Category: Broadway

  • 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

  • Podcast: Mark Lucchesi and I talk B’game (#103)

    I'm honored that B'game podcaster Mark "Mark at the Mic" Lucchesi asked me back for another episode of Burlingame – It's a Small Town.  Over the course of about an hour we covered numerous topics that will be familiar to regular Voice readers and some new stuff too.  If you want to invest the time, around cocktail hour is recommended, then settle in with your favorite beverage and listen to the "Voice of the Voice".  The link to Episode #103 is here.

    Thanks again, Mark.  He has me queued up for another one in a few months since there is always something to talk about in our Small TownTM.

    Here is the two of us after recording the third podcast at the library

    Mark and Joe

  • Crosswalk Daylighting: Minus 100 spaces and counting

    We covered the new "daylighting" law that went into effect last January but is only now starting to be enforced here in B'game and elsewhere.  You can refresh your memory here regarding the 20-foot clearance around all crosswalks.  I have been having email discussions with Public Works and BPD on what the effects will be in our commercial districts, the areas around schools and the Rec Center as well as plain old residential areas.

    2024 was the "educational" year when marginal violations would only earn a warning, but BPD does not show that it issued any warnings in town.  I say "educational" because the city is only marking red curb areas in the high traffic-high pedestrian areas.  Both of our commercial districts and the school zones qualify for new or refreshed paint.  Public Works notes "The City has already completed red curbing in the Burlingame Avenue downtown area and is now focusing on Broadway as the next priority" and estimates this will eventually result in a net loss of about 100 spaces city wide.  Some of our existing red zones will have to be extended to 20' like the one shown below in front of Ike's, so I think there maybe a few more than the initial 100 estimate.

    Things get more interesting in residential neighborhoods.  There are crosswalks all over the place and plenty of people are accustomed to parking in front of their houses within 20' of such intersections.  I can go for a 15-minute walk in Burlingame Park and regularly count a half dozen.  There are two pocket parks on my walk, one that used to be Pershing School, so that may account for some of the legacy crosswalks.  Very few of these have any red curbing.  Thus, BPD has indicated:

    The fine for daylighting is $40.00, the same as most of the City's parking fines. Parking Enforcement Officers won't be actively patrolling residential neighborhoods specifically looking for these violations. However, if they happen to observe one, they are encouraged to take appropriate action, which could be a warning or a citation.

    I think good judgement will prevail at least for some educational period.  Six months?  9?  We shall see.  I'll be on the lookout for new red paint and whether or not it improves visibility of pedestrians.  Drivers should remember it is no longer illegal to jaywalk per The Freedom to Walk Act, which was signed into law in January 2023.

    Ike's curb

  • EV Charging: Fixing the Lot Y chargers

    The Lot Y parking lot on Chula Vista near B'way has had a shaky history of EV charging reliability.  We reported on the initial low usage four years ago here.  It may have gotten more usage in the intervening four years, but back then one and a half charging sessions per day per unit was not a good use of city parking slots.  Part of the problem has been that the chargers themselves are wonky.  Sometimes it's the credit card readers.  Sometimes other things, but the owners, EVGo, have thrown in the towel on their first-generation units and torn all of them out.

    Replacements are on their way and reportedly will be re-installed by the end of the month.  Let's hope at least some parts of the dead units are recyclable.  In the meantime, the gas guzzler meters that are behind the construction fencing are offering free parking in those spaces (since you can't get to the meter).  Park on!  Let's hope the new chargers last more than five years and we get the upgraded ones at the Walgreen's installation.

    New chargers coming

  • Broadway: New cost estimate, same old story

    The song remains the same on the grade separation at Broadway only a lot more off-key than before.  I wrote this five years ago here:

    One of the common questions I hear in town is "When are they going to fix the rest of Broadway?" meaning now that the bridge has been replaced, what about the rail crossing?  My standard response is "There isn't nearly enough money socked away to even start".

    That refrain got even worse this week as the DJ reports:

    The grade separation — designated as a top priority at last year’s city goal-setting — would separate the train tracks from the road to mitigate traffic, increase public safety and allow more than one train at the Broadway station. At the beginning of 2024, project costs were estimated at $325 million.

    Now, however, Caltrain recently informed the city about significant increases to project costs, raising totals to $500 to $600 million for construction alone, Public Works Director Syed Murtuza said.

    Aside from the usual, completely predictable, extreme increases in the cost of labor and materials, now we get to add the fact that with electrification of Caltrain we have to de-electrify the lines to do the construction for four hours at night.  Less construction time equals more project time equals higher costs.  Rinse and repeat.

    Pleas from the city to complete the grade separation before Caltrain electrification went unanswered, Murtuza said. “It’s just utterly poor management and mismanagement on the part of the organization, and we saw it directly,” (Donna Colson) said.  She urged the city to realistically communicate with residents about the realities of the long-awaited project moving forward.

    "Realistic" is our middle name here at the Voice.  No shovels will be hitting dirt in the foreseeable future, so we need to make lemonade.  Is it AI like noted here?  Is it just an underpass?  Do we try to get a reprieve from the state on our RHNA numbers so we can stop building giant residential cell blocks on Rollins that will change the traffic grade on the intersection from an "F" to an "F–"?   Just kidding, not "realistic", but a nice fantasy.  There are timing tweaks to the various signals that could make marginal improvements.  All we can really do is better traffic enforcement and hope the accident and fatality rates don't climb.

