Community members riding in the El Camino Real Pilot Project’s protected bike lane on El Camino Real during a community engagement event organized by SVBC, the City of South San Francisco, and San Mateo County Safe Routes to School.

Just two years removed from passing its ambitious Active South City plan, the City of South San Francisco secured additional funding to move its El Camino Real Corridor Study forward and meet its goal of protected bike lanes on the entire stretch of the state highway.

In early March, Caltrans announced it awarded the City of South San Francisco approximately $50 million through its Reconnecting Communities Highways to Boulevards Grant Program. The competitive grant, funded by the federal Bipartisan Infrastructure Act, aims to reconnect communities divided and negatively impacted by decades of misguided transportation policies and prioritizes projects that improve community connectivity, mobility, or economic development.

The winning project, named Connect4SSF, plans to strengthen connections between transit and housing, jobs, and open space, identifying four areas of focus: Colma Creek, the Caltrain Corridor, U.S. Highway 101, and El Camino Real. The San Mateo County Transportation Authority (SMCTA), in partnership with the City, and San Mateo County’s Flood & Sea Level Rise Resiliency District, OneShorline, led the effort to secure the funding and will be leading the project administration and management. The success of this project hinges on these agencies working together along with Caltrans, and community partners.

Fortunately for South San Francisco and the Bike Movement, we’ve seen the city successfully collaborate with stakeholders with its watershed El Camino Real Complete Streets Pilot Project. The pilot project illustrates the transformative power of collaborative efforts among agencies. By coming together, we effectively redesigned El Camino Real to accommodate the diverse needs of all users, regardless of age, background, or ability.

El Camino Real Complete Streets: Model for the Next Phase

In the fall of 2023, the city participated in Smart Growth America’s Complete Streets Leadership Academy and received a $15k grant to implement a temporary complete streets project on El Camino Real. The program produced a brilliant pilot project from Hazelwood Drive to Country Club Drive that featured protected bike lanes on both sides of El Camino Real, Zicla bus-loading platforms, and high-visibility crosswalks.

*Screenshot from a report by South San Francisco’s planning division summarizing feedback it received through its community survey for the El Camino Real Complete Streets Pilot Project.*

Although the pilot project was temporary, the city was able to study the impact bike lanes had on safety, driver behavior, and the small businesses that call this vital stretch of road home. SVBC proudly supported the city by leading the outreach for the project, organizing a community event and assisting in the development and distribution of a community survey.

During a presentation to the city council, Senior Planner at the City of South San Francisco’s Planning Division, Christopher Espiritu, provided a briefing on the the survey’s findings He said a majority of respondents (nearly 60%) supported the pilot project, and many observed improved driver behavior, faster travel for buses, and reduced vehicle speeds. The survey also found community members want safer pedestrian crosswalks.

“We proved that protected bike lanes are possible,” said Espiritu, “and certain segments of El Camino [Real] have the capacity to accommodate more people walking, biking, and for those on mobility devices.”

The city plans to complete its outreach for the El Camino Real Corridor Study before undergoing the project's design phase. The reconnecting communities grant offers the city a funding source to begin this next step, but it’s up to advocates like you and me to push decision-makers to move swiftly and coordinate with its partners and stakeholders.

SVBC’s El Camino Real 2030 plan

*SVBC advocates and community members in Palo Alto providing public comment at a Feb. 29 Caltrans meeting on the El Camino Real repaving project.*

In 2023, SVBC kicked off its El Camino Real 2030 campaign, to push stakeholders and leaders to turn all the exciting El Camino Real plans into green paint and concrete on the ground.

This year, SVBC advocates have been in the trenches fighting for separated bike lanes on El Camino Real in Palo Alto ahead of a Caltrans repaving project that spans from Mountain View to Los Altos. Community members don’t want to miss an opportunity to add bicycle facilities considering the state agency is breaking ground already.

South San Francisco must prepare itself for a similar opportunity. Caltrans has more repaving projects planned in the peninsula, including in South San Francisco scheduled for 2026.

The city must start this process now by completing the El Camino Real Corridor study and moving swiftly to the design phase, so Caltrans can incorporate the city’s preferences into its final designs.

If you want to organize to make biking better and our streets safer in South San Francisco and the rest of North San Mateo County, please email Anthony at anthony@bikesiliconvalley.org.