Residents vent over San Mateo bike lanes project

Mitch also stressed that while part of the project will repave streets, a decision on the bicycle aspect has not been made, with the city reevaluating the conditions and looking at additional options. Staff said it would not implement bike lanes until it gets the final council direction in spring 2022. Additional parking data analysis, community engagement, and city follow-up will occur in the fall and winter.

The North Central Bike Lanes Project would place bicycle lanes on East Poplar Avenue from El Camino Real to North Delaware Street, North Delaware Street from East Poplar Avenue to Indian Avenue, and Humboldt Street from Peninsula Avenue to Fifth Avenue. A bicycle boulevard would be added on Indian Avenue from Delaware Street to North Humboldt Street, Poplar Avenue from Delaware Street to Eldorado Street, and Eldorado Street from Poplar Avenue to Indian Avenue. The tradeoff is losing around 170 parking spaces on the west side of Humboldt Street from Peninsula Avenue to Fifth Avenue and 43 spaces on the south side of Poplar Avenue from El Camino Real to Delaware Street. The east side of Delaware Street between Poplar Avenue and Indian Avenue will lose one space. The city picked these street areas because they provide connectivity to parks, schools, work, public transit and downtown San Mateo. City staff stated adequate parking would exist on side streets during the day, something community members dispute.

The city agreed to the Oct. 27 meeting at the Martin Luther King Community Center on Monte Diablo Avenue after community outcry about the lack of notification of the decision and process. Many were angry over losing parking spaces in an already crowded neighborhood where parking is an issue. Many residents said they have to park blocks away from where they live, making it harder to carry groceries, have people visit and go out. Some were frustrated at the lack of targeted outreach from the city and its failure to address previous neighborhood issues around parking like crowded streets, lack of road maintenance, more cars than spaces and people parking in front of others’ houses. Some told of arguments and people getting their cars keyed over spaces, with concerns taking away parking would lead to fights and potential safety issues. Others were suspicious about where the funding was coming from and if the city had to use it for the bike lanes or lose it. Residents wanted the city to use South Amphlett Boulevard instead and also asked for parking mitigation measures, which the city said it is working on.

Trina Pierce helped organize and set up the meeting to allow residents to hear more from the city. She has lived in the area for over 40 years and said it was notable to hear from city staff the project is not a done deal, adding other residents had called the city and heard differently. She was fine having bike lanes but said there needed to be options in a neighborhood already dealing with small streets, overcrowding, competition for parking and a lack of answers from the city. Pierce noted the city did not do enough to enforce parking rules already in place.

Pierce, herself a senior, was concerned about other seniors dealing with the loss of parking, which would affect senior check-ins and family stopping by. She stressed the city needed to hear and address the concerns of seniors. She wanted the city to proactively involve the community and use more ways to reach the neighborhood. Pierce is in the process of setting up petitions online to raise awareness and support.

“We are bickering at each other and fighting with each other. It’s just not worth it to remove those parking spaces. You’ve got other issues,” Pierce said about the city’s decision.

Raayan Mohtashemi attended the meeting and said creating a more sustainable society to protect the planet and bicyclists requires allocating street space to support sustainable transportation. Mohtashemi is part of the Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition but was not speaking for it. He noted while the project should be sensitive to driver’s needs, the vast majority of road space is for cars in San Mateo, with fewer options for bicyclists.

“We are deluding ourselves if we think that the status quo is acceptable and that our parking problem will go away if we don’t provide safe options for alternative transportation. We have tried accommodating cars above all else for the past 60 to 70 years and have only built ourselves into a deeper, more dangerous, and more polluting roadway system, ignoring the needs of the folks with the lowest incomes who cannot afford to drive a car,” Mohtashemi said by email.

City staff said installing bike lanes will make a safer biking environment for all ages, thus increasing bike ridership overall. Staff noted there had been several bicycle accidents on Poplar Avenue and Humboldt Street over the past few years, with the city looking to reduce the severity and number of bike accidents. The project is a high priority in the city’s 2020 bicycle master plan, a road map for expanding safety and accessibility for the bicycle and mobility network. At its Oct. 4 meeting, the council voted 4-0 to award a contract for the project to complete necessary pavement and concrete improvements. It also directed staff to return in 2022 after public outreach and evaluating potential parking mitigation programs to discuss the bicycle improvement portion.

Councilmember Amourence Lee, who lives in North Central and attended the meeting, encouraged residents to come together to make their voices heard when speaking to the city. She said it wasn’t bicyclists versus residents but about using residents’ concerns around limited resources and directing the city to help them.

“What I hear the community wants is safety. We want safety, and we want to have an infrastructure plan that will address the preexisting conditions of the incredible, disproportionate density relative to the rest of the city,” Lee said.

curtis@smdailyjournal.com

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