The Burlingame Voice

Driver-less Taxis: What could go wrong?

We have to keep an eye on EssEff happenings since some can spill over into B'game.  It wouldn't surprise me if autonomous, robotic, driver-less taxis is one of them.  The Daily Post and Chronicle are reporting on the progress:

California regulators on Thursday issued a first-of-its-kind permit to robot-taxi company Cruise (a GM controlled company), which will make San Francisco the first major city in the country in which people can hail a paid ride from a driverless taxi, officials said.

The California Public Utilities Commission voted unanimously Thursday to grant Cruise its permit, more than six months after the San Francisco-based company first applied to be able to charge for rides in its autonomous vehicles, without a backup driver. The company has been offering free driverless rides since February and will begin rolling out paid rides in its 30 electric vehicles in the coming weeks, officials said.

That's the headline, but the caveats are far more interesting.  Since the taxis are apparently unable to move to the curb for pick-up and drop-off they are being restricted to less dense parts of the city.  They can only operate between 10pm and 6am and must stay under 30 mph and shut down for rain and fog.  A competitor, Waymo, has been offering service in the friendlier driving environs of Phoenix since October 2020, but driving in SF is a tougher task.

The Daily Post offered a reminder of two events last April when a Cruise taxi briefly blocked a fire truck responding to a call and when the SFPD stopped one of the taxis, it drove off before the officer finished ticketing it.  You can read the COO's statement about the new paid service here--and the link to hail one is at the bottom.  Be brave!  In the meantime, my old standby Luxor is still in business serving B'game and you get help with your bags.

More Signage: Pedestrians Beware....

Today's question of the day is multiple choice.  What is the greatest danger to pedestrians walking up California Dr.?

a)  Drivers speeding to beat the long light at Broadway?

b)  Drivers distracted by another new sign that they can't figure out?

c)  Walking head first into a traffic sign because their slalom skills are deficient?

d)  Pedestrians distracted by wondering how the City can afford so many signs?

City Revenue: Down but not out

We touched on the fiscal effects of reduced travel and thus reduced hotel tax ("TOT") four months ago with the expectation that things could be serious.  The Daily Journal is reporting on the figures presented to the council and notes

The city gathered more than $29 million from the tax in 2018-19, nearly 35% of the city’s revenue that year. But last year that figure plummeted to $5.7 million, and the city this year is on track to collect $10 million as some travel returns.

While TOT revenue is projected to rebound to between $22.7 million and $26 million by 2026-27, as the city grows, its other revenue streams are expected to similarly increase. Property tax and sales tax are projected to account for 39% and 24% of the city’s revenue this year, respectively, and the TOT less than 15%.

Despite the ongoing hit to the TOT, councilmembers emphasized the city’s ability to maintain service for most with “not a single blip” thanks to a conservative budget structure and nearly $45 million in the city’s general fund prior to the pandemic.

Those reserves are the key to keeping away "the blips".  How fast we dip into them for how long and for what purpose is perhaps the most important decision a city council can make.  Here is the tentative plan

A tentative budget proposal indicated the city could dip into its reserves by $2.5 million this year and again by $4.8 million, $5.3 million and $5.6 million (Ed:  that's $18.2M or 40% for those keeping track at home) over the following three years until a surplus is again achieved in 2025-26. But as (City manager Lisa) Goldman pointed out, the projections include considerable planned infrastructure spending that could be pulled back if needed.

Projects include the Broadway grade separation, El Camino Real repaving and other road upgrades and park improvements. Councilmember Donna Colson expressed her support for proceeding with the projects as planned and seeking other ways to reduce the deficit.

“I just don’t think you can save your way to success, I really believe that you have to invest in your community … and if you want the high-quality services, and you want the good roads and … everything to be state of the art, we have to figure out a way,” she said. “Whether it’s through the business licensing fees or really just working on economic development, I want to figure out a way to close that gap.”

The "business license fee" increases that are being bandied about are raising concerns among the Mom & Pop operations in town.   Numbers are flying around, some substantiated, some less so.  I think there is general agreement that a business like Meta/Facebook on the bayfront should be paying more than an ice cream shop.  The devil is in the details in between.  I recall a funny story relayed to me by a reliable source.  When Virgin America was looking to locate its headquarters in B'game, they met with the mayor (Mary Janney at the time) and the city manager.  Virgin asked for a reduced business license fee and the two B'gamers looked at each other with a look somewhere between amusement, confusion and embarrassment at being such a small town operation and replied "It's a $100 flat fee".  Virgin moved in......

Lighting up Broadway

Our Broadway district is sometimes referred to as the poor stepsister of the Avenue which can refer to the attention it garners from the city, its more affordable rents, or the rather homey general appearance of the retail district.  Those are intertwined.  I happen to spend more time on B'way even though I can easily walk to the Avenue so any investment in B'way is welcome.

The new street lights are almost done.  The poles are in and await the actual lights.  Some of the poles in front of Mike Harvey Acura were placed in the middle of the sidewalk due to the location of underground utilities making for a pedestrian slalom course, but the ones in the core retail blocks look good.  They aren't an exact match to the originals, but close enough for government work; as they say.  Check it out.

You and your Cat: Treasured friends

There's been quite a bit of talk around town about catalytic converter thefts. After a local friend had his stolen from his truck in January, I asked the B'game police about how common it is in town. Here are the stats:

Statistics on catalytic converter thefts:

• 2020 monthly average: 6
• 2021 monthly average: 9
• Jan 2022: 12
• Feb 2022: 4

Some aspects of this are worth sharing like: Toyota Prius and trucks are the most common targets. Prius because the converters in hybrid vehicles tend to be more valuable and trucks because they sit higher off the ground making it easier to access the converter (i.e. no jack needed). My Landcruiser actually has two--a twofer.

