Creek Park Turns 52 This October. Here's What's Actually Decided About the Fence
October 8, 2026
October 8, 2026
How long can a fence stand in the middle of downtown before people stop seeing it? The one around Creek Park Plaza went up in 2022. It will still be there on Saturday, October 10, when the San Anselmo Chamber of Commerce throws Creek Park's 52nd anniversary party a few yards away.
The fence hasn't moved this year. What sits under it has changed. In January the concrete deck was part of a county flood-control plan to remove it. By August it was a structure the county intends to repair and the Town intends to turn into a terraced plaza. The fence is the same, but the plan behind it now runs the opposite way.
The plaza is the top of a structure the county calls Building Bridge 2, or BB2. It is owned by the County Flood Control District and spans San Anselmo Creek between the Avenue and the park. For most of the past decade, every plan for Creek Park assumed BB2 would be demolished. Here is how that assumption fell apart, according to Marin IJ reporting from August 16:
The February lease brought a short burst of optimism. A March IJ story raised the possibility of a spring reopening, as long as a structural consultant cleared the platform. That's not what the consultant found. The county says a later structural engineering evaluation concluded that repairs and reinforcement have to be finished before the area can reopen.
RHAA brought three concepts to a special council meeting: a "curvilinear terrace" running from the street down to the park's redwoods, a "garden path," and a "town green." The consultants dropped the town green because putting soil or artificial turf on the bridge deck could cause problems.
The council voted unanimously for the terrace. In RHAA's concept, terraced paths and seating connect the Avenue to the park, with stone walls, wood decking and plantings that include the redwood grove. The concept sheet also shows a play area, a stage and pollinator gardens.
This is a preferred concept. The consultants will come back with more developed engineering studies and architectural plans, and the council approved a donation agreement that night to pay for the next phase. Council members asked about maintenance, accessibility, protecting the redwood roots and keeping rodents away from a space where people would eat. Public comment varied. Some speakers said the council was moving too fast, others disagreed, and several asked for parking to be restored.
Councilmember Eileen Burke summed up the turn of events like this:
"They were prepping for the removal of the plaza and whole flood remediation program. It's been closed off now for what, three or four years? And with the end of the flood program, then we renegotiate with the county, like, can't we reopen this thing?"
She also said she was concerned about losing parking spaces, which she doesn't think the Town should give up. Vice Mayor Chantel Walker pointed to the terrace's paths, which would be accessible for all ages and abilities.
The money has two parts. The county's August 19 release says the Town will pay for the plaza improvements on top of BB2. The Flood Control District intends to fund the structural repairs, but only if the Board of Supervisors and Town Council approve a final funding agreement. That money is expected to come from the county's general fund, not from Flood Control Zone 9 funds.
Nobody knows yet what the structural work will cost. County staff expect to bring a funding recommendation to supervisors in early 2027, once a cost is set. Town Manager Dave Donery told the IJ that all the work could be done by early 2028, and added, "This is obviously pending successful fundraising."
On the fence itself, the county is clear. The plaza stays closed until the rehabilitation is complete and qualified professionals confirm it can safely handle public use. The scope, cost, funding agreement and schedule are all still being worked out. No official source has published a construction start date.
The fence surrounds the BB2 deck, not the whole park, and the rest of Creek Park has stayed busy. The Teen Battle of the Bands played the Creek Park Amphitheater on May 30. Creekside Pizza & Taproom reported more than 800 people at the 22nd annual Beatles in the Park concert. Live On The Avenue finished its summer run on September 12.
The park itself nearly didn't happen. A listing for the 50th-anniversary event in 2024 tells the story of how a parking lot proposed for the creek's edge became a park instead. The Town's own records include a resolution adopted on August 13, 1974, applying for state park-bond money. It set aside $2,000 of the Town's $36,460 share for a children's play area at what the document calls "Creekside Park." More than half a century later, the plaza concept RHAA drew for the same ground includes a play area too.
October 10 offers two ways to mark the anniversary. In the morning, the Historical Commission leads its free walking tour, the last of the 2026 season. It leaves Creek Park at 9 a.m. and ends about 90 minutes later at the Historical Museum with refreshments. No reservation is needed. In the afternoon, from 2 to 6 p.m., the Chamber's anniversary event brings Boogie Chillun, Plan B from the Planet Earth and Lion's Share to the park, along with a history talk.
The plaza's future is still on paper. The blocks around it got new tenants this year anyway.
Tasty Delicious opened in late September at 639 San Anselmo Ave., the former Hilda's Coffee Shop. When Hilda's closed last fall, the building needed extensive work to meet current building, health and accessibility codes. The renovated space still nods to the past. Bubba's Diner's original clock hangs near the kitchen, and Hilda's old sign is next to the bathroom door. Starting tomorrow, October 5, it's open daily from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. A coffee-shop-style breakfast is planned for later this year.
Two doors down, Tụ Tập opened at 625 San Anselmo Ave. in late July. It's a Vietnamese restaurant and bar with a rooftop lounge, run by Sleepy Hollow resident Adam Block and executive chef Justine Kelly, who grew up in San Anselmo.
Near Red Hill, Pretti Platters opened May 19 at 810 Sir Francis Drake Blvd., where Auryn Thai used to be. Its four co-owners, including Fah Intapura, serve breakfast and brunch alongside heartier lunch and dinner dishes.
Next up is Maison Nico, a San Francisco pastry business planning a bakery and cafe at 121 Tunstead Ave. Jack's Drug Store and Jack's Medical Supplies occupied that building from 1962 until 2022. The Planning Commission approved a permit in September for a wine display about six feet wide and a wine club focused on organic, biodynamic and small-production wines from California and France. A spokesperson said renovations should be done in early November, but no opening date has been set.
A few doors from the fence, the plaza's closest neighbors are staying put. Creekside Pizza & Taproom owner Pat Townsley, who runs two restaurants next to the plaza, told the council in August that the terrace was "an overlay on a project that was right there at the cusp until everything fell apart at the county and FEMA level."
The rest of the month keeps downtown busy, and none of it needs the plaza:
On BOOtacular night, the Avenue becomes a pedestrian zone starting at 4 p.m., and participating merchants hand out candy. Restaurants staying open include Creekside, Kuro, Baan Thai, Taco Jane's, Cucina, Tụ Tập and Tasty Delicious. The 501st Legion Golden Gate Garrison will be there in Star Wars costume. Families will be lined up along a fence the county says stays put until BB2 is repaired, in front of restaurants that weren't open last Halloween.
If you own near downtown and want to know how a redesigned Creek Park and this year's new openings could show up in your home's value, Christina and Karla follow these changes block by block. Request your free home valuation from Christina & Karla - Home In Marin, and we'll walk you through what's changed on the Avenue and what's still on paper.
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