Broadway Overpass: A Long Way Away

One of the common questions I hear in town is "When are they going to fix the rest of Broadway?" meaning now that the bridge has been replaced, what about the rail crossing?  My standard response is "There isn't nearly enough money socked away to even start".  That is the bottom line of a piece in today's Daily Journal recapping the discussion at Council on Monday.  Here are my favorite tidbits, but do click through here to get all of the bits.

No decision was made at the meeting, as the issue was only discussed following a presentation from the county Transportation Authority, which allocates Measure A sales tax revenue for transit projects. The project is currently largely unfunded, and is expected to be completed by 2026, according to available financing.  Examining the rising cost of construction, Transportation Authority officials anticipate the price will jump by about 35% over the life of the project, amounting to about $40 million more than the proposed current cost by 2026.

Although it is apparently considered the most-needed project in all of Northern California.  Here's another gem

In a separate presentation, a Caltrain official said future service at Broadway will sap stops from the Burlingame station as well, as the proximity of the two stations will result in one train stop at either station every 30 minutes.

You mean like a real train service?  Discussion of Mike Brownrigg's idea of not having a station at all at B'way (ostensibly to shorten the Giant Wall Dividing The City) raised the other council members' hackles.  With massive residential development at the Anson apartments on Carolan and Facebook coming along with whatever goes in on the State Lands Commission property (see the next post below), one would think we would want more train service at B'way.  Anyway you look at it, there's not enough money floating around to do much of anything for years.

 

Comments

[resident]

The solution to this whole mess is obvious. Instead of an overpass just do an underpass like San Carlos did at Holly. No long wall. Less money. Leave the old station where Maverick Jack's is now. Why do they let people who can't see clearly develop the plans?

[Laura]

I believe underground wipes out part of Broadway, up a block. Or at least that's what I've always been told. Can't understand why as the San Carlos one doesn't seem to require as much space. Perhaps different requiements?

[Just Visiting]

If you like San Carlos at Holly, you'll like this; they are just about exactly the same thing. Both are partially underpass and partially viaduct.

[BMW]

Here's the slide deck, with renderings from the presentation to council:
http://burlingameca.legistar.com/gateway.aspx?M=F&ID=502aced8-d4f0-4d75-9a78-f84ac1f72d34.ppt

There's a lot of emphasis on offstreet parking, when this should be the walking and neighborhood station. If you maximize parking, they will come. They will drive. And any improvements to traffic via the grade separation will be muted by the number of people driving to the area to get to the station.

But that'll be in the late 2020's, early 2030's. We first have to survive 2021 when electrification is done and more trains are running, those RR gates will be down half the time.

[Gerald Weisl]

Broadway's train station is within hoofing distance of thousands of residents. It's a modest business district, so having viable train service for those working in the area is helpful. Add to the mix the thousands of hotel rooms within a short distance...and incoming enterprises such as Facebook and there is plenty of reason to operate Broadway's train station.
Caltrain worked hard to diminish ridership to claim a legitimate reason for by-passing Broadway.
If they offer good quality train service on a regular and frequent basis, there will be good ridership. If they offer but sporadic service, there won't be the customer base.

Isn't Mr. Brownrigg running for a state senate position? Maybe some creativity to bring train service to Broadway would be a good idea. How did these other towns swing a grade separation?

[Biddy]

Why not redevelop the little Broadway Street into affordable housing. In looking at these old obsolete buildings along the street developers would love to build it into something our city residents could be proud of in the long run; then maybe we can address a train stop. No matter what time you we are on Broadway all you see is the workers at the businesses and probably not enough to put a train stop.

[Joe]

From the City newsletter:

The City of Burlingame has been working closely with Caltrain to upgrade the Broadway railroad crossing by creating a junction with two different "grades" or heights so that train traffic will be completely separated from motorist, cyclist, and pedestrian traffic. The project will significantly improve safety and alleviate traffic congestion along the Broadway corridor and surrounding area.

The City of Burlingame and Caltrain are currently working to complete environmental studies and preliminary design for the Broadway Grade Separation Project. More detail about the project is available by clicking here. The City had requested grant funds from the San Mateo County Transportation Authority for moving the project into its final design phase. At its July 11, 2019 board meeting, the San Mateo County Transportation Authority approved a $18.3 million grant for developing the final design. Once the design is completed, the project will then be considered "shovel ready" and eligible to apply for future grants and other funding sources for the construction phase of the project.