The Burlingame Voice

Tweaking The BAAZ, Creating The BRAZ

Tomorrow night the City Council will consider making some changes to the Burlingame Ave Autonomous Zone (the BAAZ).  We're just finishing the third weekend of the BAAZ so Council will be looking to extend it to the end of September and add parklets on the side streets.  Back in May when the original plan surfaced, I had several concerns: impact on non-restaurant businesses, non-BAAZ restaurants, parking, handicap access and the cost.  It appears I was prescient since the proposed tweaks start to address some of these, especially the fairness issue. Non-BAAZ restaurants that want a parklet on Primrose, Park, Lorton, Howard, and Chapin would get permanent ones (meaning seven days a week) since they are too expensive to put in and take out often.  The parklets would be created using heavy duty industrial plastic hydro-barriers -- the ugly orange blocks.  San Mateo went the parklet route but only uses the hydro-barriers on the on-coming traffic side as shown below (upper right).  I hope we do the same.

To further address fairness to our "other" downtown, the one that often feels under appreciated by the City, the BRAZ is under consideration -- the BRoadway Autonomous Zone.  It involves Saturday-Sunday closure of Broadway between Chula Vista and Capuchino -- the three middle blocks; attempting to leave some traffic circulation since, you know, it's a 101 exit.  Anecdotally, the Broadway restaurants took a bit of a beating the last two weekends--akin to the non-BAAZ restaurants.  One non-BAAZer used the word "disaster" when I asked how it went the first weekend.

As to parking, the Staff Report notes

In addition to the previously estimated loss of parking on Burlingame Avenue of approximately 150 to 160 parking spaces when the street is closed on the weekends, 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.

Approximately 50 to 60 parking spaces would become unavailable on weekends if the City Council approves the temporary weekend closure of Broadway. As with the Burlingame Avenue commercial district, there are nearby parking facilities on either side of Broadway, but parking will become tight on busy weekends.

I might suggest putting a cover over most of the EV charging stations in Lot Y so GV's (gas vehicles) can use them because we know EV usage has been quite low. 

Now the costs:

Staff estimates the cost of setting up and removing the street closure on Broadway to be similar to Burlingame Avenue, which is estimated at approximately $10,000 to $12,000 per month. Additionally, staff estimates the cost of renting and setting up barriers to create parklets is $20,000 to $30,000 per month. Regarding loss of parking revenue, staff estimates the overall loss is approximately $20,000 to $30,000 per month. The overall total fiscal impact of the pilot program is estimated to range from $60,000 to $80,000 per month. The actual figure may vary and will be determined after the completion of the pilot program.

We may have our very own Summer of Love.  Like the original one in '67, it would be fun but comes with a price.

Police and Trust: How to Mess it Up

Last week I noted that City Council candidates' public positions on issues mattered even if they did not win a seat.  That goes double--or maybe triple-- for sitting City Council members.  Candidate Mike Dunham had some disappointing positions on policing tactics that I noted here.  This week I am even more disappointed, appalled even, at councilman Michael Brownrigg's statements as reported in the Daily Journal on Friday.  Read for yourself

We have a sitting City Council member advocating for discriminatory hiring practices based on sex.  Let that settle in for a moment.  Perhaps in his failed foray into state politics, Brownrigg spent an excessive amount of time in the company of so-called progressives.  Or perhaps Zoom council meetings that don't have the benefit of a television camera in one's face cause the proceeding to be more casual.  It doesn't matter.  In any case, the public record now shows at least some movement towards hiring discrimination.  I hope the city attorney interjected to correct this and if not, it's not too late.  The future legal problems as a result of letting this sit could be substantial.

Additionally last Friday, the front page headline in the Daily Post read "Police chief abruptly resigns" noting "Menlo Park Police Chief Dave Bertini unexpectedly announced yesterday that he was retiring during an online town hall meeting regarding policing, saying he has lost the trust of the City Council."  These are perilous times and City leaders need to be more careful about their statements.  Brownrigg should retract his statement and apologize.

Arson at the Library, War Zone on the Ave.

Just as things were reverting to a highly-modified normal (an oxymoron if ever there was one) we get hit with the triple whammy of an arson event at the main library and a warning from BPD to shop owners to take necessary precautions against vandalism and looting.  Then a two-night county-wide curfew went into effect.  When the Ring Neighborhood alert came in yesterday about a fire in the 400 block of Primrose, I got worried.  Fortunately, as you see below, the fire appears to be just umbrellas in front of the library, not the library itself.  BPD made an arrest of a 45 year old, white male and I'm sure there will be more information to follow.

