Category: Broadway

  • Broadway: Gas Leak Lawsuit

    I was pretty sure a lawsuit would be filed over the extended closure of businesses on and around B’way. I didn’t see the merchants being represented by one of the top 25 plaintiff law firms in the country, but offering local merchants support is meritorious. From the DJ piece

    A class action lawsuit on behalf of merchants in Burlingame’s Broadway area has been filed against the owner and operator of A&A Gas & Mart, who were previously named as responsible parties in a gasoline leak that caused days of power outages and road closures in the business district. 

    Burlingame law firm Cotchett, Pitre & McCarthy chose to move forward with the suit, filed Feb. 23, to seek an undetermined amount of damages for businesses that lost customers, revenue and inventory as a result of those outages and closures, attorney Nanci Nishimura, who is representing the plaintiffs, said.

    The merchants mentioned range from Maverick Jack’s at the old train station to Bonne Sante at the other end of B’way. The total number is more than 100.

    In a real twist of fate, the A&A Gas website’s “About us” page shows the B’way station! They appear to have four of their six locations on the Peninsula. We’re not talking Shell or Chevron here so expect some sort of settlement as they realize what they are up against. In the meantime, Broadway is lovely shopping and dining district and there has been a lot of free parking as the city deinstalls the old parking meters and waits to install the fancy new ones.

  • Dine Burlingame: Best Values

    B’game isn’t known as a high-end Peninsula dining town a la Palo Alto or, lately, Menlo Park as noted here. But we are apparently a mecca for “value dining” as determined by Opentable. The list is loaded with Italian restaurants as determined thusly:

    Looking for the best value restaurants in Peninsula? You’re in the right place. Each month, OpenTable analyzes nearly 2 million global diner reviews from the past four months. We sort the results by location and category to help you discover new favorite restaurants.

    The latest listing has B’game winning three of the ten spots on the Peninsula. Two are well-known, long-time stalwarts in town: Cafe Figaro and Rocca–both on the “value” commercial street- Broadway. The third one is new (at least to me) and also on B’way at Paloma. Nepalese restaurant:

    Himali Bistro is a culinary delight that blends the vibrant spices and traditional cooking techniques of Nepali and Indian cuisine to transport your taste buds on a flavorful journey inspired by the majestic Himalayan region. At this modern restaurant, each dish is crafted with care and expertise to evoke the essence of the mountains, offering a fusion of unique flavors that pay homage to the diverse culinary heritage of the region.

    The newest entrant to the B’way dining scene is also on the “value” end of the spectrum. Patty’s Diner is going for the ’50s vibe and has a $9.50 smashburger that you can upgrade to Wagyu for an additional 4 bucks. I’ll be in soon to check out the Philly Cheesesteak using ribeye for $16.

    The last new entrant hasn’t opened yet, but that didn’t stop the SF Comicle from running a full-page “review” in the Sunday edition! Taking over the Flights space (or Left at Albuquerque or Nathan’s depending on how far back in time you want to go) is Amado. The Comicle calls it an “elegant new Mexican restaurant) here. Sounds good. Our scene doesn’t get much love from Comicle reviewers, so Amado must have something going for it.

  • PG&E: Unhappy New Year

    It’s been a rough start to the New Year for PG&E customers from EssEff to B’game and now to San Mateo. Fire in the city caused major problems including for the huge Waymo fleet. Here in B’game the multi-day outage on and around Broadway and California was especially tough for businesses and even more so if they happened to have perishable inventory. The news, like this report from ABC7, keep calling the leak into the utility vault a “petroleum product”. I suppose it could be diesel (does A&A sell diesel), but most likely it’s gas. ABC7 reported:

    Even though PG&E provided generators for those impacted, businesses were told they had to hire a private electrician to do checks before the utility company would hook them up. “To be able to certify that it’s okay to turn on the power and use the generators so we don’t have explosions,” said John Kevranian of the Broadway Burlingame Business Improvement District.

    That sounds odd and not very customer centric. If that is different skill set than PG&E electricians, then shouldn’t PG&E have hired a commercial electrician on the customers’ behalf? (kudos to John for stepping back in after his BID term ended to keep everyone up to date with many texts, etc).

