Category: SamTrans-Caltrain

  • When is a transit stop not a transit stop?

    The wise people in Sacramento have forced density rules on every city and town in the state. Thou shall build. And it shall be stack-and-pack. And it shall be even bigger next to major transit stops. Beginning July 1, 2026, Senate Bill 79 (SB 79) enacts a significant “upzoning” mandate in California, requiring local jurisdictions to permit high-density housing within a half-mile of “major transit stops”. This law focuses on “urban transit counties”—defined as having 15 or more passenger rail stations.

    But what happens when that transit stop either disappears or is so scaled-back that it barely serves anyone? The Daily Journal and the Comicle both rewrote the doomsday planning scenarios put out by BART and Caltrain:

    A little over a month after BART laid out its tentative plan to close 15 stations if it didn’t receive funding, Caltrain also warned it could close one-third of all stations and eventually shut down passenger service altogether. 

    The agencies are relying heavily on the passage of an upcoming November ballot measure in several Bay Area counties, including San Mateo, in which voters will decide whether to help eliminate major transit agencies’ deficits through a 14-year sales tax measure.

    Even if the ballot measure passes, both systems are deep in the red. And it’s highly questionable that San Mateo County would get its “fare share” as noted back in September here. So when a stop, or 15 stops, close and the developers have already stack-and-packed the half-mile radius around it, what do we do? Answer: suck it up. 

  • SamTrans: Asleep at the wheel

    This is not another April Fool’s prank post. On April Fool’s Day, SamTrans figured out they should do something to avoid delays on El Camino during the Little Big Dig. Per the DJ

    In response, during an April 1 SamTrans board meeting, staff recommended a detour along California Drive for the project’s duration, as well as splitting the ECR line at Millbrae into a northern segment running to the Daly City BART station and a southern segment running down to Palo Alto, according to the presentation.

    One has to wonder exactly where the SamTrans board and operations managers have been for the last year or two? There has been a steadily increasing drumbeat of alerts, reroute maps, Caltrans emails and news reports, but these people don’t figure out they need to do something different until three and a half months after the ground-breaking ceremony?

    Maybe they should get out and actually take the bus once in a while or ask a driver or two. Drivers would have told them about scenes like this that I took three weeks ago.

  • San Mateo Safeway: Going Big

    The SF Comicle and the Daily Journal both had articles about the proposed redevelopment of the San Mateo Safeway into an EssEff-like commercial-residential hybrid like the one near Oracle Park. From the Chron:

    A Safeway store along El Camino Real in San Mateo is slated for a dramatic transformation, with a San Francisco developer pitching to replace the low-rise building with a dense housing complex.

    Align Real Estate on Tuesday filed an application to bring 396 new homes to 1655 S. El Camino Real, a nearly 3-acre site close to the Hayward Park Caltrain Station. The proposal involves razing the existing grocery store at the site and replacing it with a larger Safeway, topped by the planned housing, in a building that would rise seven stories. Roughly 55 of the proposed units will be income-restricted, and secured parking for both future residents and shoppers will be added to the site. 

    The piece rehashes the controversy over the giant Safeway store proposed in the Marina and refers to the state laws that are effectively gutting local control over development, but here is the real kicker in bold text

    Unlike some of the San Francisco neighborhoods targeted by Align, San Mateo has seen a notable uptick in housing development in recent years, driven largely by transit‑oriented infill and a push to address the region’s housing shortage — though affordability remains a major challenge. The most significant completed project is the Bay Meadows master plan, which has transformed the former racetrack into a mixed‑use neighborhood with about 1,100 new homes alongside offices, retail and parks, centered on access to Caltrain.

    That’s right. 1,100 new homes at the racetrack site near “access to Caltrain” and affordability is still considered “unaffordable” in San Mateo.  The fiction that we can outbuild the demand to live on the mid-Peninsula lives on. In the meantime, cities up and down the Peninsula approve more tech/biotech office space. Then they wonder why residential redevelopment doesn’t do what they thought it would do. And the infrastructure and school costs continue to spiral.

  • Transit Taxes: Beware the head fakes

    If it were not so sad, it would be humorous to follow the discussion at the SF Comicle about the forthcoming transit taxes for BART, et al and the SMART train up in Marin. The catalyst was a letter to the editor titled “If we’re willing to pay billions to maintain highways, why not fund BART?” I’m betting the author knows a half-dozen reasons why, but is playing the faux equity game to push the new taxes. Y’all come to this blog to see the onion get peeled, so let’s assess the “community value” of our “highways” and our city streets, such as they are, compared to BART, VTA, SMART, Caltrain, etc.

