Burlingame gets feedback on Broadway improvements

The Broadway Specific Plan is also aiming to align itself with ongoing Burlingame planning and development. This includes the city’s housing element, which mandates a certain unit amount of affordable housing in the area, as well as Caltrain’s grade separation project — a plan to separate the train tracks from street level that could open Broadway Station for weekday travel.“Caltrain is envisioning the grade separation project as a separate project, but potentially reopening the Broadway train station,” Project Manager Dan Amsden said. “What that would allow is the opportunity for housing that can be geared towards people who commute on Caltrain. So not necessarily more parking impacts in the neighborhood, but really leveraging Caltrain as a big transit opportunity.”

Aside from the positive potential a reopened Broadway Caltrain station could bring the area, Amsden noted parking as another major opportunity for transit mobility redesign.

“[We’re] really thinking about the parking on the street, tied to a lot of city owned surface parking lots. … There was some discussion with the advisory committee about potential parking garage and tied to the Caltrain station as well. So we’re looking at all those options, but really want to get community feedback,” he said.

The Community Advisory Committee on the project has met twice. John Kervanian, president of the Broadway Burlingame Business Improvement District and a member of the committee who attended the pop-up event, said that mixed-use development on side streets — which would include both housing and businesses — could be beneficial to economic growth.

Currently, aside from Broadway, much of the surrounding neighborhoods are purely residential, meaning that in the daytime there isn’t much customer traffic for businesses as residents leave for work, Kervanian said.

“So if we have offices on the first floor, during the morning and lunch, dinner, you have all these office workers that will patronize our downtown, shopping, eating, drinking, so it will benefit the downtown,” he said. “Office workers go home 5, 6 o’clock, then homeowners and residents come and they shop and drink and eat and patronize the downtown. So it would be awesome to have higher density in the neighborhood.”

Kervanian acknowledged that many residents want the district to remain a “community downtown” and stay as it is, but said “they have to understand that if they want these mom-and-pop businesses to survive, they need to make more income.”

He also said that as a member of the advisory committee, he would continue to be mindful of where funding for the project would come.

Burlingame resident Doug Luftman, who stopped by the pop-up event, said the potential suggestion he liked most was increasing outdoor dining and parklets.

“We all love good food and restaurants, so I [like] the place you can kind of come out and socialize with neighbors,” he said. “I think dining where you can sit outside during the year would be great.”

Joseph Sanfilippo, Burlingame Economic Development and Housing specialist, said the ultimate goal of the project is to improve the Broadway district for residents and visitors.

“It’s really just kind of trying to shape the future of Broadway and help it to be a successful corridor, maybe with some more housing and successful transit mobility for people,” he said.

The Dec. 21 event was one of three for outreach and to garner feedback on the project, which is currently still in the discussion phase and will likely be presented in December 2024, Amsden said.

Residents interested in providing comments can also attend an upcoming Jan. 17 pop-up event from noon to 2 p.m. or a Jan. 17 workshop from 6-8 p.m.