Local Biketivist Teams

“Our plea and our urge has not changed.”

Those of us that press our cities to build better bikeways know that the fight is often a painstaking ordeal -- street by street, intersection by intersection. And as many of our local teams know, these plans often get derailed or watered down, especially when changes to streets include the removal of parking stalls and traffic lanes. This month’s Biketivist forum highlighted how cities and agencies have grown keen on comprehensively tackling street redesign through annual restriping and repaving plans. Read on for a synopsis of the highlights from our esteemed panel guests who are steeped in street redesign and a link to the recording.

In the City of San Mateo, Caltrain recently completed the 28th Ave grade separation project. The design has four lanes of vehicle traffic for two blocks under the Caltrain tracks, though on either end of this section is only two lanes of traffic. The design includes a broad sidewalk/Class-I shared facility (for people walking and biking) on the north side. People biking are expected to maneuver two intersections to use this facility only for a very small stretch. The design inequitably favours people driving and invites higher speeds and more congestion in a location with high walking and biking activity. SVBC and other community members are requesting the city and Caltrain implement a road diet to build a Class IV facility for people biking. Caltrain and the City of San Mateo will be revisiting the design only after doing a traffic study in Spring of 2022. It is sad that a $205.9 million project, 4 years under construction, is unable to satisfy residents, especially people walking and biking and does nothing to combat car dependency in the face of climate change.This blog details out the issue, talks about the perspectives of different stakeholders and talks about mistakes that could be avoided in the future.