Overpass and eminent domain

You have a chance to voice your concerns to our Burlingame Council on Monday, December 5th, at 7pm. Burlingame City Hall.

Between 26-50 parcels along the San Mateo-Burlingame border will need to be acquired for construction of new southbound on-and-off ramps at 101 and Peninsula Avenue, slated to begin in 2022. Pictured here are the two alternatives the city of San Mateo prefers, both involve partial or complete loss of any parcel marked in full or in part by purple crosshatching. The new barrier at Poplar is considered only temporary, and will be removed, and the ramps shut down entirely, when these ramps are compete. The project estimates range in price from $56M -$70M of which $24-$36M is to cover property acquisition ($90 per sq. ft. + $30 sq. Ft. demolition); relocation assistance- 3% of total acquisition cost. This presentation will be given to Burlingame by San Mateo staff. 

This issue seems to keep coming back despite the fact that at the many meetings over the years, many of which I have attended, the overwhelming majority of people also in attendance has been that this project should not happen. Why is it then that the project is marching forward? Please attend this meeting if you feel the way many do that the impacts of this project outweigh its merits.

Here is a link to the City of San Mateo documents

Comments

[Laura]

For residents in the Lyon Hoag area, this will truly affect our quality of life. Our neighborhood will become a traffic thoroughfare from cars rushing to the freeway. Bayswater,Howard, Bloomfield, Dwight, Peninsula and the side streets will see significant increase in traffic. Please plan on attending this meeting and voicing your concerns. Once construction starts, IT WILL BE TOO LATE to do anything about it.

[This seems like a good project.]

This seems like a good project.

Now, what will the City of San Mateo eventually do with that Golf Course that they're planning to close across 101?

[Joe]

Probably allow something to be built for which there is never going to be enough water or freeway capacity to support.

[Laura]

I had not heard that San Mateo has decided to close the golf course and do more over building then they have already done! San Mateo is out of control and to take away the golf course and over build more is disheartening. We need green space and places for outdoor activities. We do not need another office building! As Joe stated above, we have no freeway capacity, nor water to support it. People need to wake up and tell their cities what they think of these projects or the quality of life that we all enjoy, will be gone!

[The future of Poplar Creek?]

It's not a great place for a golf course given the highway noise, high voltage power lines and shooting range noise.

http://www.smdailyjournal.com/articles/lnews/2016-04-02/golf-course-revenue-swings-low-san-mateo-considers-future-of-poplar-creek-105-acre-site/1776425161117.html

[Kevin L]

went to the meeting tonight.

wanted to make a point as people are getting lost in the process.

how much influence does burlingame council have if any?

100% of the construction is in San Mateo.

what most people don't know is there are 3 options on the table, design 1 and design 2 and a "no build" option.

they can have all the meetings they want to socialize the potential project however my question is when is the key deciding decision on the 3 choices and who makes the call? that is where we should focus our efforts.

Brownrigg is the only one on the council that ever has anything meaningful to say, the others are all puppets. I'm not into politics to know if I am aligned with him but from what I saw tonight he cares and is the only one who speaks to the residents. Beach and Colson just parrot back previously said remarks and are self patronizing.

Ortiz seem to cave in and take a position that we already have a problem and we should try to fix it. Lets see if council comes up with any proposed solutions, I doubt it!

I was surprised Russ wasn't there.

[Joe]

Thanks for the report, Kevin L. For reference here is the lengthy post with 67 comments that can be added to the conversation.

http://www.burlingamevoice.com/2015/06/peninsula-ave-interchange-back-really.html#comments

The real question is what legal action is the Council will to take if this harms B'game residents?

[fred]

Legal action? If San Mateo and Caltrans is paying for it Burlingame would get the freeway access to finally develop the drive-ins and surrounding bayfront area.

[Joanne]

Well that last time Peninsula Overpass was studied back in 2006/2007 City of San Mateo council decided it was simply too expensive a project to warrant any further studies on making Peninsula Ave a full interchange. Well, what has changed?? Who or what is behind the scenes dangling the carrot??

[Kevin L]

Last night someone mentioned that if it went through that they should not close the Poplar off ramp and on ramp as they would take some of the load.

I am not sure if this is even possible as I believe there needs to be a minimum distance that is needed between the Peninsula on ramp to southbound 101 and the poplar off ramp from south 101.

someone must know if the the minimum distance required exists between these two locations.

