Broadway intersection: From bad to worse?

First in April and then again back in July we broached the question of whether it was wise to grab a lane of car traffic and some parking spaces to accommodate a new bike lane on California Ave. south of Broadway.  The early controversy was about the loss of store front parking for many small merchants on California, but now that concrete has been poured and stripes have been laid, the issue of car traffic safety has burst into the discussion as well.

Last week we had the first accident at the tighter B'way-California intersection when a Samtrans bus turning left/south from B'way to Calfornia clipped a car in the northbound California lane.  At least it was the first accident someone paying attention saw and photographed.  See below for the photos I received that also appear on Nextdoor where the commentary has been, shall we say....less than supportive of the lane changes.

This intersection has had an F grade for years.  Maybe decades.  It's not like the new B'way bridge did anything but bring more traffic to a failing intersection.  Caltrain will be giving the city council a presentation on its electrification project Monday night.  Buried in there is this on grade separation--another long running issue:

• Broadway Avenue grade crossing is heavily congested
• LOS F operations during peak hours
• #1 priority in CPUC grade separation priority list

• City and Caltrain advancing design towards 100% design in 2024
• City continues to seek funding to fully fund project, recently received large TIRCP award

It also asserts "Project Complete- Spring 2029.  There have been statements that once grade separation is complete the lanes will change again, but unless someone changes their mind in City Hall, we will have this configuration for years to come.  The last big project that was completed on time was a 101 upgrade in EssEff or SSF that had a massive contractor bonus for early completion.  We're not likely to be that lucky.

One wonders if the city council really understood what they were voting on.  When I asked one member if this was just striping that could be swapped back easily, they said "yes".  Now we see that the answer is "no" due to the concrete islands that have been added.  Other inquiring minds want to know how police, ambulances and especially fire trucks will proceed on California when some sections have nowhere for cars to pull over?  If they get some response to the question, we will post it here as a public service to help drivers pass this "B'game IQ driving test".  Here's the accident scene that closed southbound California for a half hour.

Update:  Oct. 2nd.  I have received a report of more confusion on California at Oak Grove where the new lane alignment is apparently giving northbound drivers the impression that they can make left turns from the TWO leftmost lanes.  The traffic light location show below would appear to encourage that.

 

Comments

[Joe]

By the way, if you would like to see the whole Caltrain presentation to council about electrification, hold outs, building shoofly tracks, grade separation, etc go here:

https://cms6.revize.com/revize/burlingamecity/00%20Agenda.pdf

and scroll down to the agenda item.

[Sally Orvis]

My 6th grader could have designed a safer roadway, though she would have first asked why we'd need to put in bike lanes given this (safer) roadway already exists on Carolan Avenue. On top of that, what volume of cars & trucks is there compared to bicycle traffic (raising the question as to if this was even necessary). Maybe the Burlingame City Council was solving a problem that does not exist. Is there a benefit to having fewer lanes for motor vehicles? What happens in the event of some catastrophic event such as an earthquake or fire and people need to evacuate the area? My kid wonders whether city planners gave this any consideration. (Now, so do I.)

[Peter Garrison]

Wait until the years long construction on ECR begins and people shift to California to get through town…

[Cassandra]

Those raised pedestrian islands could take out a motorcyclist.

[Paloma Ave]

What a stunt! Taking funding away one day and giving it back. Now Becker and Mullin can claim they are on our side, as opposed to the party line.

[Phinancier]

It's all a tempest in a teacup. Even if they get the state money they are so far from getting enough to dig that it's a joke.

[Joe]

Oh boy. Long time B'gamers will remember Steve Duncan as a "gadfly" city council candidate years ago. I take no pleasure in using the adjective "gadfly" since it often applies to people with common sense. Here I'm just remembering how he raised no money and ran a one-man band campaign. Now we have his LTTE to the DJ expressing what everyone paying attention thinks:

Editor,

Some of the greatest people that ever lived: Jesus Christ, veterans of war, Mother Theresa, Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King, Robert Kennedy, Winston Churchill, Margaret Thatcher, Coach Bill Walsh, Rosa Parks.

The stupidest people: The Burlingame civil engineers and staff for turning perfectly fine California Drive into rush hour in Calcutta, India.

The roundabout is Russian Roulette: There are yield signs but most drivers don’t yield. A driver must drive with extreme caution and “pray” they don’t get hit!

Further north on California Drive, a perfectly fine four-lane drive was redesigned into two lanes, with parking in the middle, a new bike lane seldom used (there is a bike lane one block east on Carolyn (seldom used), unmarked concrete traffic islands in the middle of the new two lanes —many drivers have hit, damaging their cars.

If this isn’t Insanity, I don’t know what is.

A recent report in your paper said Burlingame officials want a new City Hall. The article failed to mention who is going to pay for it.

Are Burlingame residents going to pay for it? Is the city going to raise our high sales tax? Our property taxes? Bonds to pay back?

Stephen Duncan

Burlingame