Harold T. “Bizz” Johnson, for whom the Highway 101/State Route 92 interchange is named, was not from this county, but rather Roseville. He was a New Deal-style Democrat who served 11 terms in the House of Representatives starting in 1958, and was chair of the Committee on Public Works and Transportation. He was a big proponent of highway projects helping create a four-lane highway in the Sierra Nevada that became Interstate 80. The nickname came from an uncle who saw him leading other children, which reminded him of Otto von Bismarck, the former chancellor of the German empire.
Speaking of interstates, Interstate 280 is part of Interstate 80 as is 680 and 580, and that also includes Interstate 380 from 280 to 101 in San Bruno. It’s 3.3 miles long and named for former state Sen. Quentin Kopp, also a former San Mateo County judge. The idea was that it would one day connect to a southern crossing of the Bay. If you ever want to have a long conversation about it, ask Judge Kopp. He’s in the book.
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Speaking of naming things after people, someone must know who Ted Adcock is. After all, they named a community center after him in Half Moon Bay.
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And speaking of nicknames and roads (we were right?), is it ever OK to say The El Camino? I think it’s OK to say, just not OK to write down. But it’s OK to say The Alameda, but not The 101, unless you’re from Southern California. It’s fine to say The Bayshore though.
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Speaking of the Bayshore, what will it take for us to get freaked out by a tsunami? I recall previous earthquakes from faraway lands, but never really a concern about tsunamis, until recently.
If an 8.8 magnitude earthquake from Russia won’t get us going, not sure what will. Are there any projections as to what a Bayside tsunami might look like? Someone explain.
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And speaking of names and roads, one of my pet peeves is when people say or write Broadway Avenue. It’s never Broadway Street, or Broadway Lane or even Broadway Boulevard. Always Broadway Avenue. But it’s wrong. Broadway is its own name, just without the space between broad and way. It is funny when Broadway is assigned to a thin street though, as it is in Burlingame, which used to be Easton in the Broadway area. Maybe that’s why Easton lost its rights to having a town. And before you fire up the keyboard to write to me, I know it’s more complicated than that. But not really, it was just a matter of expanding the tax base of Burlingame after it was incorporated in 1908. Easton was annexed two years later. And thus, two train stations and two “downtowns” so close to each other. But it’s Broadway, don’t get it twisted.
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There are no streets in Burlingame, only roads, drives, avenues and ways. And definitely only one Broadway.
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And why do we call it State Route 92 but we call Skyline Boulevard state Highway 35?
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Still speaking of roads, or rather boulevards and parkways, why does the name Fashion Island Boulevard still exist? It’s been decades since the shopping center was in the area now inhabited by Bridgepointe Shopping Center, however, a vestige of it persists for a stretch from just east of the “Bizz” Johnson interchange to Bridgepointe Parkway. So 19th Avenue is a weird one anyway in how to connects from Ivy Street just east of El Camino Real (not The El Camino) and south of State Route 92 to the Caltrain tracks, then picks up again on the west side of the tracks (but doesn’t cross it) and parallels 92 until it juts south while what you think is still 19th Avenue suddenly becomes Fashion Island Boulevard (named for a defunct shopping center) for a stretch until it becomes Bridgepointe Parkway at the Bridgepointe Shopping Center (which definitely still exists). Why not just keep it all 19th Avenue, or call is Bridgepointe Parkway where it is Fashion Island Boulevard? I can’t be the only person confused by this.
At least the fine people of Redwood City (of which Redwood Shores is a part even though it’s not connected) had the decency to rename Marine World Parkway to Marine Parkway, just not the part that is now Oracle Parkway. And no, there aren’t still stingrays in the lagoon from Marine World, at least that hasn’t been proven. Plenty of goose poop, however.
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I’ll leave it there, once you get to speaking of goose poop, it’s a whole other column.
Ah, the vagaries of the English language. Could not help but think of the old bromide question "Why do we drive on parkways, but park on driveways?" One could say your column was quite amusing today but full of gooses____, but your parting commentary beat us to it!
Thanks, Jon, for an entertaining and informative column. I don't know about sting rays, but there are bat rays in the Redwood Shores lagoon. The one Ray you won't find in the lagoon? Me. That water is not very clean.
For decades when any slight would upset those living in Burlingame - Peninsula ave had to be different on the North side of the street, thus Burlingame called it Peninsular and there was signage to prove it. [beam]
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(6) comments
Ah, the vagaries of the English language. Could not help but think of the old bromide question "Why do we drive on parkways, but park on driveways?" One could say your column was quite amusing today but full of gooses____, but your parting commentary beat us to it!
ALMOST every roadway in Redwood Shores uses Parkway ...
Thanks, Jon, for an entertaining and informative column. I don't know about sting rays, but there are bat rays in the Redwood Shores lagoon. The one Ray you won't find in the lagoon? Me. That water is not very clean.
Wet suit?
El Camino Real has morphed into ECR.
'The El' parlance spanned late 50's - early 70's.
I prefer Marine World Parkway versus Marine Parkway ...
For decades when any slight would upset those living in Burlingame - Peninsula ave had to be different on the North side of the street, thus Burlingame called it Peninsular and there was signage to prove it. [beam]
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