South San Francisco to probe air quality: East Side at top of priority list

“This is a quality-of-life issue,” said Councilmember Eddie Flores, who represents that area in District 5. “Our monolingual community is heavily concerned about this, as well as many others.”


The city relies on a 2017 emissions inventory to assess the main sources of pollution, though there remain gaps in the data. While it wasn’t initially listed in the plan, the council agreed to up its priority level and assess possible contributions and remedies to the issue.

“I think there is space here for us to be able to address the air quality deficiencies in District 5 in Old Town,” Flores said.  


Addressing air quality on the eastern side of the city this year is particularly timely, as the county’s transit agencies are weighing whether to extend the Highway 101 express lanes north of Interstate 380, near South City. A recent study presented to the San Mateo County Transportation Authority showed that congestion has lightened since the express lanes were implemented several years ago, though some transit leaders and advocates have cast doubt on the assessment. 

“We recently reviewed the data for the managed lanes going south on 101, and depending on who you speak to, the data has been somewhat controversial,” Vice Mayor Mark Nagales said. “What would that mean for that community if there’s an expansion of the freeway?”


The discussion arose during a recent meeting to adopt a slightly revised priority list, which included a mix of issues, ranging from affordable housing to air pollution, child care and even retail cannabis.

The city is also working on expanding and constructing the new Westborough Preschool, potentially expanding its current sliding-scale daycare program and conducting infrastructure assessments for city-owned facilities. 

Assistant City Manager Rich Lee said he hopes a lot of the initiatives can be completed, or close to completion, between this year and next, though some, like the new Linden Avenue Park, is in the early construction stages. The council may also weigh whether to allow retail cannabis stores in some commercially zoned areas as well.