Partly cloudy. Gusty winds during the afternoon. High 63F. Winds WNW at 20 to 30 mph. Higher wind gusts possible..
Tonight
Partly cloudy and windy this evening. Cloudy with diminishing winds late. Low 52F. WNW winds at 20 to 30 mph, decreasing to 5 to 10 mph. Higher wind gusts possible.
Gridlock on Highway 101 and our local streets reminds us how transportation investments have not kept pace with growth in our region. To maintain our quality of life, we need safe and convenient transportation that doesn’t increase traffic and cause irreparable harm to our environment.
Pedestrian and cycling infrastructure provides cost-effective solutions to help reduce congestion in ways that benefit everyone — including highway commuters. These improvements, however, require funding, community support, and the political will to enact them.
When more people leave their cars behind, roads become less congested, parking becomes more plentiful, travel times more predictable and fewer tax dollars are required to maintain public roads. Moreover, people who walk and ride bicycles gain additional benefits to their physical and mental well-being. Why then do relatively few people do so? Safety and convenience are big challenges. Many people fear riding a bike or walking on roads near speeding drivers without robust bicycle and pedestrian spaces.
But if we build it, they will come.
Research shows that people of all ages and abilities will choose walking and cycling for short trips when it is safe and convenient. Low-stress bike routes through neighborhoods, dedicated paths protected from cars, designated lanes which separate bikes from motorized vehicles, well-maintained sidewalks and visible crosswalks are proven methods to encourage people to walk or ride to nearby destinations. When these facilities connect with commuter rail and other public transportation, all travelers benefit exponentially. Given our mild weather, population density and more frequent electrified Caltrain service coming soon, our county is well suited to embrace cycling and walking in our daily commutes. Now even electric-assist bicycles in local bike-share fleets provide us access to the hills without breaking a sweat. Better infrastructure will make these choices easier.
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Despite the known benefits, communities often struggle to secure active transportation dollars. For example, 44 San Mateo County bicycle/pedestrian projects recently requested a combined $16 million from our countywide sales tax Measure A funds ($5 million available) and a state grant program for local projects ($2.26 million available). In other words, the requests outpaced the available dollars by $9 million — which meant funding fewer than half the projects. Compare $9 million of high-impact bicycle and pedestrian network improvements to the price tag of a new highway interchange ($90 million-$160 million), the proposed Highway 101 Managed Lane Project ($500 million), or even a local parking garage ($10 million-20 million). For a fraction of those costs, active transportation investments help address the root cause of our traffic and parking problems.
For the Peninsula to thrive, greater investment in sustainable transportation options must be a priority. Congestion management is a complex issue. Robust public transit, intelligent land use decisions and thoughtful highway improvements are important parts of the puzzle. Thankfully, alternative fuel vehicles pollute less, but they don’t reduce gridlock or road maintenance costs. Cycling and pedestrian improvements will not solve all traffic problems, but they are a cost-effective and healthy way to connect transportation hubs and local destinations. Because these investments reduce congestion, every commuter benefits.
Active transportation has additional perks: it’s good for the body, spirit and pocketbook. I haven’t always been an advocate, but about five years ago my husband (who is an avid bike commuter) installed a bag on my old mountain bike. Quite unexpectedly, that tiny retrofit transformed my bicycle into a practical transportation solution. With the ability to conveniently carry a heavy briefcase or a bag of groceries, cycling liberated me from our car. I was hooked. I felt happier and was amazed how much faster I arrived at nearby destinations — mostly because I didn’t need to search for parking. Bicycles help our busy family get where we need to go with only one car, which may even save us about $10,000 annually in per-vehicle ownership costs.
Please join me in supporting sustainable solutions to our traffic congestion. This week, if you are able, try walking or biking on a short trip. See how you feel and think about what improvements would make you safer. Also, participate in the survey sponsored by the San Mateo County Transit District (SamTrans) to gather public input about possible future transit investments at GetUsMovingSMC.com before Feb. 28. This is a unique opportunity to advocate for active transportation in our communities. Your voice makes a difference.
Emily Beach is a member of the Burlingame City Council and serves on the San Mateo County Transportation Authority Board of Directors.
