A split San Rafael City Council has endorsed a scaled-down version of a path lighting project that has polarized neighbors and trail users.

A two-hour deliberation over public safety and environmental impacts of the plan to light the bayfront Starkweather path ended in a 3-2 decision.

The modified project removes 15-foot overhead lamps from the plan. Only waist-high bollard lighting will be installed. Supporters called the move a good compromise in response to critics, primarily residents of the Spinnaker Point and Baypoint neighborhoods, who said the light would undermine dark-sky preservation and invite after-hours activity.

“Starkweather path is a public asset that serves residents from multiple neighborhoods,” Vice Mayor Rachel Kertz said at the council meeting on June 15. “Thoughtfully designed lighting can improve accessibility, mobility, comfort and safety while still respecting environmental concerns. The goal is not to urbanize the path,” she said. “The goal is to ensure that more residents can confidently use it and enjoy it throughout the year.”

The path — officially called the Jean and John Starkweather Shoreline Park — is part of the San Francisco Bay Trail, a planned 500-mile shoreline trail that encircles the bay, traversing nine counties.

The lighting project is part of the larger “Canal Neighborhood Active Transportation Enhancement Project,” which, in addition to new street and path lighting, involves bicycle and pedestrian safety improvements.

City officials developed the plan in partnership with residents of the Canal area, who said they worry about their safety walking in the area when it is dark. The proposed types of lights were provided by the San Rafael Police Department as part of its “crime prevention through environmental design” review process, staff said.

Critics of the path lighting formed an opposition group called Marin Action to Restore the Starkweather Habitat.

Mayor Kate Colin said she is surprised that the opposition did not support the scaled-down version of the plan. She said if residents are concerned about dark-sky preservation, then private property owners whose lights leak out into the marsh area should be held to the same standards.

After the meeting, Colin said the path lights that were approved are 42 inches tall, they face downward with light shields, and they are dark-sky compliant.

“The approved modified lighting plan will feature bollards that are already utilized in existing locations along the San Francisco Bay Trail,” Colin said.

Colin said she is reaching out to the neighbors to see if there is interest in forming a “dark sky committee” to reduce light exposure from both private residences and commercial properties as well.

To read more or listen online, visit the Marin IJ.