Either way, this type of eminent domain doesn’t make sense. It reminds me of the effort in 2006 to place a new cloverleaf ramp at Peninsula Avenue that would have taken about 50 homes in San Mateo and Burlingame. That project modified over time and then evaporated in part because of the cost. The cost of property acquisition is just too high, and displacing residents who may not be able to stay in the area because of it is bad planning. Taking portions of property is not good either.
But doing nothing also does not make sense because the backup is awful, and has been for years. It creates further exhaust from idling cars, forces some onto surface streets, reduces access to the revenue-generating Bridgepointe Shopping Center, and adds time to the commute for people who work on the Peninsula and maybe can’t afford to live here. While express lanes don’t have the best reputation right now because of unknown effectiveness and high cost, it is the only way Caltrans will make this happen, so we are stuck with it.
So, what should we do? There are several options being explored right now, but the best candidate seems to be Alternative 2, which would have a reversible direct connector between Highway 101 and State Route 92. It seems to limit the amount of property that would be needed and actually require less construction since one connector would be used for both the morning inbound traffic and the afternoon outbound traffic. But further study should see if there is a way to eliminate any possibility of taking property. This is the only option that will work for all of us.
There are some who believe this to be a highway expansion, and are against it for that reason. But reality dictates that it deserves some attention, and now. In San Mateo, 19th Avenue is locked up, Bridgepointe Parkway is locked up, Third Avenue from San Mateo to Foster City is locked up, and Foster City was forced to modify its left turn lanes at several intersections to prevent cut-through traffic. All of this affects local lives and local traffic. While clogged roads may encourage some to find alternatives to driving, it also encourages people to take reckless chances with erratic moves that lead to collisions.
To pull the plug on it would be incredibly short-sighted. The cities of San Mateo and Foster City specifically asked for this in response to constituent concerns. Those concerns were brought to the forefront years ago and, while COVID granted a traffic reprieve, the situation has not abated. It will only get worse without action. If we want to improve the lives of the most people, then this project provides the most bang for our buck.
However, taking property for this key improvement is not the right path. The people of the San Mateo County Transportation Authority, Caltrans and the City/County Association of Governments are experts in this field. Providing direction to come up with a solution that does not involve the taking of any homes or portions of property is the only way for this to work. So let’s see what they come up with, but pay extremely close attention all along the way.
(8) comments
Where in RM3 did they promise to build a new Express Lane that would help wealthy East Bay riders get to work faster? That is not "congestion relief". This project does nothing for SM County residents, who will foot much of the bill.
We just spent $600M widening 101 and the County admits that congestion hasn't improved (as they warned it wouldn't). When are we going to stop spending our money encouraging more people to drive, worsening highway congestion and traffic on local streets????
"This project does nothing for SM County residents, who will foot much of the bill."
Know your history ....
I don't know if people remember the Dumbarton Railroad project that has been dangled in front of voters for many, many years. It was of course also part of the RM3 advertising.
And yet in the early 2000s the Grand Jury of Santa Clara and the Grand Jury of San Mateo said basically the same thing: the project should not be done because SM and SC residents would foot the bill for something only East Bay commuters would actually be using.
For over 20 years politicians still kept dangling the Dumbarton Railroad project in front of voters despite knowing they would never pursue it. So I'm not buying into the false RM3 reasoning either.
Jon - the 250,000 commuters are a scary number. Shouldn't the planners find out who these commuters are, where they live and where they work? Once categorized, planners could then design public transportation, encourage car pooling and corporate-sponsored buses to accommodate a percentage of the commuters. The bottle necks are from the 101 all the way through Livermore, so adding a lane or two will not solve this problem. I am not commuting anymore but I always feel for those on the 101 overpass having to sit in that traffic for another hour or so. The best way to solve this is to build a massive and attractive public transportation system. Or, move places of work to the areas where these commuters That is what most congested areas do effectively.
Part of the problem is that even the corporate shuttles that come over the bridge face delays as they share space with solo drivers. A true HOV lane on the bridge would finally move the needle in using space more efficiently. Maybe then additional lanes to smooth entrance to 101 would make sense.
Highway expansion are a known tool to increase air pollution, GHG emissions, noise pollution and plenty of other bad health outcomes for all people living within the vicinity.
Congestion cannot be fixed in a Metropolitan Area like ours.
And you certainly don't fix this by throwing more streets at the problem. You don't reduce noise from tennis courts by adding three more courts. You don't fix obesity by throwing more UPFs at the problem. You don't fix Alzheimer's and diabetes by adding more sugar to your life.
Congestion can only be reduced by reducing lanes (therefore less air pollution) and providing alternatives. There are three suitable solutions for our area:
- Public Transportation - but of course they took away the transit bus.
- Bike Lanes - but of course C/CAG took away the Hillsdale Blvd bike/ped crossing.
- Congestion Pricing on all major roads - and yet 101 charges only on one VIP lane.
Why is San Mateo County completely bare of professional transportation planners?
There are some very good transportation staffers in the area. These decisions are made by elected officials, however, and passed down to staff.
I have not even seen one solid traffic engineer in San Mateo County.
But yes, city and county employed traffic engineers will blame their council politicians - when no one is watching. But then you talk to the same politicians and they will happily blame staff - when no one is watching.
The best advice usually comes from independent transportation consultancy companies, which is why the plans and the presentations always look great. But then staff and politicians will start leaning into them and the project becomes worse and worse.
Fact is even if politicians were pushing traffic engineers or city managers to do bad jobs, there are plenty of chances where traffic engineers and city managers could do some good stuff behind the scenes. Which San Mateo Democrat politician could ever oppose Safe-Routes-To-School and yet city managers never even take on those projects. That is very telling.
Right you are Jon. It's still like trying to stuff 5 pounds of whatever into a 3 pound bag. I still think as Annie Tsai mentioned, the AC transit bus that was discontinued, to provide commuters with a hands free and care free way of getting from East to West of the bay is still the cheapest and most practical solution. Other than that, the reversible traffic lanes need looking into as well.
Thanks for the column
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