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!
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
And the bolt holes…got any epoxy?
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
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.
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.
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.
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