San Mateo eyes street closures to reduce train noise

At Villa Terrace, at the north end of the city, the proposed changes would create two cul-de-sacs on either side of the tracks, removing through traffic and access for pedestrians, cyclists and motorists. While the changes were widely supported by councilmembers, senior engineer Tina Pham said the main concern from residents during the outreach period involved potential impacts on driving patterns.

“There were some residents who were concerned about traffic congestion. If Villa Terrace were closed there would be traffic rerouted to other streets nearby, and so some residents on those streets expressed concern,” Pham said.

Proposed updates to the at-grade crossing near East Bellevue Avenue, two blocks south of Villa Terrace, garnered the most pushback. Rather than a full street closure or implementing four-quadrant gates, which would cost several million dollars, staff proposed extending 100-foot traffic medians near the crossing. But, despite a survey showing nearly 60% approval of such a proposal, many nearby residents voiced disapproval during the council meeting Monday, July 15, stating the median would block some of their driveways, remove a significant number of parking spaces and is an overall less effective method to improve safety than installing four-quadrant gates or a full street closure.

“This is a tight, small street. Creating and extending this median … just creates more hazards,” San Mateo resident Lily Jow said during public comment. “I’m imploring this councilmember team to look at four-quadrant gates or closure of Bellevue as a safer option, not to extend this median.”

Former San Mateo Mayor Rick Bonilla added he hoped the council would find a way to “make the residents of San Mateo more safe at the grade separation without impairing access to their property.” Other residents added drivers may simply choose to bypass the median and cross the tracks if they are in a hurry.

Though Councilmember Adam Loraine was in support of the originally proposed East Bellevue plans, other councilmembers proposed a temporary street closure to evaluate the potential traffic impacts and voiced support for four-quadrant gates.

“Quad gates would be my preference. Closing it would be OK, but what you’re going to do is throw even more traffic onto the arterials, so it would not be my first choice,” Councilmember Rich Hedges said. “I can’t do this and vote for this … knowing that it’s a great likelihood that someone’s child going to school will take a very bad chance and kill themselves.”

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