In and Around a Roundabout

I'm sure many Voice bloggers will recognize the title as a song reference to Yes' classic Roundabout, but if not, here is one verse to jog your memories

I'll be the roundabout
The words will make you out 'n' out
I spend the day your way
Call it morning driving thru the sound and in and out the valley

It's been more than a month since I heard about the upcoming roundabout at the California Dr-Bellevue-Lorton Ave. intersection, but very little has been published about it.  Most locals would know the location as "Where Stacks is" and true local historians know it as Cannon Park after a long-gone cannon monument that used to be in the middle, grassy area.

The City has been working on funding to construct a roundabout for some time and the latest round of Transportation Authority grants provided what turned out to be a winning opportunity.  You can read the staff report here.  With a million from one place and $200K from another this project is a "GO" and plans are being worked on now.  The theory is a roundabout will improve bicyclist and pedestrian safety.  The first pass at making that spot safer was the blinking crosswalk lights embedded in the asphalt leading to the Caltrain parking lot.  This is a much more dramatic 3-way attempt and will be our first roundabout.  I have been trying to think of another one in the Bay Area, but the closest I can come is the I-80 exit for Highway 89 into Truckee where there are a pair of new roundabouts.  Should be interesting to see how B'game drivers adapt.  Here is Cannon Park

 

Here is a photo of the cannon that was in the park, posted with permission from the Burlingame Historical Society. It is from a 1920 Chamber of Commerce brochure.

Comments

[jennifer]

There is a small version in San Mateo, in a residential neighborhood that I think crosses 5th, east of Delaware. It is very unattractive with particularly ugly signage, and little to no greenery. Hopefully ours will be functional, but also an attractive asset. This area will be another entrance into our beautiful downtown.

[Russ]

Roundabouts are all over Palo Alto and B'zerkeley. All of them however are small residential versions. This one will be quite large and interrupt the flow on California Drive, as I understand it.

For the record, the triangle patch of land is called Cannon Park, because until WWII there actually was a cannon there.
The cannon was melted down for the war effort in the 1940's.

I added a photo of the cannon in the above original post.

[longwong]

Hai Guyz ;) dont forget all da roundabouts in parkkmerced in SF just norrth of daly city.. be careful b-gamers tho da roundabouts are popullar with allot of my friendz who like drifin' in their honda civic sis & toyodas... just a friendlly reminda from b-games finest youth rep... josh wong aka Longwong,..thot Id tell u my name for AK-47 who likes shootin himself in da foot & who love loves LOVES everyone to use their first & last name..hahhaaha ! :P

TTFN ;-)

[Joe]

Thank you, you two. The "small versions" are a beast of a different order. The side-by-side pair in Tahoe that I mentioned are two lanes all the way around and that is where the driver skill comes into play.

As a native New Englander and a frequent driver in Europe, I can say the trick is to know how far around the roundabout one wants to go. If you come in at 12 o'clock and are getting off at 3 oc, then stay in the outside lane. If you are coming in at 12 oc and going to 9 oc or decided you needed to make a u-turn and go all the way back to 12 oc to exit, then get in the inner lane for most of the turning.

And yes, for newbies this is rocket science and you need to keep your wits about you for stupid driving maneuvers.

[Josh Wong]

Josh Wong,

Is this you?

https://www.facebook.com/josh.m.wong

Are you originally from Burlingame?

You appear to currently live in Berkeley with no connection to Burlingame.

If this is true, why are you bothering to make comments about our community?

[longwong]

Hai Guyz :-/ AK-47 no sherlock homes that is not me, I live in burlingame and recently moved from SF and u wont find me on FB like to keep parts of my life niccceee & private…longwongs private parts!!! hahahah … privacy settings on FB my man to keep away the creeeppps get wit da program

ok seriously man, OMFG wow u are such a CREEP! If there is ANY reason not to use ur name on this site, THIS GUY IS IT!!! another shot in da foot! longwong's warning to b-game..keep da kids away from this stalker!!!! Sick-o I already sent a PM to this guy to warn him yikes yikes YIKEs

for da guys who run this site, know u don't sensor usuallly this is a reason to

TTFN :-/

[hillsider]

This should be very interesting with a busy parking lot on one side and four streets in & outs to deal with plus a firehouse up the street.

[Peace]

Josh,

This is our community and our home, and I've lived here with my family for many years, and I'm friends with many community leaders and hundreds of other families.

If you're new to the community, I'd suggest that you halt your negative comments towards me.

Please be aware that liable laws are still applicable even on a website.

Free speech refers to the right and responsibility to debate and critique government policy. However, it does not allow you to make false claims towards individuals or corporations.

I have not received any private message from you, however, you are welcome to simply give me a call and schedule a time to speak in person should you have any concerns.

Focus on helping to make the community better.

Peace

[longwong]

Hai Guy, sorry I dont know who u r & glad ur family man & been in da'game for awhile...im new here...dont mean to cauze static but PM was referring to was to josh wong in berkeley...I dont think ppl should be posting other FB guys profilez .

Still thnk the mods should take the posts down..incl mine if need too.

TTFN ..

[fred]

It's libel not liable, though I don't think it was or he is.

This roundabout is proposed to be one lane, not two. I know the council and the city wanted the traffic speed reduced on California Drive and were unable to do so, but this is a not a good thing. Hasn't choking off the traffic on Burlingame Avenue shown anyone the economic effects of something like this? You want traffic to move safely and efficiently. This is a bottleneck that puts vehicles, bikes and pedestrians in an unfamiliar and dangerous situation. Don't try to say there's always going to be people new to it. It will also move traffic away from where it should be (California Drive) and put it where it shouldn't be (Lorton Ave).

