City of San Rafael Secures $800,000 Grant to Plan New Canal Neighborhood Park

MTC/ABAG Priority Conservation Area Grant will fund community-led design for a new, urban park at 620 Canal Street

San Rafael, CA - The City of San Rafael has been awarded an $800,000 Priority Conservation Area Grant from the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) to fund planning and design for a new urban park at 620 Canal Street in the Canal neighborhood. The grant - announced by MTC on June 24, 2026, as part of an $8 million award to 16 Bay Area projects - will transform a former boatyard boatyard along the San Rafael Canal into a thriving public green space serving one of the region's most underserved communities.

The Canal Boatyard Urban Park Connection project will fund community engagement and design for the 1.6-acre shoreline site at 620 Canal Street. The project site was acquired in November 2025 through a partnership with the Trust for Public Land, the County of Marin, Canal Alliance, and the Marin Community Foundation. The site lies along the proposed extension of the San Francisco Bay Trail and is a potential location for a new pedestrian and bicycle bridge connecting the Canal neighborhood to downtown San Rafael.

"This grant is a testament to what's possible when a community comes together around a shared vision," said Mayor Kate Colin. "A park at 620 Canal Street is not just about green space - it's about dignity, health, and belonging. This funding will make sure that residents have a real voice in designing a park that reflects their needs, their culture, and their dreams for this neighborhood."

For more than 40 years, the Canal neighborhood-a vibrant, majority Latino community-has faced a lack of access to parks, safe transportation routes, and public waterfronts. The new park will address those long-standing inequities by providing a safe, scenic connection to downtown San Rafael through a potential future pedestrian and bicycle bridge linking the park to Montecito Plaza and San Rafael High School. Currently, residents and youth-more than 30% of whom are between the ages of 5 and 18-must navigate busy frontage roads for over a mile to reach schools, jobs, and essential services. Once complete, the park will serve as the anchor for a safer, greener, and more resilient Canal neighborhood.

Learn more and stay connected
For more information about the Canal Boatyard Urban Park Connection project, visit the official City of San Rafael 620 Canal Street project page.

About the City of San Rafael
The City of San Rafael is the county seat of Marin County, California. The City manages a park system of 25 parks, 16 playgrounds, waterfront trails, and community gardens, and has extensive experience administering grants and leading planning and capital projects related to parks, sea level rise, and community resilience. For more information, visit cityofsanrafael.org

About the MTC/ABAG Priority Conservation Area Grant Program
The Priority Conservation Area (PCA) Grant Program is administered by MTC and ABAG through the San Francisco Estuary Partnership. Funded through the One Bay Area Grant (OBAG) program, the PCA Grant Program has supported more than 85 projects and invested over $46 million in conservation and community access improvements across the nine-county Bay Area since 2013. For more information, visit mtc.ca.gov

Media Contact:
Catherine Quffa
Library & Recreation Director
[email protected] | 415-485-3078

PCA Grant Canal Boatyard Press Release 06-30-2026