Foot traffic within parts of downtown San Mateo increased nearly 20% from last year and a whopping 120% since 2023, highlighting the success of the three-year-old pedestrian mall that permanently closed part of B Street to cars.
The then-council approved the B Street closure between First and Third avenues in October of 2021 after it helped struggling restaurants adhere to outdoor dining regulations during the pandemic. The closures were made permanent after widespread public support for its ability to improve the area’s walkability and long-term future of the downtown.
Mackenzie Jakoubek.
The area has been a business improvement district for many years — meaning businesses pay an additional annual assessment in exchange for marketing, cleanup activities and events that tend to increase business exposure. The council had also updated its assessment schedule, which “has been incremental in our success over the past two years,” said Mackenzie Jakoubek, executive director of the Downtown San Mateo Association.
Since then, many residents and merchants have seen a revitalization of the area, with more pop-up events and higher turnout for larger events like Halloween event “Boo”s on B Street.
“These events not only bring joy to our community but bring foot traffic to businesses and reinforce the identity of downtown as a gathering place,” Jakoubek said.
Last year, the council contemplated reopening the northern part of the pedestrian mall — between First and Second avenues — to cars, which some merchants said had struggled to realize the same benefits as the southern portion and expressed interest in at least a partial reopening of the street, which would improve food delivery driver access and customer parking. But the council had opted to maintain the closure for the time being.
Recommended for you
Cathy Levitt, branch manager at Tri Counties Bank, said the business is only open Monday to Friday during the day, but it has still reaped the benefits of the pedestrian mall and a more robust downtown association.
“We have benefited greatly from the DSMA,” Levitt said during a May 19 council meeting. “We’ve been able to partake in events to capture the weekenders and the evening people who come downtown. Just recently, we sponsored a table during Boba Day … it was an opportunity to reach thousands of people outside of San Mateo.”
Deputy Mayor Adam Loraine said he is glad to see the boost downtown has seen over the last couple years.
“What a transformation we’ve undergone since those early days,” Loraine said. “It’s amazing for me to think about how much has changed so positively in that short amount of time.”
I love the pedestrian blocks of B Street. It doesn't feel like San Mateo is committed yet, however. We have these jenny plastic barriers, there is little attempt to level the street so chairs and tables angle and wobble. We have created such a great atmosphere, let's take it to the next step!
Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO
personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who
make comments. Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd,
racist or sexually-oriented language. Don't threaten. Threats of harming another
person will not be tolerated. Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone
or anything. Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on
each comment to let us know of abusive posts. PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK. Anyone violating these rules will be issued a
warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be
revoked.
Please purchase a Premium Subscription to continue reading.
To continue, please log in, or sign up for a new account.
We offer one free story view per month. If you register for an account, you will get two additional story views. After those three total views, we ask that you support us with a subscription.
A subscription to our digital content is so much more than just access to our valuable content. It means you’re helping to support a local community institution that has, from its very start, supported the betterment of our society. Thank you very much!
(2) comments
I love the pedestrian blocks of B Street. It doesn't feel like San Mateo is committed yet, however. We have these jenny plastic barriers, there is little attempt to level the street so chairs and tables angle and wobble. We have created such a great atmosphere, let's take it to the next step!
Inducing Demand is pretty simple:
- you seed people infrastructure, you harvest people and business
- you seed car infrastructure, you harvest noise, air pollution, GHG emissions, asthma, obesity, violence, fatalities, and ballooning budgets
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
Don't threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Anyone violating these rules will be issued a warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be revoked.