  • Lot Why: Some parking spots are busier than others

    The Broadway business district was humming this afternoon in spite of the overcast and drizzle.  Four days before Christmas and Hanukkah is "peak shopping time".  I made four stops that took about an hour including two trips back to my car, so the scene below wasn't just a single instance anomaly.  The gas guzzler spaces were packed.  You remember how tight the Lot Y lane is between the two parking rows next to Pick of the Litter when both sides are full.  Even in a mid-size sedan, backing out of a space is a two or three-cut process.  Maybe it is the rain, but my meter took my coins, flashed green, but failed to display how much time I just bought.  It's ticket roulette.

    Many people were looking longingly at the EV spaces.  I didn't have the heart to look at each charger to see if they were operational–I sort of know the answer already based on this post two weeks ago.  As the "Daylighting" ordinance goes into effect with fines starting Jan 1, parking spots will get incrementally rarer.  Just wait until 19 spaces go EV-only in Lot K between Safeway and Walgreen's.  Perhaps Santa will bring the city a few shrouds to cover broken chargers that read "Open to all vehicles for free".  It's on my list.

    Lot Why

  • Pushing back on the YIMBYs

    From the "broken clock is right twice a day" file comes this Letter to the Editor of the SF Comicle.  Somehow the editors let this one slip through the cracks and into print.  I don't know the woman or the organization, but she hits pretty much every button right on the nose:

    YIMBY housing fantasies won’t work in California. Here’s the reality

    Regarding “There’s no protecting California values without building more housing” (Open Forum, SFChronicle.com, Dec 13): The steady drumbeat of op-ed pieces from SPUR and YIMBY housing advocates is tiresome. Many Californians disagree with them.  Urban density and infill housing are supposed to remedy suburban sprawl. But urban density, in practice, simply creates overcrowded streets, with motorists circling in search of rare parking.   Infill comes at the expense of historic buildings and districts, which are often demolished. A classic example is the enormous apartment buildings planned for the former California College of the Arts campus in Oakland.

    Transit-oriented development? This fantasy assumes that public transportation is a fixed utility. Many bus lines that once served our communities have been cut.  How many voters will oppose a tax to support BART because of the agency’s plans to put apartments in its parking lots? How many people have quit taking BART because there is no secure place to park near the stations?

    The SPUR and YIMBY people want Soviet-style apartment blocks wherever they can be crammed in, extinguishing every vestige of charm from neighborhoods.  It’s time for the state to stop forcing draconian “density bonus” and “builder’s remedy” laws on neighborhoods that want to retain some breathing room.

    Amelia Marshall

    Board member, Oakland Heritage Alliance

    Amen, Amelia.  Look no further than our latest Cellblock at One Adrian Ct.  It may not extinguish any charm in the neighborhood since it sits next to a Public Storage business, but you can bet it will raise traffic thru the Worst Intersection in the State and put pressure on all sorts of public services.  Did the grid get any major upgrade?  School capacity?  Did we hire another police officer for traffic enforcement?  Anything thing else listed here?  Keep up the good work, Ms. Marshall.  You are far from alone.

  • EV Chargers: On the blink in Lot Y

    The bloom is off the EV market for a variety of reasons.  Unit growth is slowing dramatically.  Now that early adopters have made their purchases, the mainstream buyers' reluctance to go all-electric is hitting home hard with car companies, parts suppliers, battery factories and infrastructure players.  A number of EV start-ups will likely go bankrupt by summer according to the WSJ analysis and the big manufacturers are losing their rear bumpers on every sale.  Some to the tune of more than a $100,000 loss per sale!  Ironically, sales of high-end gas pickups and SUVs are propping up companies' EV divisions!

    Range anxiety is one of the key causes of EV reluctance–and it is helping the hybrid market accordingly.  My only experience with a Tesla rental drove that anxiety home as I got about half of what the range gauge estimated.  Paying the supercharger rate wasn't dramatically cheaper than gas in the state I rented in.  Heightening range anxiety is charger malfunctions and vandalism (stealing the copper filler wire for scrap value).  Malfunctions are a national problem (estimated to be one in five) and very much a local issue as reported by the DJ this weekend:

    In Burlingame’s Broadway District, continued issues with its electric vehicle charging stations are inconveniencing businesses and residents alike, Broadway Burlingame Business Improvement District president John Kevranian said.   A representative for EVgo, which owns and operates the six fast-charging electric vehicle stations located at 1133 Chula Vista Ave., confirmed that five of the six stations have likely been out of operation at times for a couple of months. One has been out of operation for weeks, she said.

    Now, however, eight parking spots in the tightly packed Broadway District have become largely nonfunctional.   “This is the holiday season, too. It’s crucial these work during the holiday season. If EVgo is not going to repair them, maybe they can cover the stations, and use them as public parking,” Kevranian said.

    John is on-the-money with the idea of covering a charger if it is broken so everyone could see that they can use the space.  Given they don't have meters, it would be a freebie, too. The sad part is that EVgo cannot keep chargers working that only went live in 2019, as we noted here.  The DJ piece notes that EVgo may not be complying with the city contract.  I'd say that is a safe bet, but did we negotiate any performance penalties?  Usage in Lot Y ramped up pretty slowly as we noted here, but random outages are likely to stunt future usage.  Anxiety is bad for business.

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