From now until late November, the shoreline between Blackie's Pasture and the ferry dock follows a weekly pattern set by three schedules that were planned separately. The beach rebuild at Greenwood and Brunini beaches runs Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Caltrans's sidewalk and curb ramp crews on Tiburon Boulevard can hold traffic to one lane Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. The Angel Island–Tiburon Ferry already skips Mondays and Tuesdays, and starting in November it runs no regular trips on weekdays at all.
So the weekdays go to work crews and the weekends get the full waterfront. Each of these projects has its own end date, and the weeks ahead make more sense once you know them.
The week at a glance, October 5 through late November
| Mon–Tue | Wed–Fri | Sat–Sun | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blackie's Pasture beach work | 8 a.m.–5 p.m. | 8 a.m.–5 p.m. | No work unless the Town approves it |
| Tiburon Boulevard curb ramps | Possible one-way control, 7 a.m.–5 p.m. | Possible one-way control, 7 a.m.–5 p.m. | No scheduled work |
| Angel Island ferry, October | No service | 10 a.m., 11 a.m., 1 p.m. | Hourly from 10 a.m. |
| Angel Island ferry, Nov.–Dec. | No service | No regular service | 10 a.m., 11 a.m., 1 p.m. |
The Town may approve weekend or holiday beach work if the job needs it, so Saturdays aren't guaranteed to be quiet. They are simply the default.
Blackie's Pasture stays open while its two beaches are rebuilt
Of the three projects, the beach work is the one closest to everyday walks. On Aug. 19, the Tiburon Town Council voted 3-0 to award Livermore-based Goodfellow Bros. a $468,983 contract to rebuild about 1.4 acres of shoreline at Greenwood and Brunini beaches. The council also let the town manager approve change orders up to 15%, which puts the maximum at $539,330. The Marin Independent Journal reported that a $1.5 million California State Coastal Conservancy grant will repay the cost.
The Town's construction plans keep Blackie's Pasture a public park throughout the work. Temporary cyclone fencing goes only around the land side of the active work area. Where practicable, crews are to schedule the work so Greenwood and Brunini aren't both closed at once. The contractor can't block public roads, parking areas or the San Francisco Bay Trail. When equipment has to use the trail, a flagger directs people and vehicles. Town engineer David Eshoo told the Marin IJ that trucks will cross parts of the park and that the Town aims to keep as much park and trail access open as it practically can.
The plans don't include a daily closure map. They also don't say which beach is fenced in a given week, or whether the dog areas and the Blackie statue area are affected. The Town's Public Works Department is the place to check before a weekday visit.
The repair goes back years. A Town update from May 2026 described about four feet of bank erosion along the Greenwood shoreline, with old asphalt exposed. Crews built the drift sill, an early sediment feature, in March. This fall's phase is the main one. Goodfellow is cutting back the steep, eroded bank, called the scarp. The crew is also removing asphalt, installing two rock sills at Brunini Beach and placing a log backstop at Greenwood Beach.
Eshoo explained why the project uses loose material instead of a hard wall:
"We're installing a living shoreline, meaning that the material that's being installed here at this beach, the wave action will pull the material out and push it back in so that it doesn't erode any of the areas along Blackie's Pasture."
The design drawings show what the finished beaches will look like: a beach face and backshore beach, salt marsh protected by cobble, and drift sills. The planned vegetation includes Spartina, pickleweed, saltgrass and sea blite. The plan also leaves gaps in the plantings so people can still walk down to the water. The Town's May update also lists a gravel beach and a post-and-rail fence.
Two dates set the end of the project. The Marin IJ reported a projected finish of Nov. 20. The contract allows construction through Nov. 30, and in-water work is permitted only through Nov. 30 unless the permitting agencies extend it. That leaves roughly seven weeks of weekday work starting today, and the permit deadline sets a firm limit on how late it can run.
Tiburon Boulevard is getting work too, eastbound in stages
The beach work stays at Blackie's. The Caltrans project moves. Its curb ramp and sidewalk work on State Route 131 could start as early as Monday, Sept. 21. Crews start near the US-101 interchange and work east toward the Tiburon waterfront. Phase one covers 28 curb ramps. Flaggers may be on site, some bus stops may be affected, and pedestrian detours may be needed at certain stages.
