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More El Camino Observations

It seems like I revisit the sorry shape of El Camino about this time every year.  Last year's post here drew some insightful comments and general agreement on the sorry state of affairs for our peasant path–certainly no King's Road.  Perhaps the arrival of the rain that coincides with the arrival of the Caltrans FLOODING signage gets me thinking.  Or maybe it's the completely random light at Lincoln Ave. and El Camino that stops ECR traffic for no visible reason.  And now the "Grand Boulevard"-like sections in San Mateo and Millbrae have these inscrutable double flashing yellow/red lights for pedestrian crossings.  They appear to be set for walkers with walkers as most of the time the pedestrian is long gone and the flashing red lights are still flashing.  Most drivers can't decide if a double flashing red means wait or proceed-if-clear.  To tell you the truth, I'm not sure myself so I err on the side of caution.

Rather than just complain I got out my scooper and cleared my adopted drain.  It really needed it as you can see below.  The official page for city adoption services is here. It appears someone already adopted it, but I think of it as shared-custody since I have been clearing it for more than a decade.  I was able to adopt the one on the other corner which was "medium" priority–I would hate to see how bad "high" priority is.  84 Adopters have adopted 110 of our 1,400+ drains, so you are sure to have one nearby that needs your love.
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24 responses to “More El Camino Observations”

  1. Hollyroller

    Very nice Post Joe.
    We live in a Community. In order to “maintain” a Community means everyone has to do what they can to help the Whole. Not big things… just clearing a drain instead of calling Public Works. Believe it or not, those people have a lot to do. We need to do the best that we are capable of.
    Pay it Forward.
    Support our Public Works.
    It is OK to pick up a piece of trash that is not yours because the “End Justifies the Means.
    Thank you for the Post Joe.

  2. Gerald

    I’ve mentioned the major amount of debris from the Eucalyptus trees on El Camino at Bellevue to several City officials. All it takes is one lit cigarette and then Burlingame will be in the news…drove by this morning (having mentioned this over the past two weeks to both fire and police personnel)…still a mess with tree bark draped over the power lines.
    Hopefully it will get cleaned up in the near future.
    While Public Works DOES have a lot to do, I would hope the people driving the street sweeper would give the drains on the corners a cleaning…they typically seem to miss these which becomes more problematic when there is rain.

  3. Hollyroller

    I have watched Gerald maintain the sidewalk in front of Weimax for decades.
    Thank you for caring Gerald.

  4. Peter (Motorcycle Guy) Garrison

    Books, Inc. sweeps their sidewalk. Nice.

  5. BMW

    Re the flashing red light signals on ECR from San Bruno, down Millbrae all the way down to Menlo Park, they’re called Hawks. Best info, graphic and video is from here:
    https://www.menlopark.org/Blog.aspx?IID=524
    Re that light at Lincoln and ECR stopping intermittently, that is a nuisance but it does help people coming out of the ECR driveways. Otherwise, those poor people don’t stand a chance.
    That Lincoln ECR corner is notorious for flooding, even when it’s not raining. The Apartment building on 1277 ECR spits out water into the gutter so there’s always ponding even in June.
    https://goo.gl/maps/PnJejxyGZrt

  6. Hollyroller

    Considering the “Big ECR Picture;” who really cares?
    I would rather have “More Cowbell.”

  7. Joe

    8:40 pm: Roadway will be closed in both directions on El Camino between Broadway and Carmelita in Burlingame due to a tree down
    9:47 pm: It’s open again

  8. resident

    Why oh why can’t the city get on Caltrans case to FIX El Camino? Instead of all this hemming and hawing about a diverse community and affordable housing and green this and green that how about making El Camino safe to drive on when it rains? Why is this so complicated? Don’t council people drive in town? Someone is going to get killed and it will be for a completely predictable reason.

  9. Peter Garrison

    As Cassandra, let me prophecy- though cursed never to be believed: The fatality will occur due to a combination of standing water, pothole, lane-change, pedestrian and speed.

  10. BMW

    Not to worry. Caltrans already has plans and money programmed to resurface and fix the drainage problems. In 2024.
    http://www.dot.ca.gov/hq/transprog/SHOPP/long-lead/shopp_long_lead_listing_approved_projects.pdf
    So it is written, so it shall be done.
    Meanwhile we all have to channel Moses and Ben Hur to travel the King’s Highway.

  11. Peter Garrison

    Funny!

  12. BurlingameResident

    Those trees on El Camino creating the environmental disaster have to go. It is said that the eucalyptus tree absorbs water and dries up land because it needs so much water in order to grow so fast.
    They are costing us millions.

  13. Joe

    It seems to me that soaking up water is just what we need. They may be saving us. Where does the “millions” go?
    You’ll be dismayed to know you are in the tiny minority in B’game. Nothing fills the city council chambers like a threat to the eucs. And they are now nationally protected:
    https://www.burlingamevoice.com/2012/03/nationally-historic-100-years-of-protection-rewarded
    So you can pretty much forget that idea.