The scene on the Avenue is really disappointing.  Many shops were just reopening or announced that they will in the coming week.  The precautionary boarding up of windows certainly won't induce people to return soon and the restaurants that have been barely eking by on take-out will have to absorb even more stress.  Anyone who thinks this will somehow cure what ails our society is mistaken.

Close the Avenue? Not So Fast

I was hoping this idea of closing Burlingame Ave. to all cars would quietly disappear as things slowly re-open and people get used to mingling a bit.  But the City has apparently asked merchants for their opinions so it's an active idea and we have a Guest Perspective in today's Daily Journal that espouses the closure.  The author comes from a great B'game family and has done a stint on the Planning Commission, but he might have benefited from serving on Traffic, Safety and Parking instead.  I'm sort of glad he broached the topic.  Here's bit of that piece

With summer weather approaching and business attendance at an all-time low, now is an incredible, once-in-a-generation time to experiment with what  Burlingame Avenue could be like if it were more pedestrian-oriented, and less vehicle-dependent.

The city needs to take strong actions to make sure the heart of its downtown, its restaurants and bars, are positioned as well as possible to succeed in a prolonged sure-to-be-tough environment. The best way the city can do this, in my opinion, is to allow them to operate at normal capacity (while adhering to strict distancing guidelines), through the expansion of temporary seating zones. Of course, the only way to accomplish this would be to follow the example set by Oakland and numerous other cities, and close Burlingame Avenue to cars.

There's an old debate tactic called the Straw Man argument that says you refute an argument that your opponent hasn't actually made.  A corollary to that is to refute one argument and omit the others.  That's what is going on in this piece:

Now, the obvious contrarian opinion is that there won’t be enough parking (a particularly Burlingame classic!). Well, my response would be: Good! Let’s finally put our environmental policy and action where our mouths are and create paths for people to safely travel, and park, via bicycle.

Allow me to note some better arguments against a full closure.  First, there are many other businesses on the Avenue besides restaurants.  All of them rely on out-of-towners and B'gamers who live far away and won't walk or bike to their stores.  Convenient parking may be over rated by some store owners, but it's not a non-issue.  Some of them sell (or would like to sell) more product than one can easily carry for blocks.  Second, what about the disabled customers?  We have handicap spaces for a reason and it's a good one.  No "TSPoon" commissioner would ever think of taking them all out, but a full closure does exactly that.  Third, it seems unfair to advantage some restaurants at the expense of others not on the Avenue.  Should Park & Howard, Narin, Coconut Bay, Stella Osteria, Il Fornaio, et al just figure it out themselves?  I don't think so.  How about Broadway?  I won't play Straw Man and suggest we close all of downtown, but fair would be fair.  Fourth, police and fire access is still required and required fast.  How do you do that with tables and diners in the street?  Lastly, the realpolitik of the City's situation is a major budget problem as noted here.  We are definitely better off than many cities, but with the hotel tax and sales taxes taking a major hit, the revenue from the meters should not be ignored.  As the City seems intent on giving away money, perhaps taking some in would be wise.

So what to do?  Doing nothing is anathema to government.  We've seen that across the board during the corona crisis.  Here's a middle position that might work for restaurants all over town.  The space in front of the restaurant can become a parklet.  I broached the idea eight years ago here.  As you can read from 2012 it got no attention--not one comment, but now might be the time.  Parklets are big in EssEff and a few sprouted in San Mateo.  One space (10' x 20' if memory serves) could hold 2 four tops.  Turned twice a night, that would be 16 more diners.  Added to sidewalk dining, it would help.  Closing the whole street is unfair, may be unsafe and likely costly.

El Camino Flooding: Where's Roto-Rooter?

Here's one more water-related post to follow the last two on sea-levels and drinking water.  We had two nice, moderately heavy storms over the weekend and into Monday.  We needed the rain everywhere except on El Camino.  Bad flooding in a dozen spots on our main thoroughfare has been a known issue for decades.  I just don't get why Caltrans won't do something simple to fix the known hot spots.  Yes, we have a multi-hundreds of millions of dollars upgrade in the works, but with the massive state shortfall from COVID-19 I'll bet roads drop down the priority list.

In the meantime, why can't Caltrans just get into some of the drains and clear them out?  We know the drains drain--just not fast enough.  I don't want to put it back on the city's Public Works who have already stepped up on ECR maintenance beyond their remit, but it might have to come to that.  "All plumbing is local" to paraphrase Tip O'Neill.  Here's the recurring flood at the end of my street.  There's a drain right there.  The drain on the other corner drains well enough if I keep it clear, which I do.  The flooded one drains after about a day--there had been no rain for more than 12 hours when I took this photo.  Where's Roto-Rooter?

Caltrans to the Rescue on ECR

Out of the blue, when we were least expecting it, Caltrans has ridden to the rescue of a substantial part of El Camino Real.  And the folks in town are all excited.  At the city council candidates' forum three weeks ago, I asked the question "what can be done for a short-term fix of El Camino as we await the multi-tens of millions of dollar Big Fix being worked on by the Task Force?"  It was question #4 of the evening and drew murmurs from the small crowd assembled.

Mayor Colson went first and noted that even though it is a state highway, our Public Works crews jump in and fill potholes on occasion, but otherwise we have a commitment from Caltrans on the Big Fix.  Emily Beach echoed that.  Mike Dunham noted there is no perfect answer, but his long term vision would be for more public transit by introducing dedicated bus lanes.  Not quite sure how one does that on a four-lane road, but we'll leave that for later.

In the meantime, let's luxuriate in the 15 sections of fresh asphalt that have been laid down in the right southbound lane--some of them quite lengthy.  Reading between the lines of the answer to my question three weeks ago, no one saw this coming.  Could there be more in the works--maybe on the northbound side?  Only the Shadow knows.

Floppy Signs Multiply

It seems like the yellow floppy Yield to Pedestrians in Crosswalk signs are multiplying like rabbits around town.  Also known as "Ped pop-up" signs or "In-Street Ped warning" signs, they were originally designed for mid-block crossings. Gradually they’ve been expanded to be used even at intersections and sometimes even on both sides of the same intersection.  One intrepid Voice reader notes  

Most cities have already figured out they don’t work and are knocked down a lot (see photo below on California Ave.). They are a maintenance nightmare as we’ve seen, and in the worst case, they actually impede a regular car driver from safely completing a left turn from a side street.  This makes the driver navigate the turn slowly and be more exposed to getting broadsided by a car on the major street.  It’s our city continuing to throw money down the drain in the hopes of virtue signaling that it cares about pedestrian safety.

I have also seen drivers slow to a crawl when there is no pedestrian anywhere near the crosswalk-- so-called "traffic calming" gone awry.  Let's hope the city is evaluating the cost-benefit of these signs.

 

 

Hoover: When an Island Isn't.

I happened to drive past the nicely upgraded Hoover School recently.  As the elementary kids start thinking about returning to class, pedestrian (and vehicle) safety will be on people's minds.  Hoover has a bit of a past in this regard which you can read about here from two and a half years ago.

What caught my eye as year 3 is about to start at Hoover were the tire tracks on the roundabout island right in front.  It seems odd to me that there would be an island that is so easy to drive over.  What's the point really?  Does it engender some false sense of security?  Is it a challenge for thrill-seekers?  Or is it just a poor design?  Seems like if you are going to put in an island, it should really be an island instead of a little sand bar.

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.

 

Another 9.4 Acres of B'game Bayfront

The State Lands Commission is out with another RFP for one of the last undeveloped bits of B'game Bayfront (about 1,000') that has been idle since the boundaries were settled in 1972.  All you moneybags can access the official State page here.  The Daily Journal has a piece on the history and possibilities for the parcel.  In it, Mayor Donna Colson notes

For her part, Colson said she is intrigued by the opportunity to keep a majority of the land open while occupying some of it with a boutique hotel which could bolster the city’s tourism industry.  “We still think there is enough capacity to handle a small, high-end boutique hotel that would have a restaurant and other amenities that would be nice for the public,” she said.

She noted the city’s current hotel room vacancy rate is extremely low, and that interest in the adjacent area will likely be sparked with construction of the new Facebook building which could accommodate roughly 3,500 workers.

We've watched this piece with some concern for a long time since "nature abhors a vacuum" and in this case the vacuum has been filled by trash as noted here.  The SLC noted

On November 26, 2001, following market exposure to 1,100  prospective developers, the Commission received only one proposal.  Since 1995, the site has remained unleased and has been intermittently maintained as needed. The Commission has expended most of the $200,000 in settlement money received from RTC to market the site, demolish derelict storage buildings, install fencing and concrete barricades, and remove trash, debris, and vegetative overgrowth.

Those days are probably coming to an end with the development pressure and profit potential of a parcel that large.  Getting to and from the lot hasn't gotten any easier and probably won't for a long time, but when has that ever stopped anything?