This project lasts longer than the beach work. Paving is scheduled for spring 2027. The full project runs from near US-101 to the Tiburon Boulevard and Main Street intersection, and Caltrans's project page lists completion in winter 2027. The plan includes a temporary two-way Class I bike path on the inbound side between Strawberry Drive and Blackfield Drive. Caltrans says it will post details for each intersection in future traffic advisories. Weekday stops near the work zone will change from week to week as the crews move east.
The Angel Island ferry cuts back in three steps
The ferry schedule moves in the opposite direction from the construction. As weekday work picks up on the shore, weekday boats to the island go away. The Angel Island–Tiburon Ferry schedule for the season has three steps:
- Through Oct. 11: Wednesday through Friday boats leave Tiburon at 10 a.m., 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. On weekends, departures run at 10 a.m., 11 a.m., then hourly from 1 p.m. through 4 p.m., and the last return leaves the island at 5:20 p.m. Friday, Oct. 9 adds a 5:20 p.m. return for Fleet Week.
- Oct. 12 through 31: Weekday times stay the same. On weekends, 3 p.m. becomes the last departure open to everyone, the 4 p.m. boat is for campers only, and the last return is 4:20 p.m.
- November and December: Wednesday through Friday has no regularly scheduled service. Weekend boats leave at 10 a.m., 11 a.m. and 1 p.m., and the last return is 3:20 p.m. Veterans Day, Nov. 11, and the day after Thanksgiving, Nov. 27, each get the weekend schedule.
So this coming weekend is the last one with a 5:20 p.m. ride home from the island this year. It also has the fullest local calendar of the fall.
October 10 and 11 is the weekend to circle
On Saturday, Oct. 10, the Angel Island Immigration Station Foundation holds its free "Hands on History" program from noon to 3:30 p.m. at the Detention Barracks Museum. Activities include origami and steamship history. The 11 a.m. ferry gets you there with time to spare, and the full weekend schedule leaves plenty of room for the trip back.
On Sunday, Oct. 11, from 1 to 4 p.m., Tiburon's Heritage & Arts Commission and Diversity Inclusion Task Force host a celebration of Native American arts and culture at Zelinsky Park, 1505 Tiburon Blvd. The program includes dance, music, art, food and activities. Town Hall is at the same address. A group show there by ICB/ART artists, "Nature, Reimagined," runs through Oct. 29.
A few other dates this month take place indoors or online, so the construction schedule doesn't touch them:
- Thursday, Oct. 8: Marin Master Gardener talk on Asian greens at the Belvedere Tiburon Library
- Tuesday, Oct. 13: Author talk with Andrew Sean Greer at the library
- Thursday, Oct. 29, 5 to 6 p.m.: The Angel Island Immigration Station Foundation's "Gateways in Dialogue" Zoom talk on immigrant traditions
What stays the same along the route
Some things along the boulevard aren't on any of these schedules. Paradise Coffee opened its trailer at Point Tiburon Plaza, 1775 Tiburon Blvd., in late April. It serves coffee, breakfast burritos, waffles and sandwiches to go. Point Tiburon Plaza also hosted the 43rd Tiburon Wine Festival on Oct. 3, with about 60 wineries and 10 restaurants.
Downtown, Salt & Pepper at 38 Main St. will receive the Tiburon Peninsula Chamber of Commerce's 2026 Business of the Year award at the chamber's annual celebration on Nov. 17, according to The Ark. That's three days before the projected finish of the beach work at Blackie's. If the Nov. 20 date holds, the rebuilt Greenwood and Brunini beaches open in time for the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, when the Angel Island ferry runs its weekend schedule on Friday, Nov. 27.
If you own a home near the Blackie's shoreline or along the Tiburon Boulevard corridor and want to talk through how this fall's work affects showings, access or timing, Nick Svenson can go over the details for your street. Schedule a 15-minute consultation.
