Don’t ignore local traffic safety needs

Let’s encourage our leaders for the cities of San Mateo and Foster City to demand those related local priorities be included in design plans, and funding, now.

We local residents can gain, not just the pass-through travelers.

As a resident of the North Central neighborhood of San Mateo who uses Highway 101 and State Route 92 to access San Mateo and Foster City businesses and services, I have two priorities.

First: Add a traffic lane to westbound 92 where one lane is lacking at 92’s bridge over the Caltrain tracks. There are only two through lanes, so westbound motorists must slam on their brakes to avoid hitting vehicles exiting 92 toward El Camino Real.

Second local priority: drivers trying to merge onto northbound Highway 101 from either eastbound or westbound Hillsdale Boulevard, but not intending to merge onto State Route 92, must aggressively navigate through the northbound 101 to 92 multilane merge.

Any expenditures must prioritize safety for the traffic movement from Hillsdale Boulevard onto northbound 101. Not just accomplish smoothing flows for the Highway 101 traffic exiting onto both directions of State Route 92.

Improvement plans and public expenditures benefiting regional traffic flows must equally prioritize improving safety for related links with our nearby local streets.

Doug Handerson

San Mateo