    And of course, all of this happened right as the Little Big Dig started halving the capacity on El Camino and thinking vehicles could reroute to California. As one of our regular, shrewd commenters pointed out on the Drop the Green Flag post, post-holiday rainy season wasn’t the best time to start taking down massive trees and figuring out power line routes.

    ABC7 noted “PG&E is still working to extract all of the petroleum product from the vaults and identify where it’s coming from. They say it’s not something they use with their equipment.” Transformers use heavy oil as an insulator, but this isn’t that. Eventually we will find out if A&A gas was up to date and up to code on the tanks. Note that the station at the other end of B’way did theirs a couple years ago. And both the Chevron (finished) and the Shell stations on Peninsula are doing the same. The Google machine spit out this timely tidbit:

    Older, single-walled tanks face strict deadlines for upgrades or permanent closure (e.g., by Dec 31, 2025, for many systems) due to corrosion risks.

    Here’s a pic of the big generators that got people back online. Reports are they are just as noisy as the folks in the Richmond district reported. Caterpillar stock is up 75% in the last 12 months……

  • B’way: John Kevranian resigns from the BID

    Broadway was buzzing today with the announcement that the long-time, tireless BID president is stepping down. John’s letter notes:

    After deep reflection, I am formally resigning from my position as volunteer President of the Broadway Burlingame Business Improvement District, effective November 30, 2025. For 25 years, I have proudly served on the Board — including the past 11 years as President.

    Unfortunately, I can no longer continue in this role in good conscience due to a series of troubling developments that have significantly undermined Broadway’s future and my ability to serve with integrity.

    He notes three reasons that I will include here verbatim, so you get the full impact:

    First, the City of Burlingame’s decision to terminate the Broadway Specific Plan — which was intended to guide development and investment over the next 5, 10, and 20 years — reflects a concerning lack of vision and long-term commitment to Broadway’s prosperity.

    Second, the City Council’s continued refusal to support the reopening of weekday Caltrain service at the Broadway station further demonstrates a lack of understanding of the essential role of transit in our district’s history and future. The station, opened in 1910 as Easton Station in what was then known as Buri Buri, was the very reason the Broadway business district and surrounding apartments were built. When weekday service was removed over 20 years ago, the negative impact was immediate and profound. Restoring service should be a priority — not a political inconvenience.

    Third, in late 2023, I opposed efforts by a City Council member and a Beautification Commissioner to weaken Burlingame’s flavored tobacco laws to benefit a personal associate. In retaliation, on October 8, 2023, both individuals called the Burlingame Police Department and falsely claimed I had threatened the commissioner. These fabricated allegations were clearly intended to intimidate and silence me. This misuse of public authority and law enforcement was not only inappropriate — it crossed a line, both legally and ethically.

    I’m hoping BPD did the minimum perfunctory “investigation” of that last item. Item 1 reminds me of the sentiment on B’way that it is the poor stepchild of the Avenue. John has been a leading advocate for said refresh. I like Broadway a lot and actually spend more time there than on the Ave, but it could use a refresh and that takes help from the city. You have to wonder if moving to tiny district elections has narrowed the focus of city councilmembers.

    It’s a shame John is stepping down, but he will always have a prominent voice in all things B’way. You can listen to Mark Lucchesi interview John here as well.

  • Broadway: We’re jammin’, hope you like jammin’ too

    I give a hat tip to Bob Marley whenever I see five full lanes across the westbound span on the replacement B'way bridge.  The "new" bridge was built ten years ago as noted here.  But the rest of the grand plan is sitting here in limbo.  Sorry, only one song reference per post!

    We're jammin'I wanna jam it wid youWe're jammin', jammin',And I hope you like jammin', too
    We're jammin'To think that jammin' was a thing of the pastWe're jammin',And I hope this jam is gonna last
     
    Bway 5 lanes inbound

  • A Cautionary Tale: Caltrans and Guerneville

    The SF Comicle has brought us a cautionary tale about the Caltrans project to upgrade Guerneville's main drag which is also a state highway.  The four block long project has echoes to the B'game Ave. streetscape project done years ago, but I'm hearing warnings about our forthcoming El Camino Real project that I've taken to calling the "Little Big Dig".  Here are a couple of snippets from the Comicle piece starting with the blunt advice from a local business owner that concludes the article:

    “If I had advice for the next community — get a lawyer,” gallery owner Douglas DeVivo said.

