North Central seeks help after parking losses

Many residents spoke at the March 20 meeting and asked the council to revisit the effects of the bike lanes in the Complete Streets Community Engagement Plan. A letter from Trina Pierce and Gloria Brown, supported by 34 other signatories, called for infrastructure improvements to the area, more parking options, accessibility improvements and fair housing services. The letter said the bike lanes had hurt the neighborhood, and the parking mitigation measures had not worked, with people parking on front lawns and side streets. The group called for promoting bicycles while protecting the rights of neighbors to live and work.

“The North Central residents are ready to roll up their sleeves and work with you to find solutions,” the pair said in the letter.

Mayor Amourence Lee agreed with the residents that the proposed fixes had yet to come to fruition and property owners were running into policy barriers preventing them from creating parking. Lee asked city staff for a plan to address community concerns over a program that was not working.

“The question about how we go about rebuilding trust, it needs to start with how are we going to give North Central the attention it deserves, and that, to me, is the central question of this conversation,” Lee said.

Councilmember Rich Hedges concurred and called for more introspection about helping the neighborhood.

“Anyone who understands North Central should have known that taking out 200 parking spaces would be a huge problem,” Hedges said.

Staff said the city is incorporating lessons learned from previous outreach efforts. City Manager Drew Corbett said city staff could bring back an appropriation request to do a separate circulation study focused on North Central and its need that could be done in parallel with the Complete Streets Plan. The council also asked for a dual-track North Central-specific Complete Streets Plans targeting community needs.

The Complete Streets Plan will be a guiding document on how to accommodate all city transit modes, like bikes, pedestrians and vehicles. It will combine existing transportation and infrastructure plans with new ideas and priorities outside of a vehicle-centric focus to reduce congestion and improve safety. Areas to be addressed include green infrastructure, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, alignment with state policies, project prioritization, transit equity issues and right-of-way issues in limited space in San Mateo. For example, the city might prioritize pedestrian access by reducing parking and widening sidewalks. The plan would be finished by February 2024. The council said the North Central experience should guide and educate improved city outreach plans.

Councilmember Robert Newsom and the council also asked city staff to address parking issues at the Macedonia Church of God in Christ location at 66 N. Claremont St. from residents. Deacon Victor Morton of Macedonia Church has said there have been issues with a lack of parking and people being ticketed while trying to park to receive food donations on Tuesday mornings at the church. He said the church lost about six spots due to the project and red tipping that adds painted red curb areas. He said more than 300 people receive food on Tuesday, and the lack of parking spaces causes people to park further away or risk a ticket to pick up food.

“They have taken valuable parking places from us,” Morton said.

Public Works Director Azalea Mitch said the city painted the curbs red in front of the church because of feedback about safety issues and poor sight lines. She said staff would look at repainting areas at the church to address the lack of parking.

The council also asked for more data and planning on specific neighborhoods and their unique needs, along with interviewing drivers. Lee asked that home-bound seniors be considered in the plan as many will require caretakers and services that require driver service.