Cut-through traffic frustrates residents

Weiss and other neighbors have noticed drivers traveling east on Peninsula Avenue and south on Airport Boulevard to reach North Bayshore Boulevard, which runs parallel to Highway 101 and along the neighborhood’s western edge, to reach the interchange. They believe navigation applications like Google Maps and Waze are helping drivers find these routes as quicker alternatives to larger, more congested thoroughfares as they travel through the city. 

“Our neighborhood is ripe for that,” she said. “We get it, but on the other hand we live here.”

Because of the neighborhood’s location east of Highway 101 and between Coyote Point Park and East Third Avenue, the increased number of drivers using its north-south streets have made residents feel trapped in their homes during peak commute hours as cars line up to leave the neighborhood through one of its few exits, such as the intersection of South Norfolk Street and East Third Avenue, said resident Jeff Philliber.  

Having observed speeding and side-swiped cars as drivers on their way to the East Bay and Foster City seek alternate routes through the neighborhood, Philliber said they have grown concerned about how an emergency vehicle would access the neighborhood when it is gridlocked, as well as how nearby developments proposed in eastern San Mateo, Burlingame and Foster City could exacerbate the issue.

Philliber and other residents were inspired to join a steering committee aimed at providing input on a neighborhood traffic study and mitigation measures because of the potential effects on local traffic of developments like the four-building Burlingame Point — a 767,000-square-foot office and research and development project north of the neighborhood at 300 Airport Blvd. A development proposal for more than 239,000 square feet of office space, about 11,000 square feet for a restaurant and more than 8,000 square feet of retail space at the former Hyatt Cinema site at 1300 Bayshore Highway in Burlingame has also stoked concerns, said Philliber. 

“We believe the added cut-through traffic impact during the afternoon commute from projects like these will be profound unless we develop some new and very stringent measures to discourage or cut-off traffic from that direction,” he said in an email.  

For Philliber, the city’s effort to form steering committees in each of San Mateo’s neighborhood has been fruitful as it relates to studying traffic issues and considering mitigation measures in the North Shoreview neighborhood. By collecting data and performing traffic studies, vetting ideas with city engineers and adopting a traffic action plan, the collaboration between city officials and residents has resulted in new high-visibility crosswalk striping and improved traffic demarcations, with other measures yet to be tested, said Philliber, who added they were also able to secure a modest concession with the Burlingame Point development to account for its impact to the neighborhood. 

Pilot projects

City engineer Bethany Lopez said the effort to study traffic in North Shoreview is a part of a larger effort to scope traffic solutions across the city, and has resulted in curb extensions along South Norfolk Street as well as additional signs near schools. She said city officials and members of the steering committee have identified pilot projects, such as changes to signal timing and additional signs at the intersection at Peninsula Avenue and North Bayshore Boulevard, aimed at determining which improvements will be most effective in alleviating traffic in the neighborhood. 

Because the city has been working with neighborhood steering committees across the city on similar projects, Lopez said studying the effects of each measure tested will be critical to ensuring one strategy doesn’t end up pushing traffic into another neighborhood. She added officials must also consider that residents have to be able to get in and out of their neighborhoods, so the measures must also take their patterns into account. 

“We do really want to make sure that we’re working and looking at everything as comprehensively as we can,” she said. “We realize that traffic is an issue for the entire city.” 

Though Weiss acknowledged the committee’s efforts, she didn’t think the changes to the Peninsula Avenue and North Bayshore Boulevard intersection would be enough to discourage drivers from cutting through the neighborhood and could hinder residents’ ability to go in and out of their neighborhood during rush hour. She and Philliber said many favor a “no left turn” sign preventing drivers traveling southbound on South Norfolk Street from turning left onto East Third Avenue as they believe it would discourage drivers from trying to cut through the neighborhood on their way to State Route 92 and Foster City. Though Philliber acknowledged city engineers have expressed concerns about the idea for safety and logistical reasons, he remained hopeful they would be open to exploring it in future discussions. Weiss also hopes officials would consider meeting with those working on applications like Waze to discuss the issues they are facing. 

Planned protest

Resident David Gagne said a March 29 neighborhood meeting to review possible pilot measures with residents spurred interest from many who had not been familiar with the steering committee’s work. Having previously served on the steering committee, Gagne said he stepped down in recent months with frustrations that prohibiting a left turn at the intersection of South Norfolk Street and East Third Avenue — an idea he believes would ultimately eliminate the cut-through issue and not negatively affect residents — is not being taken up by officials after nearly three years of studying the issue. Though he and others had plans to stage a protest at the intersection Wednesday, he said they have chosen to hold off until residents and city officials have had more time to discuss the new feedback. 

Lopez said the city has begun discussions with Waze about cut-through traffic issues in various locations throughout the city, and is also trying the pilot projects in a piecemeal fashion to be able to thoroughly study their effects in the neighborhood they are aimed at helping as well as those nearby. 

“We certainly don’t want to see the traffic moving into other neighborhoods,” she said. 

City approach

Mayor Rick Bonilla said he understands the neighborhood concerns about traffic in San Mateo, and wanted to assure residents the city is taking a comprehensive, diverse approach to mitigating the effects of regional growth, adding that the effort to engage residents through the traffic action plan and continued communication about possible remedies are among the steps the city is taking. 

“While each neighborhood has unique challenges, we need to remember our neighbors and be cautious of improvements that may simply shift the problem to another area,” he said. “I completely understand some residents may want what they believe is a simple fix for their neighborhood, but that might not always be what’s best or practical for the larger community.”

In addition to installing speed cushions, pedestrian beacons at crosswalks, creating bike lanes and implementing residential parking programs throughout the city, officials are also weighing how other improvements to the city’s stretch of nearby freeways and major interchanges will provide relief for neighborhoods, added Lopez. 

But for residents like Weiss, whether a change in traffic patterns will come quickly enough remains a question. 

“The neighborhood’s really changed a lot,” she said. “Maybe the other solutions will help a bit, too. I have questions about that.”

anna@smdailyjournal.com

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