engage the public.”Mr. Riehl said 130 letters opposing the new rule had been submitted to the county. “This is obviously tricky,” Supervisor Kathrin Sears said at the meeting last Tuesday. “The safety issue is really important, but it is an ongoing challenge to make sure we have the safety [for those on the roads while also] encouraging people to get out of their cars.” Muir Woods attracts caters to roughly a million visitors a year. On some summer days, it can draw over 6,500 people. Along with the county, the National Park Service, California Highway Patrol and Marin Transit—which already diverts 36-foot buses to Franks Valley Road—were in support of the 30-foot restriction. The county fitted both 32-foot and 30-foot busses with cameras and determined that, if driven properly, 30-foot buses could safely drive Muir Woods Road without crossing the yellow line. Six months after the 30-foot restriction is implemented, sometime mid-2019, the county will review safety, Supervisor Dennis Rodoni said. He also said a further restriction of bus size was possible in the future. In 2020, the county will use a Federal Lands Access Program Grant to improve Franks Valley Road and Muir Woods Road, widening the roadways, repaving and repairing and stabilizing the slopes between the road and Redwood Creek. In the meantime, Public Works will address three problematic locations on Franks Valley Road, before the 30-foot rule goes into effect. All areas are near Santos Meadow and suffer from erosion. This work will begin in September and should be complete in December. In addition to the improvements, the county is committed to making efforts in several other areas because, as Supervisor Rodoni said, “the community is not totally happy.” “We are looking at working with C.H.P. to enhance their role in [parking] enforcement and we will talk to Caltrans about putting in more pullouts.”