Burlingame’s Old Bayshore Highway to be redesigned

“We want to make sure that we turn this area into a place that people want to be, because it’s definitely underutilized,” said Councilmember Ann O’Brien Keighran, adding that an overhaul was overdue. “We’ve had such a focus in Burlingame on all the other areas ... it’s really nice that we’ve finally come to the Bayfront.”

Other improvements to the road could include street furniture, new lighting, planted center medians and bus stop pullouts. While the city has yet to identify funding for the work, estimated to cost $12.7 million, city staff hopes the creation of a plan will help usher in grants, particularly those made available for projects that enhance greenery or bicycle and pedestrian facilities.

Old Bayshore Highway, starting at Millbrae Avenue and ending where Broadway turns into Airport Boulevard, is currently two lanes in either direction. Councilmember Emily Beach noted the changes would improve safety by slowing travel speeds, and adding greenery and porous surfaces while removing concrete would reduce flood risks.

“It’s going to create a lot more vibrancy and beauty out there for our businesses,” she said of the vision.

Along with the road changes, the waterfront Bay Trail is also planned for a revamp. That work could include adding trees, seating, enhanced paving and signs to improve accessibility. The work will also entail an improved sea wall and levee system in preparation for sea level rise.

While councilmembers were presented with a $9 million plan for the trail, they opted to halt design work, citing similar work already being done by OneShoreline, the county’s Flood and Sea Level Rise Resiliency District. The district is working on holistic plans for the Peninsula to combat sea level rise, which one projection indicates could be as much as 6 feet over the next century.

“I don’t want to be the city that spends a bunch of money on this and a bunch of money on that and then the plans don’t integrate,” said Councilmember Donna Colson.

Also considered was a recently enacted suite of new requirements for buildings in the area with flood risk in mind. Among them, buildings will be required to have first floors 16 or more feet above the ground level — or 3 feet above the 100-year flood elevation. A 100-year flood is a flood with a 1% chance of occurring in any given year.

Colson questioned whether the road should be raised as well, or if other consideration should be made to enhance congruency with new buildings. Public Works Director Syed Murtuza said raising the road was not part of the plans, and elevating the road would not be feasible.

In a related issue, Councilmember Michael Brownrigg suggested the name of the road be changed to Airport Boulevard in to ease wayfinding, particularly tourists staying in nearby hotels.

“I think us holding on to the name Old Bayshore is so confusing to so many visitors, and if it were all Airport then all the hotel visitors would know they’re on Airport Boulevard and on their way to the airport,” he said, adding that the two roads feel like the same to most people already.

The plans will be further refined based on council input and be further discussed in future meetings.

corey@smdailyjournal.com

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