The Burlingame Voice

B'game Colors

As the days get shorter in the City of Trees and we deal with drains and gutters choked with leaves, here is a little something to remember

Even is something is left undone, everyone must take time to sit still and watch the leaves turn.

Elizabeth Lawrence

I may just be me, but the yellow foliage in town seems to be doing very well, the orange is OK and the reds are having a very muted year.

Giving Thanks on Thanksgiving

A very pleasant sense of calm settles over our burg on many holidays and today is no exception even with the drizzle and the flight delays at SFO.  My early jaunt to the new Safeway (pause for thanks) showed I wasn't alone in needing that one last ingredient for the bird's stuffing.  This year's bird (pause for thanks) is from Sonoma and is a free-range guy from a ranch that has been growing them since 1949. 

As we read in Ken Garcia's column in the SF examiner, there will be a lot of folks dining on birds at the Lion's Club today.  We're lucky to have a gathering place that is central and affordable (pause for thanks).  It's one of the beating hearts of B'game.

So as we gather with family (pause again) and celebrate Thanksgiving, don't forget to walk off the meal with a stroll through your neighborhood (last pause) to enjoy the foliage.  Happy T-day from the Voice.

Safeway Part 69 - Street Trees In

The new Safeway and the two companion buildings are moving right along.  If you walk by at night you can see there is signage and shelving going up inside, but the big step forward is the installation of the street trees on Howard and Primrose since our last update.

 
These little guys are Acer Buergerianum or "Chinese maple" and the ones on the Howard side are Acer Rubrum or "red or soft or sunset maple".  There are some cork oaks on the El Camino side.  The heritage oak on Primrose that has been a Voice favorite since the printed copy days is looking good and there are some new lights nearby as they get ready to install the small park around the oak.  Nice!

Thirsty Trees

The City is reminding everyone to water their greenery.  Thankfully there should be plenty of water to go around since the Tahoe ski areas are able to open over the Fourth of July weekend for mid-summer skiing!  Here's how to take care of our 16,250 trees per the City

The Parks Division encourages residents to water their City trees as well as their private property trees especially during these warm summer months. This will assist us in maintaining our beautiful urban forest. Younger trees should receive at least 5 gallons of water once each week, not only to keep the tree from dying, but also to help the young tree grow and remain healthy throughout its life cycle.

I'm also worried about gophers going for the roots of trees and shrubs.  Anyone else noticing a lot more gopher holes this summer?

Bad Tree

Nothing sparks emotions in B'game like trees.  The Mercury Times has another in the long running tree saga around town that notes

Despite Burlingame's pro-tree stance, it is not necessarily illegal to cut down a tree in the city, and the black acacias that met their doom were not protected by the urban reforestation ordinance of Burlingame's municipal code, a city official said.

And goes on to note

The new property owner notified Disco in advance about the building project on the lot, which included the tree removal, and was issued a permit.

"Everything was done properly," Disco said. "The landscape project for the new site includes replacement trees."  Disco noted that black acacias are "not considered great trees. They fall apart when they are not maintained."

No mention was made of what the replacement species will be.

Broadway Overpass Progress

The SM Daily Journal is reporting on the latest step in the upgrade of the B'way overpass

Studies found the out-of-date interchange to be complicated, which causes congestion. Design and engineering is still under way. In addition, property acquisition is still necessary.

Up to four privately owned commercial or industrial properties, including the 76 station at 1200 Bayshore Highway, could be acquired to create the project, according to the environmental documents. In addition, 71 trees will be removed during construction. However, the plan calls for reforestation at an equal or greater rate.

Burlingame is responsible for $8 million of the $75 million project cost. An increase in the hotel tax, passed by voters in 2009, was campaigned as a way to help cover the costs. Last year, Burlingame put aside $500,000 and has planned to put $800,000 aside next, said City Manager Jim Nantell.

