The BAAZ is Dead. Long Live Parklets!

The two-month-old experiment I dubbed the Burlingame Avenue Autonomous Zone (the BAAZ) came to a screeching halt Monday night.  I noted a number of reservations on the original post here.  The Daily Journal piece today highlights some of the same issues that I was concerned about as well as a few noted later by people venturing into the BAAZ-- like speeding skateboarders and bikers.

Burlingame’s outdoor dining scene proved too popular for its own good, according to frustrated officials who pulled the plug on a program promoting inappropriate partying during the pandemic.  “It just kind of turned into a festival out there with people not doing what they need to do,” said City Manager Lisa Goldman, in advance of councilmembers voting 4-1 to reopen Burlingame Avenue to traffic.

Furthermore, critics pointed to a recent survey of local businesses which offered mixed perspectives on the success of the closure program, with some merchants claiming it made their lives more difficult.  So rather than provide a forum for unhealthy behavior, Ortiz said he favored a proposal for establishing a network of parklets where restaurants and eateries could set up tables in a more controlled environment.

I'll just file that away in the I Told You So folder.  The piece doesn't mention the Broadway BRAZ but a quick look at Monday's agenda shows the BRAZ was also up for discussion and most likely met the same fate as the BAAZ.  If you are able to access the DJ piece as a subscriber, you will read about some council members suggesting more police enforcement of masks and distance while others think they have more to do than enforce such rules.  I didn't note any discussion of the much ballyhooed "community social worker" idea-- a la Berkeley's idiotic approach to handing out traffic tickets.

Parklets live on as they should have from the beginning.  I saw a couple new ones just sprouting, like Five Guys', and no doubt there will be more now.  Recall the estimate back in July that "the creation of parklets will result in a parking loss of up to approximately 60 to 70 spaces on side streets in the downtown area on both weekdays and weekends."  I'm thinking that will be more like 100-120 now that parklets are the only alternative.  The new parking structure is coming along (the second story is up) so perhaps by the rainy season, we will have more spaces.  Here's hoping our parklets designers have the resources to build nice ones like Truckee.

Here's an update photo.  I have to say, it's a little weird walking by the pedicure stand, but they were full so I guess it's just me.

Comments

[Sign Me Up]

So wrong. We cannot forget Biden and Pelosi's mistakes of the past since we may be stuck with him and her for years. "Those who forget the past...blah blah", you SHOULD know the rest. Biden knew everything the CDC and WHO knew. He was a big WHO cheerleader even after it was clear Tedros was a China puppet. Biden has no idea what to do if he does win. He just knows he will solve the pandemic. Senile. Nice try tho.

[Bruce Dickinson]

Anyway, back to the topic at hand. From the Council minutes on the Burlingame Ave closure, the Staff Report showed the actual full survey results of the downtown businesses (vs anecdotal stories) and surprise surprise, the Restaurants were actually overwhelmingly for it..only ONE opposed (not even more than this!!). 65% of ALL the businesses either said the street closure improved business or didn't affect it at all and only 25% of the businesses are restaurants. Those that said things worsened business were mostly the side street services (legal, salons, etc) and some retailers due largely to parking. Parking was the #1 concern, followed closely by #2 which was not enough mask compliance.

We knew all along, right from day one, the closure was designed to help the restaurants, which it looks like (much like Bruce Dickinson predicted), it really did. This survey even includes those restaurants who were "off the Avenue", thus there seems to be no evidence of this "disadvantaged the non-Burlingame Ave restaurants" theory that some readers imagined. The survey results have clearly debunked that.

I still think we could have used more of a "Smart" street closure, keeping side streets or even a portion of Burlingame Ave open, and maybe even closing down some side streets too. Palo Alto and San Mateo seem to be enjoying success with these smart closures, designated, socially distanced dining areas, while allowing some traffic to flow through.

This way those who were the most opposed to the closure (especially business services and some Retail on the side streets) might have been more on board.

But unequivocally, right from the restaurants themselves: closing the Ave improved the restaurants sales overall.

Chalk another one up for Bruce Dicksinon...The other day my neighbor even called me "the Oracle of Burlingame!" Maybe my new nickname!???

[Joe]

I'm afraid I'm in the "who ya gonna believe, the survey or your own eyes and ears?" camp. As recently as last Friday night I had another restaurant owner state how bad the BAAZ was for his business. That's 5 for 5 on or near the Ave. so we are slipping past anecdotal. This owner hadn't heard that the BAAZ was dead--he said he hadn't stopped running at full speed for weeks and certainly hadn't responded to the survey.

[Joe]

PS. BD, thank you for getting us back on track!

[Handle Bard]

I cannot believe we are still closing down Broadway on the weekends. This is stupid beyond stupid. No body is out there walking in the empty street. Half the restaurants are not even open in the afternoon. It is idiotic. I biked through today and did not see ANYBODY there.

[Joe]

Lots of confusion on Broadway this afternoon at 3:30. The signage saying the street would be closed at 3 pm (it's Saturday today) are still up and there are no parking signs on the meters, but traffic was flowing and cars were parked. Parking enforcement showed up after 3pm but it wasn't clear what they were attempting to do. Clear the street? Having been on Broadway at 5pm-ish several Saturdays, it becomes a ghost town during closure. Unlike how it was packed today at 3:30. It's really time to discontinue this experiment.

[Anna N]

I don't think many people understand the medical facts of the Flu vs Corona:

Influenza (Flu) and COVID-19 are both contagious respiratory illnesses, but they are caused by different viruses. COVID-19 is caused by infection with a new coronavirus (called SARS-CoV-2) and flu is caused by infection with influenza viruses. Because some of the symptoms of flu and COVID-19 are similar, it may be hard to tell the difference between them based on symptoms alone, and testing may be needed to help confirm a diagnosis. Flu and COVID-19 share many characteristics, but there are some key differences between the two.

Covid deaths compared to a Flu season is greater but not serious as the media sells it. 360 million people and 200,000+ deaths.

[Sez Willie Brown]

Serve chilled: With the end of summer and arrival of standard time, parklet dining has lost its charm. The early darkness and falling temperatures have made eating outside a cold, damp and lonely experience.

[Phinancier]

Salt Yard and Velvet 48 are the only parklets with more than one or two tables full tonight in the rain. Most of them are empty and people are fighting for short term parking to do take out. Beware the DoorDashers. They're animals. Three parklets on Primrose with zero diners. Time to rethink this just like closing the street?

[Wunderkind]

Unintended consequence:

2pm Sunday and the trash cans on the Ave are overflowing.
Guess with what type of detritus? Take-out containers.

The garbage is left on the sidewalk benches, inside the abandoned parklets, curbside in the street, on the newspaper racks.

You want a plague? Watch out for the rats and raccoons tonight.

Come on City Hall, take care of the basics or is trash collection not “woke” enough?