South San Francisco grant to redress highway-induced inequities

Mayor James Coleman said it’s a necessary initiative but also one that has been neglected for too long. The first pedestrian and bike path in the city that crossed Highway 101, for instance, was the recent underground Caltrain station upgrade completed about two years ago. Residents could still travel across the freeway via Grand Avenue or Sister Cities Boulevard, although the car-centric roads pose risks for nondrivers. 

“This is really meant to address historical injustices where we basically paved these massive freeways or highways that disconnected communities. The reason why freeways are built where they are is because they were really paved through what they called pathways of least resistance, which basically meant through communities of color or low-income communities,” Coleman said, adding this phenomenon is not unique to the Bay Area but also applied to many parts of the country as well. 

The list of potential city improvements varies, with some — such as a Utah Avenue overpass crossing Highway 101 — requiring more resources than others. Patrick Gilster, director of Planning and Fund Management at the San Mateo County Transportation Authority, said projects will begin over the next one to two years and will focus not just downtown but in several other communities, including the Orange Park, Brentwood and Avalon neighborhoods.

The grant, proposed by the TA, will also help supplement the city’s Lindenville plan, a multiyear effort meant to revitalize the historically industrial area by developing more housing, especially given the area’s proximity to major transit. The plan calls for incentivizing bike and pedestrian usage by creating more walkable environments focused in and around the Colma Creek mixed-use neighborhood. The creek, though naturally occurring, is also considered a historic barrier per the project’s application, and the grant can be applied toward flood mitigation efforts in certain areas. 

“This is really meant to just reconnect our communities without the necessary use of a car,” Coleman said. “Oftentimes, I see people walking up and down these roads carrying groceries, which tells me they are doing that out of necessity, so this is a matter of making sure that we are addressing the safety for everyone and especially our bikers and pedestrians throughout the city.”