The list at the end of the piece notes there would be

construction of a new Broadway pedestrian/bicycle overcrossing south of the existing Broadway interchange; the reconstruction of the Peninsula Avenue overcrossing to provide sufficient clearance between the columns for the proposed auxiliary lanes

Which is a little confusing since both structures are quite new.  We'll see

 

Good Grass

I try not to duplicate what goes out in the City's e-newsletter because I assume if you are reading the Voice you are also plugged into the official channels.  After all, if you are reading this blog regularly you are better informed than 95% of the people walking around town.

But this little competition is noteworthy because I want to follow the results, so be on notice that:

The Burlingame Beautification Commission and the City Council are pleased to announce the opening of nominations for the Best Business Landscape Award, which recognizes the efforts of businesses to maintain and beautify the City of Burlingame and to encourage attractive landscaping improvements in our community.

If you have a favorite

Nomination Form and Award Rules & Standards are available at the Parks & Recreation Department, 850 Burlingame Ave.

Which seems downright archaic to have to go get a piece of paper, but that's the drill.  Before winter returned this week, there were some gorgeous blooms happening around town--like this

 
As a native New Englander seeing this in mid-February NEVER gets old.

Trees from the Past

Nothing brings out a crowd in B'game like the topic of trees!  Thursday night at the Burlingame Historical Society's quarterly meeting, we learned that it has Always Been So--back to the very founding of B'game!  Guest speaker Danica Hodge delivered a hour of tree-hugger delight to a packed Lane Room at the Main Library.

 
Danica is the creative force behind www.burlingametrees.org -- a joint effort with the Historical Society and numerous other resources to document our leafy friends.  Her opening perspective, from the website is

I imagine the scene more than 100  years ago when this was the “royal road” for travelers coming by horse and stagecoach on the approach to San Francisco. Then, they were seeking the fortune of the golden West, hoping for an opportunity that comes to the lucky few. Today, as I soak up the rich history of the area, I know that I have achieved good fortune of a different kind—the opportunity that comes from living in a city as special as Burlingame.

One of the challenges in giving such a speech in B'game is there are a lot of passionate, informed people.  Here is a photo of the Society's prez updating the crowd about Caltrans' plans to slowly replace El Camino eucalytus with diseaae-resistant elms--just as John McLaren intended the main drag to be adorned.

 
The quarterly meeting keep getting better and better, so you should join, receive the newsletter and attend.

Fixing the Avenue

The New Year seems like a good time to review hopes and dreams for renewing B'game Avenue.  The City Council held a study session on the topic back on Dec. 6th that was a fact-filled survey of the situation including:

The water main on Burlingame Ave. consists of 4" diameter cast iron installed in 1908.  It is a top priority for replacement since it has inadequate capacity for fire flow pressure.

The Pavement Condition Index is 49; below the City standard average of 77 on a scale of 0 to 100 where 100 represents a brand new street.

Lack of landscape system and irrigation system.

There are a total of 25 parking lots in the downtown districts.  Preventative maintenance on these parking lots is deferred due to a lack of dedicated funding sources.

Cost estimates for fixing all of this are:

Water and sewer pipeline infrastructure        $3.5 million

Roadway repairs and resurfacing                    $0.5 million

Streetscape improvements                            $9.5 million

Total                                                            $13.5 million

We will look at the funding alternatives in the next post.

Arbor Day Tree Planting on Saturday, March 7

ARBOR DAY CEREMONY AND TREE PLANTING - Saturday, March 7th 9:00 a.m. Bayside Park The Burlingame Beautification Commission cordially invites you to the City's 30th annual Arbor Day Ceremony and Tree Planting on Saturday, March 7th at Bayside Park, 1125 Airport Boulevard. The Arbor Day Ceremony will begin at 9:00 a.m. with the planting of 17 Redwood trees immediately following. This year's event will kick-off our City of Trees? fundraising campaign to replenish the City's tree fund used to purchase new street trees. The Parks Division has a goal to plant 400 new trees in the urban landscape during 2009. The Arbor Day event gives us the opportunity to celebrate one of our most important environmental resources and participate in planting 17 trees that will beautify the Bayside Park landscape for decades to come. Please join us. (source: City of Burlingame)

- Written by Fiona