    Which bits of infrastructure enable police response? Fire response? Ambulance response? Utility (electric, gas, phone, internet) response? I am always impressed when the Safeway 18-wheeler makes the sweeping right turn at Howard, maneuvers the extra-long trailer into the parking lot and manages to back the thing into the loading dock. If you have never seen it, you’re missing out. And if we don’t see it every couple of days we will be missing out. Let’s not forget the Walgreen’s semi that got shoo’ed away from the big El Camino Project groundbreaking because it was noisy and inconvenient to the proceedings. You want your antibiotic? It ain’t coming on Caltrain or BART.

    Is a commuter rail line a good thing? Sure. Should it cover its costs at the fare box? No. But let’s dispense with the faux argument that transit can hold a candle to the streets and freeways that keep this whole show on the road. I’m not saying vote “no” on the tax–yet, but San Mateo County appears to be the tail that isn’t wagging the dog once again as the monies flow elsewhere.

  • A Wet Merry Christmas to All

    After a dramatic Christmas Eve and Christmas morning with gusts to 70 mph and intermittent downpours with SFO in “reverse operations” so takeoff go right over B’game, here is the 2pm view of my favorite flooding spot on ECR.

    The SamTrans driver knows to change lanes as do most of the other drivers–until it gets dark in a couple of hours. Be safe out there everyone. Only three more years to go until this is fixed……

  • ECR: T-minus Two Months and Counting

    Caltrans stopped by the city council meeting on Monday to tell everyone that the Little Big Dig project to improve El Camino Real is on track to start at the end of December or early January. You would not be wrong to ask, “If you are within two months of starting a $130 million dollar project that will disrupt a whole city for at least four years, shouldn’t you have a firm start date?” The plan, described here, is to start at the south end, working up the northbound side, then turning around at Millbrae and working down the southbound side. PG&E in the meantime will be starting on the north end and working its way down the southbound side burying the power lines and whatever else is hanging off the poles. That will take an indeterminate but long time. We got a tiny taste of it here.

    Stage 1 (about 2,000 feet long) will remove the first 136 trees which are marked by a medallion. Tree removal needs a “full closure” of that section of the state highway which opens up a set of questions that mostly went unasked by council or were answered superficially by staff and Caltrans. How police, fire, and ambulances get rerouted is the top concern. The response is essentially “we will be in contact with them”–check out slide 13–and you will see I will be on the leading (bleeding?) edge of these questions. How Recology picks up the garbage and recycling and how delivery services get to residences and businesses is another. SamTrans will also have to squeeze through. We should probably institute a no-left-turn zone for each stage and ensure BPD has a good overtime budget for the next four years.

    I’m still hoping the city or Caltrans will alert people to the doomed trees with some marker or ribbon larger than the little metal tags that are attached now. It’s gonna be a shock beyond just the street closures. The official response is “we are planting twice as many trees as we are taking out”. They’re just 10% as tall.

    Stages 2 through 6 are queued up much the same way, taking us through the Fall of 2029. That’s not a typo. Neither is this caveat in the slide deck “Timeline subject to change, contingent on PG&E undergrounding coordination and other key challenges“. That is going to put quite a magnifying glass on the general contractor, Teichert Construction, who councilwoman Donna Colson noted is a woman-owned company led by a someone she grew up with in Sacramento. As Bill Murray said in Caddyshack about his relationship with the Dalai Lama, “So I’ve got that going for me. Which is nice.” At least we know who to call and Donna noted she expects 100’s of calls. What is the biggest voicemail box you can buy? Public works director Syed Murtuza chose his retirement date wisely as the ribbon-cutting will also be his farewell.

    Council talked about public notice, banners, traffic advisory email lists, project website, social media posts on X, Facebook et al, and snail mailed notices. Prepare for incoming. In the meantime, see if your favorite Eucalyptus has one of these.

  • 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.

  • Waymo in Bgame: Almost there

    After seeing multiple Waymo's in my neighborhood for a month or more I decided it was time to give it a try.  I actually like to drive especially with my manual transmission cars.  It's a control thing and that ain't Waymo.  But we were four and planned on having a nice dinner in Millbrae, so I hailed one.  It was prompt arriving when it said it would, but missing the pick-up location by four addresses–so we walked over to it since you can't wave at it.  Out to ECR, left turn and headed north it was very careful and direct.  It changed lanes oddly for no apparent reason although my friend noted maybe its suspension sensor guided it away from the right lanes that SamTrans and trucks have turned into a used-up mine field.  $18 seemed about right–no need to tip the driver.