I envision the "Santa comes to Burlingame" event, where no cars can get anywhere, bumper to bumper. Of course, that was one day a year, this is everyday.

[Joe]

I have a double thank you for Fred: for staying on topic and for the alert on the roundabout being a single lane. I agree with you. I just assumed it would be at least two!! A single lane will very likely have all the issues you note.

For most of the rest--can we please stay on topic. There is no need to delete them (we do that very, very rarely)--just stay sort of on topic.

[Bruce Dickinson]

Fellas, Bruce Dickinson is no Gorton's Fisherman, but I gotta tell ya Joe, I know you left the bait for me there and Yes (no pun intended), I'll bite and give you some history. Personally prog rock was never my style, though Atlantic almost hired me away with a lucrative contract, but I saw the writing on the wall and knew Jerry Wexler was unhappy and was on his way out and the record label was looking to the UK to break into the rock scene. The closest I got to Prog Rock, and though not it its pure sense, is producing some of Cheap Tricks dynamite songs. After my work with John Hammond and Bob Dylan, the lure for me was the burgeoning LA rock music scene, which I moved in to 1969, and the rest as they say, is legend.

Also, I would be remiss if I didn't say that Bruce Dickinson disapproves of the bullying tone of AK, brandishing the threatening lawyer talk to some young asian kid (and yet again, showing his xenophobic tendencies), when Mr. Wong was making a point about impersonating and posting someone's Facebook profile, which I agree is a little kooky. Same with that italian guy, forget his name, who is running for controller of San Mateo county and sues everyone and their mother to get ahead and always spells frivolous with a capital "F". Let me tell ya folks, you don't know the meaning of legal troubles until you encounter IP, property, and even civil lawyers serving music and entertainment industry, where billions of dollars are at stake, and I gotta tell ya, these guys are unbeatable. If one of these local lawyers messed with Bruce Dickinson, they would be facing legal talent that eats courts like the Chancery Court of Delaware, 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals, and 9th Circuit Court of Appeals for breakfast. So my message is this to Longwong or anyone else, if you feel bullied by anyone threatening to bring out the lawyers in this tiny pond, just give Bruce Dickinson a call, and I will put you in touch with the deep-sea fisherman who always come out of storms unscathed, if you will, who love doing pro-bono work and have a few favors to return to me.

Now onto the roundabout (again, no pun intended). I gotta tell ya, the current situation at that location in Burlingame is less then ideal in terms of automotive, pedestrian, and bicycle safety. Also, the Il Fornaio valet parking makes matters worse, but more people seem to be using it (including yours truly) more now due to the Big Dig of Burlingame which seemingly has no end in sight. Again, as I've said a couple of times here, Bruce Dickinson would put this roundabout in the "nice to have but not essential" category. If anyone has spent any time in Washington DC, the roundabout city, in more ways than one, I must profess, it is pretty tough to drive there. Granted, the last time I drove there, I wasn't in one of my Italian or German sports cars zipping around, but still, those streets are tough to navigate and once you introduce pedestrians and bicyclists into the picture, forget it. Better that Burlingame focus on reducing post-retirement and health benefit costs, preserving the environment and history, and repairing some derelict roads. In a world of unlimited resources (too bad this isn't Washington DC, in a way as resources seem to be unlimited there), would be great to have it all, but we have to make choices and trade-offs. A roundabout seems to be the last thing this City needs, at this juncture, and seems like a waste of money and being the only roundabout in Burlingame, may throw a lot of local or visiting drivers in for a loop (no pun intended) and cause more confusion and havoc.

[Peace]

Bruce, I have no xenophobic tendencies, whatsoever.

You are the epitome of hubris.

[fred]

A streetlight instead of a roundabout makes a lot more sense.

[fred]

Thanks, Joe!

[holyroller]

What a ridiculous waste of money, time and energy.
Seriously, don't "the people" have any control of how tax payer dollars are appropriated?
Or are we going to be continually "told" of our Good Fortune, after the fact?
If The City of Burlingame really wanted to slow down traffic on California Drive they could have put a Median in, then change the 4 lane into a two lane with a very comfortable and safe space for bicycle traffic.

[BMW]

The roundabout is designed to let drivers slow somewhat, but not quite stop, and yield to traffic coming from their left. Guess who they're not looking for as they accelerate into the circle - the poor pedestrian waiting to cross on their right or the bicycle rider who's usually positioned to the right.

Add in the Samtrans 292 bus that travels through and the big delivery trucks. Thank goodness we are doing this for bicycle and pedestrian safety? A three color signal was too intuitive and too pedestrian?

[Anne]

Everyone, did this idea really go through traffic safety and parking commission review? Are there any drawings? I went through the link and don't see any visual aspect of how this is supposed to work. Did the Central County fire approve of this? It feels like this was railroaded through because the money is free.

[Homeowner]

Has anyone seen any update on this crazy idea?

[BMW]

Apparently this project just completed design and is going to construction early next year.

https://www.burlingame.org/index.aspx?page=3546

If anybody knows what exactly the thing looks like, please share. This project is flying below the radar.

[hollyroller]

When will all this drama regarding the "Roundabout" end?
How many accidents will happen before the "Roundabout" is torn down.
I remember "Roundabouts" at St. Francis Woods, Mill Valley, and Mexico City.
The amount of time and Money the City of Burlingame Public Works Dept. Engineering Dept. and believe it or not, Park & Recreation Dept. have spent@ $400,000.00 regarding studies about the impact of a "Roundabout."
There is little or ZERO management/direction coming out of City Hall.
City of Burlingame Manager has got to move on.
The latest rumor regarding Burlingame City Hall is the departure of the City Manager.
Merry Christmas.