San Mateo debuts Sustainable Streets Plan, takes major steps toward safe transportation network

Connecting Our Communi...El Camino RealFeaturedVision ZeroWins

Nov 10

On Monday night, November 3, Ken Chin of the San Mateo Department of Public Works introduced the draft Sustainable Streets Plan to City Council. This plan has been over two years in the works and has involved many community meetings, the Taste and Talk series as well as other visioning exercises and research.SVBC is very happy to see San Mateo take such an innovative approach to transportation. The plan embodies at least three of our five major initiatives, including Vision Zero (setting a goal for zero roadway fatalities and a reduction in collisions involving injuries), El Camino Real bikeways (more below), and Connecting our Communities. In addition, we applaud the incorporation of Complete Streets, the prioritization of movement over vehicle storage, the goal to increase bicycle and pedestrian mode share to 30% by 2020, the adoption of the NACTO guidelines, and the elimination of Level of Service metrics in favor of Vehicle Miles Traveled metrics.The plan lays out a vision, goals, and objectives as well as street design guidelines. It also includes several sample projects, including two on El Camino Real. SVBC has been working in several communities to encourage bicycle facilities on ECR, to help increase visibility and accessibility of bicycling. San Mateo's draft plans are the first from any city on the Peninsula that fully embody the vision that we have for El Camino Real: protected bike lanes, pedestrian improvements, and traffic calming. Specific details can be found starting on page 4-3 of the draft plan (downloadable here).Most of the City Council members seemed supportive of this plan. However, there will be a number of public meetings and processes before the final adoption of the plan (see schedule below).It is this type of visioning that makes San Mateo stand out and positions the city as a leader on the Peninsula in terms of safety, livability, vitality, and transportation. SVBC looks forward to helping to make this plan a reality and we will continue to work to see other forward-thinking plans and projects from other cities soon.If you live, work or play in San Mateo and are interested in helping SVBC push this plan and corresponding projects forward, contact advocacy@bikesiliconvalley.orgNext steps in the process: