California Dr. Project: Not even close to popular

Let's kick of the New Year with chapter three (or four) of the story of the California Dr. fiasco.  Two months ago, we covered some of the confusing and dangerous aspects of the project here.  But there's nothing like a good anecdotal story or two to clarify public sentiment.  On December 15th, I had the pleasure of seeing Stevie Nicks at the Chase Center with five B'game ladies.  It's fun being the token man and I got to sit in the third row of the SUV--i.e. the wayback seat.  Stevie put on a great show, it being her "hometown gig"--she and Lindsey Buckingham went to Menlo-Atherton High, and she had many stories to tell.  So, everyone was in a good mood on the way home.

Our driver has lived here for 35+ years and works in town as well.  As we arrive in B'game, she gets off at B’way and bangs a left on Carolan.  Another lady says something about the circuitous approach to our destination and the driver says, “I never take California anymore”.

The car ERUPTS with middle-aged screams and a chorus of boos.  Some samples:  "What idiot designed that?"  "What a waste of money?"  "Why did they need another bike lane when there is one right here?" " Somebody is gonna get killed with that stupid middle of the street parking."  "You can barely see the new islands."  "Why can’t they leave well enough alone?"

And there I was, sitting in the wayback, half-smiling and half-grimacing.  My lovely wife had grown tired of me talking about the design flaws, so this was nice confirmation that it's not just me, but all her friends as well.  These ladies only scratched the surface as they are not familiar with the odd, shifting signage, misplaced striping, pedestrian inconvenience and other non-standard features like lanes that are different widths.  Some other stories have come my way from concerned citizens including one from one of B'game finest who has hit the concrete island while responding and now takes El Camino if he needs to get somewhere fast.

There's not much chance this will get undone anytime soon, but a couple of bad accidents or delayed first responses might put a redo on the drawing board.  In the meantime, be careful and have a Happy New Year.

Update:  Jan 4, 2024  Here are the traffic/bike statistics for Trousdale that Gerald references in the comments below.

Comments

[Paloma Ave]

One day I was coming home from the Rec Ctr, and I saw one of our elected officials riding her bike northbound on California Dr. This was prior to the altering, and I thought "That is very dangerous, since there were bike lanes a block away on Carolan." But apparently SHE GOT HER WAY, with duplicate, $2,600,000.00, on California Dr. I hope she is happy that with the fact that most people are now AVOIDING California Dr because of HER!

[Handle Bard]

A rainy night in Burlingame
A rainy night in Burlingame
Lord, I believe it's rainin' all over the bikers
I feel like it's rainin' all over the cyclists

Neon signs a-flashin'
Taxicabs and buses passin' through the night
A nearby moanin' of a train
Seems to play a sad refrain to the night

But it's a rainy night in Burlingame
Such a rainy night in Burlingame
Lord, I believe it's rainin' all over the bikers
I feel like it's rainin' all over the cyclists

How many times I wondered
It still comes out the same
No matter how you look at it or think of it
It's Burlingame and you just got to play the game

Find me a place in an electric car
Or I take my Spin bike to pass some time
Late at night when it's hard to rest
I hold my iPhone to my chest and I feel fine, I feel fine

[Joanne]

They had to spend that FREE money from the Feds or else lose it! The carrot is being dangled in front of every city in order to encourage bicycle travel and less cars.
We are supposed to turn into Copenhagen which is great but frankly don't see that happening here just yet.
Burlingame moms are you going to haul your kids and pick up groceries on a bike?? I think not!

[hollyroller@ gmail.com]

Excellent Article Joe.
Thank You.

[Gerald Weisl]

I missed the deadline for an online City survey, as there are plans to provide further "enhancements," if you will, on Trousdale Drive.

Please treat yourself to the results of a traffic survey and decide if these statistics warrant devoting city monies to this project.

https://hdp-us-prod-app-wtrans-bikeways-files.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/4516/9869/4074/Trousdale_Drive_Vehicle_and_Bicycle_Count_Data.pdf

[Spurrina]

As with school bond surveys, the questions elicit the answers wanted by the people paying for the survey.

Did you read the City Manager’s report about why we need a new city hall?

Two reasons: 1. Other cities have new city halls. And- we need more space so we can hire more staff.

PS- What about that strike over free speech for harassed city employees? Boo-hoo.

[Psych 201]

Let me see if I have this straight. We have tons of money to do this project and another one on Trousdale. We have multi-tons of money to give free healthcare to illegals via Medi-Cal but we cannot fix the potholes or flooding on El Camino Real.

Is that about right?

[hollyroller@ gmail.com]

What is this "Free Speech thing?
I guess because Trump can complain about "Free Speech," why not a "Regular Citizen?"
So what are the Labor Issues?

[MV]

Ah yes, this one. We've moved on yet again without doing post-mortem of the last one. Seen it happen over and over again.

At least it's not as expensive as California Dr ($2.6M). This one is only $1M.

And we get to pay another out-of-town consultant over $160,000 to develop another well-informed, perfectly intuitive design.

But not to worry, just like California Dr, by the time the thing is fully designed, it's too late to comment or make suggestions to improve. Same as always.

http://burlingameca.legistar.com/gateway.aspx?M=F&ID=758c932f-3de5-4d5a-8075-79c944581e5f.docx

[Psych 201]

A twenty minute downpour and El Camino is a flooded mess. I wonder how Tesla batteries handle being soaked?

[Timothy Hooker]

Burlingame faces a significant challenge when it comes to designing effective road systems. Despite being a relatively small town with 33,000 residents, it has to contend with three high-traffic roads running through its center: El Camino, 101, and California. This not only leads to significant pollution but also makes it tricky to plan traffic patterns that accommodate bikes and electric people movers. It's crucial for the city's environmental strategy to align with its growth plan. For more information on air quality, you can refer to this resource: Link to Air Quality Information https://www.lung.org/research/sota

[Paloma Ave]

The issue in this thread is about wasting money on DUPLICATE bike lanes one block apart, not air quality.

[Spurinna]

First time; saw a bike rider using the bike lane.

[Timothy Hooker]

Thank you Paloma:

I appreciate your input on the topic of duplicate bike lanes, and it's important to discuss various aspects of urban planning. The mention of air quality in my previous message was intended to emphasize the broader context of sustainable urban development, where considerations like transportation infrastructure and environmental impact often intersect. If you'd like to continue the discussion on the specific issue of duplicate bike lanes, please feel free to share your insights on how best to address that concern within the city's planning framework. Additionally; bikes will be a fraction of the various people movers using the non-polluting lanes. Great investment for our city. Bravo, city council.

[resident]

Is that fraction 99/100?

[Paloma Ave]

Less than 1%

[Timothy Hooker]

Not sure but stats seem to show major growth with e-bikes, scooters, etc. See abstract of report:

Redding, California, May 18, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- According to a new market research report titled, “North America Electric Scooter Market by Vehicle Type (Electric Motorcycles, E-scooters & Bikes), Power Output (Less Than 3.6kW, 3.6kW to 7.2kW), Battery Technology (SLA, Li-ion, Li-ion Polymer), Motor Type, Charging Type, End User, and Country,” the North American electric scooters market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 41.6% from 2022–2029 to reach $ 15.41 billion by 2029. By volume, this market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 28.0% from 2022–2029 to reach 3,182.6 thousand units by 2029.

Electric scooters and motorcycles are used for short-distance commuting within cities & towns and courier & e-commerce delivery applications. These vehicles have a smaller battery pack and a driving range of less than 100 Km per charge. These vehicles are lightweight and more efficient than conventional bikes and can maneuver easily through congested streets to serve the limited purpose of short-distance commuting.

The growth of this market is attributed to the emergence of electric-scooter-sharing fleets, the growing concerns over greenhouse gases and carbon emissions, and the emerging need for micromobility options for short distances. The availability of smart charging stations and the increasing usage of micromobility for logistics applications offer lucrative growth opportunities for this market.

[Jennifer Pfaff]

I've noticed a definite of surge kids driving motorized bikes in packs of maybe 3-4 spread over the width of one lane--Is that even legal?

A couple of times I've seen helmetless [kids] on Burlingame Avenue (both east, and west) in groups where they switch off doing "wheelies".

They are going pretty fast for the downtown areas; I don't think the kids have experience enough to be in control and some look to me to be younger than 16 for sure...'just wondering about pedestrians of all ages, in particular the elderly and little kids.

[Paloma Ave]

Anyone who rides any type of motorized equipment should be licensed and insured.

This should probably be a statewide issue, but let's start locally.

Burlingame politicians? This is a safety issue and should be addressed!

[Barking Dog]

My wife and I were down last week and had our 1st California Dr experience(s).
As a family friend was driving a group of us northbound one afternoon, in the turn lane to make the left on Palm, a bicyclist was heading southbound on California...not using the bike lane. Our friend sarcastically said out the window, "Hey is the brand new $2 mil bike lane already broken?" He got good 'ole 1 finger salute as a response. We had a good chuckle.

Jennifer is correct...all those electric bike are being crazily ridden by under 16yrs. All of my grandkids friends and
families, who have driving age kids, have sold all of theirs. because their children are now driving a car and want no part of their electric bikes anymore.

[Peter Garrison]

I figure this “kids on electric bike thing“ can go one of two ways:

Number one: The local police can cite the kids for their dangerous behavior and the parents will, one way or the other, end up paying for the ticket. Then the parents will admonish their children not to ride dangerously and check their behavior. Maybe the parents will even take away the electric bike for a while.

Number two: The local politicians find a new way to make money. This consists in developing a whole new level of bureaucracy at the DMV for electric bicycles. This entails testing, registration, a special license, and a whole new bunch of bicycle regulations to be developed and voted on and implemented.

Kids will always take a new toy, whether it’s skateboards or electric scooters or electric bikes, and push them to the limit until either the adults start acting like adults or the government takes over and makes things complicated and expensive.

[Paloma Ave]

I am hoping the adults will start taking responsibility for their children, but I find that highly unlikely! (I wish I was wrong)

[Joe]

I caught an old-fashioned taxi home from SFO last night and guided him to turn on California Dr. since the light was in our favor. I said to the cabbie "be careful, the lanes have changed". He said, "I know. They put in a bike lane and just like in the city the bicyclists hardly use it". Two minutes later he was about done venting about cyclists, the pointlessness of lanes that don't go where they want to go (like green lanes that cross the street for no reason) and so on.

Like the night of the original post above, I just sat in the back and listened. I wonder if the scofflaw bikers who insist on staying on the west side of California south of the crossover should be ticketed? Just kidding, but it would give us the data to justify tearing out the bollards and restore a lane of traffic. Just a thought.

[Cassandra]

OK. Now I’ve seen a total of three bikes and one baby stroller (going the wrong way).

[Just Sayin']

Ticketing bikers on streets with bike lanes who are not using them is not the worst idea in the world. Just sayin'