    Drop-off was smooth and after dinner the pick-up was also smooth–like a Lyft.  Then the fun started.  Instead of going 75 feet, turning right on ECR and heading for B'game it made an inexplicable turn back to the Millbrae neighborhoods.  It made another five inexplicable turns on tight residential streets until finally getting to ECR.  Being in good moods we laughed at it.  Then the drop-off (supposedly back where we started) went South as they say.  It turned left instead of right and stopped several blocks from home on the other side of ECR. That was it.  Get out.  Live customer support came on the speaker promptly and indicated the drop-off was outside the service area!  She didn't know what to say when I told her it picked us up there two hours ago, but the fare was waived.  Very odd.

    Today's announcement that Waymo is cleared to start driver-assisted service into SFO made me think that one should leave plenty of time since a random walk through the neighborhood could add fifteen minutes to the trip.  I will improve, it's just not quite there yet.  Here's me on ECR.

    Waymo Joe_jpg

  • Transit Tax: Taxation with minimal representation

    You can love BART, or you can ignore BART unless the agency starts dipping further into your pocket.  As a County we now pay $4 million a year, but the proposed tax increase would up that to $35 million–and still not solve the systemic issues with "transit" across the board.  The Merc is highlighting the Papan, Speier and Mueller opposition to the current proposal.  Even with more governance participation, most of the County would rather see Caltrain propped up than subsidize BART.  Per the Merc piece today, the tax has 54% approval but recall from eighteen months ago the support assumes somebody else will pay the freight.

    San Mateo County officials are clashing with the state lawmakers over a proposed regional sales tax that would bail out the Bay Area’s distressed transit systems, arguing that their constituents would shoulder an outsized share of the burden without a fair say in how the money is spent.

    The debate has complicated negotiations around the bill, SB 63, which would allow voters to impose a half-cent sales tax in Alameda, Contra Costa, San Mateo and Santa Clara counties, and a full cent in San Francisco. The tax could raise up to $1 billion annually over the next 14 years for BART, Caltrain, San Francisco’s Muni and other agencies facing steep budget gaps as federal and state relief funds dry up.

    At issue is San Mateo County’s lack of representation on BART’s board, which is made up of elected representatives from San Francisco, Alameda County and Contra Costa County. Together, the three county’s residents pay some $392 million in sales and property taxes toward the system, which make up nearly 40% of its total operating revenue. Meanwhile, San Mateo County contributes just $4 million annually.

    If voters pass the measure, San Mateo residents could be on the hook for roughly $35 million a year, about 10 percent of the sales tax revenue earmarked for BART.

    The sales tax could be placed on the ballot either through an action of the commission or through a qualified citizens’ initiative. The bill’s sponsors are hoping to take the latter route, as it would require a simple majority to pass, versus a two-thirds vote if placed on the ballot by MTC. Polling has shown that 54% of voters across Alameda, Contra Costa and San Mateo would vote yes on such a measure.

    These "qualified citizens' initiatives" are always suspect and this one feels even more suspect than most.

  • Paying for City Hall: Selling Parking Lot H

    Long time B'gamers will recall Rosalie O'Mahony's long tenure on city council and many of her fervently held positions.  I can clearly recall her somewhat high.jpgtched voice and slight, but hard to decipher accent.  I can also recall one of her favorite sayings, "Never sell schools or parking lots".  When the school district sold–and then had to repurchase—Hoover school, they learned Rosalie's lesson.

    It appears our current city council is about to contravene Rosalie's wisdom in order to pay for the pricy new city hall plan at 1440 Chapin Lane.  Parking Lot H is across El Camino from Walgreen's and is 39,922 ft2 according to the staff report.  It's composed of two lots:  8,500 ft2 zoned R-1 and 24,422 ft2 zoned R-3.  The city has declared both "surplus land" which probably has Rosalie turning over in her resting place.  The staff report notes

    The City owns several parking lots in and around Downtown Burlingame. While Parking Lot H is utilized by residents as well as customers and employees of local businesses, it is not frequently as full as other City owned parking lots. Further, while other City owned parking lots are surrounded by commercial properties, Parking Lot H is surrounded by single and multi-family residential properties.

    Notice the report doesn't actually say how full H is on a typical day.  I pass by it on a daily basis and it gets a decent amount of use.  My guess is Avenew employees are regular users so we should not discount its value as a long-stay overflow lot.  Customers want to park in front of the business they intend to patronize so having employees leave the close spaces open has value.  It is also convenient to a couple of SamTrans bus stops for people looking to make a hybrid car/bus trip.

    The lot directly between Walgreen's and Safeway is quite full as are the one next to the AT&T building.  The library lot is usually quite full.  The new parking garage is too far away to be considered by anyone using Lot H.  This train has probably left the station, but I would listen to Rosalie and not sell–especially when you feel like you have to and interest rates are up.  Any developer will also have to consider how long and disruptive the Little Big Dig will be on El Camino.  Here's view from the roof of Safeway.

    Parking Lot H

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