Collisions back to pre-COVID highs in San Mateo

Most of those collisions occur on major roads and freeways like Highway 101, many of which include drivers passing through the city. But out of those driving locally, North Central has the highest number of incidents out of the city’s neighborhoods, which is also starting to tick upward since 2022. Last year, there were about 40 incidents in the North Central neighborhood, around the same number as 2019. 

Councilmember Nicole Fernandez, who lives in and represents the area, said she is not surprised at the higher rates of collisions. 

“Our neighborhood does tend to have more people who walk and bike, just because of the proximity to downtown and the jobs that are there and the community which makes up our neighborhood,” she said.

The higher density is in part a result of more families tending to live in single-family homes compared to other neighborhoods. 

The city has been working on a plan to implement safer roads within the neighborhood, though it is not expected to be finalized until early next year. A citywide streets improvement plan shows that some of the top priority corridors include portions of Monte Diablo and Poplar avenues, part of which is located in North Central. 

Adam Nugent, a North Central resident and planning commissioner, agreed that the area is likely more prone to accidents.

“North Central has some of the highest pedestrian traffic … and that often is a stress for drivers and pedestrians in terms of visibility and crossing streets,” Nugent said. “There are also a lot of cars parked and the streets are very narrow, which does reduce some of the visibility. Two of the major streets, Humboldt and Delaware, get a lot of traffic, so drivers want to go pretty fast on those.”

Data shows that pedestrian deaths have increased nationally over the past decade. While the reasons vary, many experts have attributed it to speeding vehicles, as well as increasingly common purchases of large vehicles, such as SUVs. In September, a pedestrian was killed when a driver was making a left turn from North Delaware Street onto Peninsula Avenue, which is right on the Burlingame-San Mateo border.

Recently, Leane Eberhart, a longtime North Central resident, was walking her dog when a left-turning driver struck her and her dog, that ultimately died. Eberhart suffered a fractured hip, elbow and wrist. She said she’s usually felt safe walking around in her neighborhood but notices that cars tend to drive more quickly in the area. 

“It seems like people are speeding through the intersections,” she said, adding that she’s talked with other residents who have dealt with pedestrian or cycling collisions. 

Since the incident, she said she often reminds pedestrians walking at night to use a flashlight or wear something on their clothing that stands out. 

Claire Stevens, another longtime North Central resident, said she doesn’t notice many accidents but still feels the city could invest more heavily in improving the area’s parking situation and increase its visibility. 

Stevens has been one of many residents vocal about the neighborhood’s bike lanes along Humboldt and Poplar avenues, a contentious topic for the last two years, as it meant removal of more than 200 parking spaces in an area that was already lacking sufficient space for vehicles. A recent neighborhood meeting highlighted not only the frustration over the bike lanes but more broadly, a lack of investment in traffic safety measures, like more street lights and speed bumps.

“We’ve been overlooked for decades,” Stevens said. “We are still underserved in this neighborhood, but we don’t want anything special. We just want to be treated like the rest of the neighborhoods.” 

Fernandez said she hopes the city’s North Central Complete Streets plan, a document outlining top priority investment for the area’s roads will yield positive results — including more traffic calming measures and streetlights. 

“The improvements that have been here have not matched the other parts of the city,” Fernandez said. “So the necessary part of the North Central renaissance is really dedicating the time and sweat equity to make sure it matches up to the rest of the city.”