It is very refreshing to hear some fact-based, novel thinking from an elected official. This is in short supply these days. I applaud Ms. Beach for recommending an alternative path to improving mobility on the Peninsula. Building more roads/highway lanes will simply increase the number of people driving on the Peninsula, many of them coming from 50+ miles away for local jobs. On the other hand, investment in active transportation infrastructure primarily benefits local taxpayers.
The City of Burlingame has done a great job recently in increasing cycling and making things safer for those on two wheels. The new Carolan bike lanes are a great connection to BHS and the Broadway bike connections to the waterfront paths to SF. LimeBike adoption seems incredible. I see so many non-traditional cyclists riding around town with huge smiles on their faces.
We need more elected officials like Ms. Beach to move beyond the 20th century transportation thinking that has resulted in the current state of car traffic and unsafe conditions for cyclists and pedestrians.
When I visited Amsterdam last September I was amazed by how many people get around by bicycle, even though it was cool and rainy. The secret seems to be that they have many miles of bike lanes that are physically separated from motor traffic and parked cars. There is typically a curb between bike lanes and car lanes. People feel so safe bicycling that hardly anyone wears a helmet. In our area bike lanes are usually sandwiched between moving cars on the left and parked cars on the right. Many people don't feel safe bicycling because they never know when a car door will open onto the bike lane or when a parked car will pull out in front of them.
As an avid family biker I'm in full support of this approach. I started biking everywhere 15 years ago -- one year after I started a new job with a long car commute, and developed high blood pressure. I switched to biking/walking + public transportation and haven't looked back. I find my walks/bikes to and from school with my kids some of the nicest parts of our day, + it gets them out in the neighborhood, interacting with our neighbors and learning how to navigate their world. It takes a little bit of planning to bike instead of drive, but once you're used to it, it becomes normal (and positive!) I fully support Ms. Beach's comprehensive approach to transportation -- including making it safe and easy for people to choose something other than driving when they can.
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(5) comments
Then when you get to your destination, there aren't enough safe places to leave it. Lots of bikes get stolen.
It is very refreshing to hear some fact-based, novel thinking from an elected official. This is in short supply these days. I applaud Ms. Beach for recommending an alternative path to improving mobility on the Peninsula. Building more roads/highway lanes will simply increase the number of people driving on the Peninsula, many of them coming from 50+ miles away for local jobs. On the other hand, investment in active transportation infrastructure primarily benefits local taxpayers.
The City of Burlingame has done a great job recently in increasing cycling and making things safer for those on two wheels. The new Carolan bike lanes are a great connection to BHS and the Broadway bike connections to the waterfront paths to SF. LimeBike adoption seems incredible. I see so many non-traditional cyclists riding around town with huge smiles on their faces.
We need more elected officials like Ms. Beach to move beyond the 20th century transportation thinking that has resulted in the current state of car traffic and unsafe conditions for cyclists and pedestrians.
When I visited Amsterdam last September I was amazed by how many people get around by bicycle, even though it was cool and rainy. The secret seems to be that they have many miles of bike lanes that are physically separated from motor traffic and parked cars. There is typically a curb between bike lanes and car lanes. People feel so safe bicycling that hardly anyone wears a helmet. In our area bike lanes are usually sandwiched between moving cars on the left and parked cars on the right. Many people don't feel safe bicycling because they never know when a car door will open onto the bike lane or when a parked car will pull out in front of them.
As an avid family biker I'm in full support of this approach. I started biking everywhere 15 years ago -- one year after I started a new job with a long car commute, and developed high blood pressure. I switched to biking/walking + public transportation and haven't looked back. I find my walks/bikes to and from school with my kids some of the nicest parts of our day, + it gets them out in the neighborhood, interacting with our neighbors and learning how to navigate their world. It takes a little bit of planning to bike instead of drive, but once you're used to it, it becomes normal (and positive!) I fully support Ms. Beach's comprehensive approach to transportation -- including making it safe and easy for people to choose something other than driving when they can.
Would really like to see more infrastructure built for bikes on the peninsula!
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Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
Don't threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Anyone violating these rules will be issued a warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be revoked.