Friday Commute Snafu

Another Voice contributor has weighed in to alert us to the fact that Broadway was a bit of a mess Friday morning as the Caltrain crossing gates came down for some reason for 10 to 20 minutes with no train(s) passing by.  Traffic was backed up to El Camino eventually and there were lots of people bailing out to the side streets.  It does raise the question of how Caltrain and BPD can operate together very rapidly.  Here is a shot of the back up.

As the powers that be look at closing more and more Caltrain right of way crossings (e.g. Bayswater), the remaining ones become even more critical to smooth operation!

Comments

[Gerald Weisl]

I was out in front of my shop at one point and placed a call to the Burlingame Police. I mentioned the Caltrain crossing gates being down and the police staffer told me "We don't have any control over those...that's Caltrain!"
Yes...hello! I know.
*****
The present configuration of the overpass does not make accessing the freeway an easy task and this additional delay surely caused considerable frustration to those trying to get to work.
*****
I wonder what improvement to the commute it is having three stop lights from Rollins Road & Broadway to get to 101 Northbound? What used to be a 30 second jaunt now requires 3 to 7 minutes.
*****

[Cb]

I think that I was on the train that caused it to be down. There was a car stuck on a track somewhere south of Burlingame. Our train initially stopped at the Millbrae station, but then moved up to the Broadway station so that another train could wait at Millbrae. I think that the broadway crossing gates remain down while a train is in the Broadway station, but I may be wrong. The ultimate problem is that cars need to stay off the Caltrain tracks along the entire distance. There are up to 1,000 passengers on each train and so this backup on Broadway is still small compared to the loss of man hours of people on the train due to a car driver.

There are a large number of Burlingame residents riding these trains. I counted over 90 people waiting for the 7:43 am North bound train Wednesday last week at the Burlingame station.

[Handle Bard]

That is what the push bars on the front of police cars are for.

[[email protected]]

Sending photographs to the Burlingame Police Dept.& City of Burlingame Elders is a basic place to start.

Until the Burlingame Elders begin to review complaints, they will not be able to address the lack of concern by Burlingame Public Works.

"If you are not a part of the solution, you are a part of the problem."

[old guy]

The city should sue Caltrans for what they have done to Broadway. I have been traversing the old bridge for 40 years with no problems and now it feels like LA. Sue, I say, sue.

[BMW]

Re the overpass: it does get longer to get to the freeway. And just when you think you're almost there... metering lights. Oh they're not on yet. But they will be soon. And will be on most of the day as 101 goes thru it's regular congestion cycle.

[Bill King]

Mr. Weisl posted that he was experiencing long delays getting on 101 North from Broadway and BMW said the same. I strongly disagree. I have timed my last 25 trips getting on 101 N and the MAX time was under 3 minutes. That's morning rush hour, evening rush hour and off times. The average time is under 90 seconds. It's easier and safer.