  14. hollyroller@gmail.com

    In my opinion, BR has no concept of Tree Physiology. That being said, the Heritage Trees along the “Avenue of Kings” are a Landmark. The Trees along ECR should get the BEST Arbor Scientist people available.
    I have seen many “Artist Renditions” related to all kinds of Developments.
    Lets see the City Elders put up a “couple of bucks” to present to the people of Burlingame.
    That will help “Burlingame-Our Fair City” citizens, determine the value of Trees of Burlingame.

  15. ElCaminoOwner

    Weird!! Just visualize from now on millions of dollars of our taxes going down the drain when you hear “Heritage Trees”.
    Who is accepting the damage and danger those trees cause to innocent people who live alongside them as well as those who drive down the street?
    These people who are on the sensible “save lives and money” side have a good idea.
    Breaking with “bad tradition” is a good thing. Personally; I am not afraid of the “big bad wolf” and City Hall Chambers being filled with “Hyper Save the World” people, especially when they blindly chase bad ideas.
    HERITAGE TREES = DANGER TO LIVES + COST MILLIONS

  16. hollyroller@gmail.com

    LOSS OF HERITAGE TREES=
    -Property Devaluation
    -An incredible increase in transportation noise i.e. Airport, ECR,HWY 101, Cal Train
    -The City of Burlingame becoming a lookalike community of Daly City, Colma, SSF, San Bruno, Millbrae, San Mateo, Belmont, San Carlos, Redwood City(are there any Redwood Trees left in Redwood city?) on and on.
    Million’s of Dollars seems like an infrastructure investment to me.
    Trees need maintenance just like roadways, traffic signals, and Pipes.
    I believe the Culture of Internet keeps people from looking out of their dwellings.
    Seeing the value of Grand Trees in an urban environment is an incredible asset.

  17. Peter Garrison

    In regard to my prophecy above: If the pedestrian lives, it is because of a big tree.

  18. hollyroller@gmail.com

    ?

  19. Joe

    One of our local experts on street infrastructure sent this along regarding the recent (and, for sure, near future) flooding on El Camino:
    What likely happened is that the Burlingame street parallel and adjacent to El Camino started flooding. It got so bad that it ended up flooding half of El Camino Real itself.
    That street at the edge of Burlingame Plaza is a city street. It has one main drain plus two auxiliary drains. But those drains are not optimally placed, have curbs on them that prevent water from flowing (dams) & prone to collecting debris. On the Caltrans/ECR side are another two drains including one that’s newly installed. There’s plenty to be unhappy with Caltrans about. This is not one of them. At least not as the primary actor.
    City is aware this is a problem. It’s clear that the entire Burlingame plaza water runs right down to this point – basically the bottom of the sink. All the drains here are “High” priority for the city to have someone “adopt”. If we don’t want this to happen again, we need someone to adopt them. Or urge the city to upgrade and invest in the storm water system the way they are planning to do on Chapin.
    A plug to sign up for the drain adoption program. And those foster parents to do their thing this coming week when the rains come back. My son and I plus a couple of neighbors just took care of our local drain. Could be start of a Hygge thanksgiving tradition.
    ——————
    My original post above has the link to the adoption program. Headed down to the end of my street now to be sure it’s clear for this afternoon deluge.

  20. Joe

    Status update: Both drains needed some serious unclogging, but the real question is what about the debris that is below the grates? Once the top is clear you can see how much leaves and litter fills the underground chamber–cannot be good for throughput.

  21. Cassandra

    Don’t pay city/state taxes, just adopt the employees and give them chores to do for free.

  22. Joe

    Some of our regular wags should have fun with this from today’s city e-newsletter–and no, TOMORROW is April Fool’s Day:
    Storm Drain Murals Contest
    Submissions Due April 30, 2022
    Calling all artists! The City of Burlingame is launching a new Storm Drain Murals Pilot Project and is seeking digital artwork for these murals. Since storm drains often go unnoticed, the murals provide a unique learning opportunity to educate the public about the importance of preventing litter, pet waste, and other pollutants from entering these drains. Submit your designs in the Storm Drain Murals contest for a chance to have your artwork displayed in Burlingame. To learn more about this contest, visit http://www.burlingame.org/murals.

  23. MBGA

    That mural idea sounds like a great project to get kids to learn that all public property is a fun and rewarding place to express yourself. I say we start providing all school age children with spray cans and let them have fun. (Lord knows they’ve had a rough couple years.) And maybe spend a few days of the school year dedicated to stencil making and graffiti techniques and have it formally incorporated as part of the social justice as art (or is it art as social justice?) curriculum.
    A few ideas for the art:
    How bout “Do NOT Defecate or Urinate near drains” with a few brown objects in the foreground and the san francisco skyline in the background.
    How bout “NOTICE – This drain is under 24 hour surveillence” with a security camera icon.
    How bout “Dispose of your NWO apparel responsibility. Do not throw away in drain.” with the mask icon.
    How bout “Fishes Lives Matter” with fishes tangled in the masks.
    How bout “Pollution causes Alzheimers” with a picture of Joe Biden.
    How bout “Crack Pipe Free Zone” with a nice rendering of Hunter Biden.

  24. Joe

    I cleared my adopted drain just in time! Downpour in progress.

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