    Caltrans spokesperson Jeffrey Weiss said the project to upgrade Guerneville’s sidewalks to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act was originally slated to begin last summer. Caltrans delayed the project start “to minimize construction impacts on merchants during the town’s busy summer season,” he said in an email. The agency said that “additional delays occurred when the contractor encountered unrecorded, abandoned underground utilities, railroad ties, and large redwood tree stumps and root systems,” and that “you never know what you’ll find in an old community when you start digging.”

    Truer words were never spoken.  You never know what you'll find once the backhoe arrives.  And they weren't cutting down hundreds of huge trees and undergrounding three or four types of overhead wires.

    Like many small towns across California, a state highway also serves as Main Street in Guerneville.  That has left Guerneville residents few avenues to weigh in on how revamping their town — from business disruptions to aesthetics — might unfold.

    The project included widening sidewalks, installing 23 curb ramps to accommodate wheelchairs, adding traffic signals and sidewalk bulb-outs at corners crossings as well as two pedestrian beacons.  County Supervisor Hopkins said that some delays have been understandable, given the lack of documentation for the pipes or old-growth redwood stumps under the sidewalk’s surface. 

    Weiss also said that during the sidewalk excavation, crews “noticed that the roadway drainage was in poor condition and extensive repairs were made.” 

    We certainly have that to look forward to.  It's really the main issue that needs to be resolved, but the rest of the add-ons to meet Caltrans code and bury the wires will make our roughly three-mile project seem longer.  I worry about the fire, police and ambulance response time.  And the illegal delivery truck blockages need to stop.  While ECR isn't our central commercial district, our Broadway and Avenew businesses will probably feel some of the same effect as Guerneville did.  Let's hope it's mild and nobody has to lawyer-up.

  • High-Cost Rail – Part 164 Private financing? Don’t bet on it

    It was fun reading SF Comicle journalist Rachel Swan try to put a happy face on the latest PR from the High-Speed Rail Authority.  As the Feds meander towards cancelling the latest $4 billion check, the latest CEO thinks private money may participate!  From the Chron

    At a moment when California high-speed rail faces possible abandonment, the project’s new CEO sees a tantalizing lifeline: $1 billion annually from the state, supplemented by an infusion of private capital.  It’s a hopeful, perhaps heady proposition.

    More like a head shop proposition, but she's trying

    But when CEO Ian Choudri was appointed last August to run the High-Speed Rail Authority, an agency created to plan and oversee the train system, he refused to let rising costs or critics distract him. Instead, he latched onto the public-private financing gambit, convinced that it just might work.

    Here's another guy looking to eat at the trough

    “There are significant ways to monetize (and) commercialize long linear rights of way,” said Sia Kusha, senior vice president of Plenary Americas, a firm that specializes in public-private partnerships. Plenary has helped build metro rail systems, hospitals, freeway express lanes and a vast expansion of the UC Merced campus.

    Although Kusha did not provide specific details about how to commercialize high-speed rail, others cited the fare box as a basic source of revenue. Beyond that, companies could develop real estate around stations or operate tunnels and charge for every train that rolls through. For businesses willing to engage in a little magical thinking, the opportunities seem boundless.

    "A little magical thinking"?  Is that like being a little pregnant?  You can tell Rachel had a deadline, went to the conference where this nonsense was discussed and had nothing else to write about.  The sooner Newsom kills this boondoggle and redirects the $1 billion per year of Cap and Trade money to things like, say, the Broadway grade separation, Caltrain and SamTrans budgets, or even propping up BART, the better.  Nobody has said this, but there's a non-zero chance that the El Camino Real "Little Big Dig" might be seeing cost increases that threaten the project the same as the grade separation.  Even that would be a better use of money than the Train from Nowhere to Nowhere.

  • Bay Area “Labor market malaise” to continue?

    It's best to take the long view when watching the economic dynamics of the Bay Area.  Point in time measures can't tell the whole story but do provide some sense of the state of things.  $12 billion dollar state budget deficit?  Check.  Transit "fiscal cliff" that sends politicians running for more taxes?  Check.  Massive Bay Area employers backing off of paying for huge residential housing projects?  Check.  Employment down? Check as the Merc is reporting today:

    The Bay Area lost 14,700 total nonfarm payroll jobs in all categories over the first four months of 2025. Over the same time, California lost 32,300 total payroll jobs, official reports from the state Employment Development Department show.

