Transportation alternatives and Humboldt bicycle lanes

Mar 4, 2025
Mar 4, 2025
8

Editor,

The recent rejection of the North Humboldt Street bicycle lane shouldn’t stall efforts to improve transportation. Instead, it’s a chance to rethink our approach and find balanced solutions.

(8) comments

Terence Y Mar 4, 2025 8:19am

Thanks for your letter, Mr. Vanderlip, but I’d like to remind you that the Humboldt bicycle lane hullabaloo was initiated when so-called leaders decided they needed to reward union labor by using use-it-or-lose-it federal funds before they disappeared. Since then, the issue has been an ongoing problem and the rejection of the bike lanes is a return to common sense. The only winner? Union labor paid for installing bicycle lanes and now for removing bicycle lanes. Everyone else ended up losing – most of all taxpayers to pay for the self-inflicted wound wrought by so-called leaders at that time.

easygerd Mar 4, 2025 11:30am

There was no union involved with these bike lanes. Only an estimated $20,000 was actually spent on the paint of the bike lanes. The rest of the HUD housing money was used to fix potholes, traffic lights and cameras. So this was again a subsidy for car-centric living.

Removing Humboldt Street is clear prove that San Mateo Democrats are neither interested in fixing housing or traffic or equity. They claim to love high-density, affordable housing, but seem to hate high-density, affordable transportation even more so.

They will however be sending out their fundraising requests very soon where taxes will be raised if people want more housing, more equity, more health and happiness - the kind only bike lanes can provide and car lobbyists fear so much.

Terence Y Mar 5, 2025 8:56am

eGerd – TBot here. So you’re saying bike lanes painted themselves? I find that possibility highly unlikely, if not impossible. Perhaps you could provide the receipts on the final cost to implement the bike lanes out of the $1.5 million use-it-or-lose-it grant (https://www.smdailyjournal.com/news/local/san-mateo-moves-to-remove-most-of-humboldt-street-bike-lanes/article_ba5d144e-e374-11ef-b65a-d72b4cc455df.html) because I highly doubt it was an estimated $20,000. Meanwhile, you still haven’t addressed the fact that bike lanes are neither convenient nor efficient – even more of an issue in high-density developments.

easygerd Mar 5, 2025 9:29am

Hi TBot,

Quote from Boris Johnson - yes, that Boris Johnson: “Imagine if we could invent something that cut road and rail crowding, cut noise, cut pollution and ill health – something that improved life for everyone, quite quickly, without the cost and disruption of new roads and railways. Well, we invented it 200 years ago: the bicycle.”

He is telling us green paint is cheap. He is telling us streets are meant for transportation.

High-density, affordable housing requires high-density, affordable transportation.

Bicycles are "Transportation" and a very cheap, very efficient public responsibility.

Private car storage is not part of "Transportation" and a private problem - let's keep it private and don't make it another expensive government program.

Terence Y Mar 6, 2025 8:25am

eGerd – TBot here. Why would I listen to Boris Johnson – yes, that Boris Johnson? Isn’t this the Boris Johnson that resigned because more than 60 government ministers resigned? Isn’t this the Boris Johnson who planned to invade the Netherlands to steal 5 million COVID jabs? Isn’t this the Boris Johnson who wanted $1 million to sit for an interview with Tucker Carlson? Isn’t this the Boris Johnson who broke his own COVID lockdown rules – like Gavin Newsom? Enough said.

easygerd Mar 6, 2025 4:13pm

He said that when he was still Mayor of London and regarded as "fairly" sane.

You make him sound crazy and he probably deserves it.

People say his craziness started when his best - and probably only friend - lived in Pennsylvania Avenue. Maybe it is contagious or comes from the similar hair styles.

But you are right, that is the guy that pushed through Brexit and certainly hasn't gained more marbles since then. His high time probably was 'Mayor of London' - when he made that quote. The guy that came after him might have taken some of the improvements back. That is why London is still one of the most congested cities in the world - and Copenhagen is not.

jbennett Mar 4, 2025 8:36am

How will you reduce the traffic?? By pushing it over to parallel streets as what happened with eliminating the 200 plus parking spots? Humboldt is an arterial between US 101 on/offramps at Peninsula, Poplar, 3rd and 4th and many drivers use this street to get onto and off the freeway. On many afternoons traffic is backed up on N. Humboldt north of the Poplar on/off ramps all the way up to the county courthouse at 800 N. Humboldt. I will also add Humboldt is a truck route so where will the trucks go? Unfortunately there are no easy answers on this and we really have to find balanced and realistic solutions.

easygerd Mar 5, 2025 12:25pm

"A great example is Palo Alto’s Bryant Street Bicycle Boulevard, which successfully prioritized bicycles, limited through traffic and added traffic-calming features."

... and Bryant Street "Bicycle Boulevard" is basically the epiphany of everything wrong with The League of American Wheelmen, The Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition and similar "bicycle advocacy groups" really just promoting more car-centric living. Any street before becoming a "bicycle boulevard" or "slow street" has usually at least 4 lanes for cars and ZERO for bicycles. After creating the "bicycle boulevard" the street still has 4 lanes for cars and ZERO for bicycles.

We can only assume that this is a complete misunderstanding of "Vision Zero".

Looking at California collision statistics, Bryant Street is what is known as "The Most Dangerous Place for Bicyclists in Silicon Valley". Because "Bicycle Boulevards" are neither compliant with Vision Zero nor Transportation Equity nor Safe-Routes-To-School nor real bicycle advocacy in Europe and around the world.

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