[Kevin L]

just found this

501.3 Spacing
The minimum interchange spacing shall be 1.5
km in urban areas, 3.0 km in rural areas, and 3.0
km between freeway-to-freeway interchanges
and local street interchanges.
To improve
operations of closely spaced interchanges the use of
auxiliary lanes, grade separated ramps, collector
distributor roads, and/or ramp metering may be
warranted.
See Design Information Bulletin No. 77 for
additional information on interchange spacing,
including the procedural and documentation
requirements to be fulfilled prior to requesting an
exception to the above standards.

[Jennifer]

Hi Kevin, I was one of the people suggesting to leave one, or both of the exits/entrances open at Poplar, if this project goes forward. It is true that Caltrans has various optimal engineering schematics and regulations they try to adhere to... but I'd like to point out that both "options" for the ramps that they've called their preferred options, are out of compliance with current standards. In this case, I think they are line-of-sight regulations that are linked to driver reaction time. That is a pretty hefty curve there they are trying to conquer, all at high speed. In any case, it shows that San Mateo doesn't seem to have a problem with applying for Caltrans variances, and this may be no different.

[Kevin L]

Hi Jennifer,

What are the non compliance details, with respect to the stand alone designs or with respect potential Poplar exit / entrance.

[Bruce Dickinson]

Listen fellas, anyone hanging their hopes on Burlingame's City Council to take legal action, conduct moral suasion or even take a semblance of a stance on a controversial issue, will be sorely disappointed! Bruce Dickinson has seen many video highlights of our government in action on dozens of issues and I'm gonna be nice here: dealing with controversy, tough decisions, complexity, and nuance is really not our Council's forte. Maybe because it's a thankless semi-volunteer job. Agree with comments above that some of the new faces act like they know a lot but are just repeating what their elder "sponsors" have taught them to say, so for those of us who have been around the block can see right through the blatant puppeteering, which is made even worse by the many patronizing and self-indulgent statements and often rhetorical lines of questioning. Seriously, put some elbow grease into the job, study up on the issues, represent your community instead of your business interests, exercise some independent thought and don't take Burlingame residents for suckers just because you won an election in a small pond.

Just a little word of advice, from your community thinker's man, Bruce Dickinson!

[Jennifer]

Kevin, If you look at the link to the document, page 18, the ramp issues are listed on a table graph. There is another very interesting attachment at the end of the report: Attachment L, that explains various phases, scenarios, and risk response.

With regard to the Poplar onramp-offramp, I have no idea what the technical issues are regarding compliance. It's not really a "ramp" either, so definitely a weird category.

http://www.cityofsanmateo.org/DocumentCenter/View/46090

[fred]

Why would you keep a ramp on Poplar, a street that has three schools on it? If they're headed to San Mateo they're not going to drive through the Lyon/Hoag neighborhood anyways.

[Jennifer]

Personally, I'm thinking the offramp (or better said, the exit) should remain, but that's just my opinion. Peninsula and Lyon & Hoag also has several schools, and preschools, Fred, private and public. I don't see one against the other, it is a problem, all together.

[fred]

The schools are actually on Poplar Ave. There are no schools on Peninsula Ave.

[Jennifer]

There is a Burlingame private preschool at Bloomfield and another private school of some sort on the San Mateo side, Fred, as well as many single family and multi-unit homes. The more traffic volumes are anticipated on Peninsula, the more likely the chances of widening that road; that is the way Caltrans works. In the best case, it means no parking on either side, and restriping two lanes in either direction; in the worst case, it means taking more property, as is listed on one of the charts in the same PDF.

[Jennifer]

By the way, here is a well-written article by SMDJ's Austin Walsh.
http://www.smdailyjournal.com/articles/lnews/2016-12-07/101-interchange-plan-causes-stir-burlingame-officials-residents-voice-concerns-regarding-peninsula-on-off-ramp-proposal/1776425172436.html

[fred]

You do know preschool children don't walk home.

[fred]

Comparing a preschool and a montessori (which is another type of preschool) with San Mateo High, an elementary school and a K-12 school for kids with learning disabilites for potential traffic danger is preposterous.

[Jennifer]

Thanks for the info, Fred, I am a parent and I am fully aware of what any type of school, pre- special-or after school care for young kids means for traffic and pedestrian patterns. Equally important is how they effect egress issues onto a busy thoroughfare.

[fred]

Yes, quite incomparable to the largest high school in the district, a public elementary school and a special needs school.

[Guido]

Fred,

You keep the off ramp at Poplar precisely because there are schools. No residents to be affected like at Hillsdale and Holly Street, to name two. Also, Poplar has elevated train tracks so no delay there. Clearly you don't live near Peninsula so you don't know what it's like on a daily basis now. Add thousands of cars per day and it will be a nightmare. Lastly, without Poplar, rich folk from Hillsborough might have to drive a little further to get to 101.