    “There is little doubt that federal government job losses will be an important contributor to the labor market malaise that already appears to be falling over the Bay Area,” said Scott Anderson, chief economist with BMO Capital Markets.  In sharp contrast, state and local government agencies have increased hiring, but that may soon change.

    Let's hope so.  The Merc doesn't provide the denominator to the fraction, i.e. how many nonfarm jobs are there?  But a $12 billion deficit is not a chump-change.

    Job losses within the federal government could become far worse in the months ahead, some experts warn.  “These numbers are the tip of the iceberg,” Levy said. “The majority of federal job cuts are not reflected in the April data.”

    A $2.4 trillion-dollar federal deficit ain't chump-change either so I take issue with the characterization of federal RIFs becoming "far worse".  Right sizing government and bringing some sanity to the Bay Area jobs-housing ratio that might stop the "Wienerization" of the suburbs is to be encouraged.  Want to stop the $inkhole sucking taxpayer cash that is the high-cost rail project?  It's only claim to fame so far is that it "creates" a lot of new jobs.  I'm sure we could put a few to work on the Broadway grade separation for a tiny fraction of what is being wasted in the Central Valley.  Don't hold your breath.

  • Reopen the Broadway Station? The BID is in.

    John Kevranian of the Broadway BID is raising the issue of full, weekday service being restored by Caltrain at B'way.  We can go back in time to August of 2015 when the tenth anniversary of the weekday closure happened here.

    It's been 20 years, but John has the institutional memory of what was promised and now wants to call in the chips.  It's going to be a bit of an uphill battle, but with the electrification and the quicker start/stops, now is the time.  Here is his letter to the DJ

    It is time for Caltrain and the city of Burlingame to reopen the Broadway Burlingame Caltrain Station for weekday service. There is no money to do the grade separation. Seventeen years ago, when Caltrain decided to close the weekday service at the Broadway station, It devastated the small businesses in the Broadway business district. On average, over 2,000 people would take the train every week. Passengers would walk through Broadway, grab their coffee, breakfast and take the train to go to work. In the evening, passengers would get off the train, grab their dinner, groceries and other essentials and walk home. The Broadway business owners and the Burlingame Community were promised that when the Caltrain electrification was completed, it would reopen the weekday service.

    Surrounding the Broadway District are thousands of apartments and many new developments that are happening very near Broadway station. Many biotech businesses around Bayshore are in the development stage and were told that Broadway station would reopen its weekday service once electrification was done, in order to facilitate their employees' commute. Two apartment complexes consisting of over 800 units are steps away from Broadway Caltrain.

    Reopening the Broadway station will not cause an additional safety or traffic issue. The Broadway station platform would be extended an additional 50-100 feet closer to Carmelita Avenue and once the train crosses the gates, the gates would immediately open. This is not difficult engineering. Caltrain has to service the needs of the Burlingame Community.

    John Kevranian

    President, Broadway Burlingame Business Improvement District

    The letter is buttressed by outreach to KRON 4 news who came to B'game for some interviews you can watch here.

  • Bumpingame – Part 3 Car..melita speed humps de-installed

    Carmelita Ave. is a pretty important street for travel and as the Little BIg Dig gets closer it will become even more important as a way to get to California Dr. and avoid the congested Broadway blocks.  We tracked the unfortunate addition of 12 non-standard rubberized speed humps here and more here.  Twelve was overkill for sure and it looks like TSpoon and Public Works have come around to that thinking since four of the 12 have been taken out.  My least favorite set, about 30 yards from the California Dr. stop light, are still there, but there's progress.

    The non-standard design is thoroughly uncomfortable to drive over and now we discover the bolt holes have to be filled before the road surface degrades further.  The DJ is reporting on our fiscal health:

    A planned $9.9 million transfer to the capital improvement fund — which will focus on the city’s potable water system and sanitary sewers this year — plus more than $3 million for debt services, will leave Burlingame at a $2.7 million net operating deficit. 

    I have no idea if speed humps are considered operating or capital expenses–one would think capital, until they start getting removed after a year in place.  Either way, it's just not a good use of city funds and this design ain't great for your suspension or spine either.  Here's the de-install.

    Carmelita hump shadow2

    And the bolt holes…got any epoxy?

    Carmelita hump shadow

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