San Mateo officials seek help to make city roads safer

One of the highly-ranked projects in the mid-county initiative is the Hillsdale Boulevard corridor, particularly improving bicycle and pedestrian access across Highway 101.

“Obviously, there’s been interest for a long time for a Hillsdale bike lane overpass of the 101,” Councilmember Rob Newsom said during a recent City Council meeting.

A recent residential development proposal in the area would also increase the number of residents, which Newsom said adds more urgency.

“I met with a lot of residents … and what I heard from all of them is that they really want solutions,” he added. “They’re looking for better connectivity from crossing over Hillsdale and from the Village to the actual rail line.”

Another project is along Saratoga Drive, from South Delaware Street to Franklin Parkway, and would upgrade the current bike lanes to Class IV protected lanes. It would also include pedestrian improvements, like curb extensions and other transit enhancements, totaling roughly $7.5 million.

The TA is also set to launch a new mini-grant program soon, offering $4 million in funding for planning and conceptual design, according to a staff report, with individual projects receiving up to $750,000 and multi-jurisdictional projects eligible for up to $1 million.

The TA, which administers the county’s transportation-allocated sales tax revenue, narrowed down a list of top-priority projects in other parts of the county as well, such as improvements on Oyster Point Boulevard, Grand Avenue and the Millbrae Caltrain station. They also include improvements along El Camino Real, part of another large-scale long-awaited effort called the Grand Boulevard Initiative, which range from less-resource-intensive projects to more capital-intensive initiatives, such as bike lane additions, vehicle lane reductions and bus shelter upgrades.

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