The replacement my friend had to get was $2,800 (mostly covered by insurance) and he decided to add a cable and lock to the new one.

I hope anyone who gets hit reports it to BPD. One might think "it's gone, so what's the point?" but we need to keep track of this sort of thing if it is to get the attention it deserves.

On the bright side, BPD actually caught a couple of catalytic converter thieves on January 11th (early morning hours) in the 1400 block of Benito Ave. An alert resident called it in. Hopefully there will be more arrests to come as people become more aware.

Update:  I just heard about two more Cat thefts in the Lyon-Hoag neighborhood over the last month or so.  And here is a photo of the well-secured Cat--10" stainless steel zip ties, 3/16" steel cable and some clamps.  It would probably take you a couple of hours.

Smile, your license plate maybe on camera

A comment on the Year in Crime: 2021 post reminded me to double back to the question of whether or not we put in license plate reading cameras in B'game.  According to the DJ article, in a rare split decision, councilors Ortiz, O'Brian and Colson went for the idea while Brownrigg and Beach were opposed.

Burlingame is one of just four cities in the county that has yet to approve the cameras (Ed: that means 16 already have them), according to Police Chief Mike Matteucci, who added he believed they would be beneficial in the city. Others on the Peninsula have turned to the cameras in hopes of stopping auto burglaries near hotels or retail crime. 

Matteucci said implementation in Burlingame would likely consist of two-dozen or more cameras installed at entry and exit points to the city and major intersections. They could also be affixed to police vehicles. 

You will recall from the Year in Crime: 2021 post that vehicle burglaries were up 25% year over year to 25 per month--basically everyday someone gets burgled.  And that number may or may not include the catalytic converter thefts--I've asked BPD for some numbers on that really expensive crime (~$2,800 to replace, keep your insurance current).  At least one reluctant councilmember wants to "see the data".  I would suggest that all council members should be reviewing the data regularly.  Heck, I would make it a regular council agenda item, but that's just me.

Brownrigg, however, said he was unconvinced Burlingame had a need for the cameras and expressed reluctance to increase surveillance or traffic stop frequency in the city.

“Any time we permit greater surveillance, especially using technology, we need to have a use case that justifies it, so I would like to see that data,” he said. “I’m not saying our decision will change the big forces of technology, but this is just one step along the path to facial recognition, it’s one step along the path to cameras everywhere.”

 

I'm not going to give much airtime to the concern about racial profiling--everyone license plate colors are the same.  We shall see if this goes anywhere or if higher political ambitions derail it.

Support your favorite $4,500 parklets

The chickens have come home to roost on fees for parklets as we noted last month here.  The council went with a $250 per month cleaning fee in addition to the $1,500 annual rental fee.  Per the Daily Journal article there was some discussion along the lines of what we noted last month about Broadway perhaps being a lower fee than the Avenue, but that did not come to pass.  It was unanimous.  I was in contact with John Kevranian who heads the Broadway Business Improvement District ("the BID") and I asked if I could publish his whole letter to the Council since I believe it explains very well the state of small businesses on B'way and more generally.  Here's the full letter:

Dear Mr. Mayor, Vice Mayor and City Council members,

I have been asked by my Broadway BID members to convey our position in regards to the parklet owners sidewalk cleaning fee. We on Broadway are Not in support of the recommended city staff report on sidewalk cleaning fee of $250 per month.

Some of you may perceive and have the impression that our restaurants are doing very well. Well, the bottom line is, they are not doing the business they had pre-Covid. The staffing shortages, increased cost of products, and supply chain issues have taken a toll to their bottom-line profit. Also, I would like to remind all of you that the majority of the business landlords did not discount rent the past 22 months during the pandemic.

This year, the increase in minimum wage, sewer rate increases, extra cost of composting, new food-to-go container mandates in March 2022 and other cost increases in the food industry will take a chunk of profit away from our restaurants. Also, not to mention Covid issues and less indoor dining.

The cleaning fee of $250 has to come from somewhere such as reducing the hours of workers or increasing prices on customers. The cost of chicken has tripled and the cost of beef and other products have skyrocketed. How much can you increase on a customer? 

Over the past 2 years, I have convinced my Broadway BID board of directors to waive our assessments (2 years' worth $54,000) to help save our businesses. I approached San Mateo County Supervisor Dave Pine to have the county waive the Environmental Health Department fees county wide for 1 year totaling $5.8 million, and I was successful with my request. I have done everything possible to save these merchants expenses, so they can survive during the pandemic and after. 

Businesses who have Parklets and outside seating are being targeted with federal lawsuits for ADA noncompliance. So far, I have 3 Broadway BID members who have received the lawsuit. The plaintiff's attorney will not settle for less than $10.000 and also the cost to remediate the violation.

I respectfully ask the entire council Not to adopt this program.

Best Regards,

John Kevranian

President

Broadway Burlingame Business Improvement District

John also researched the Covid relief funding that the City has received and reports that it was $371,871 from the CARES Act and is estimated to be $5,814,178 from the American Rescue Plan allocation.  As I noted in the comments to the December post, my surveying of restauranteurs about the additional fees has yielded split views.  Some will pay thinking they have little choice and others will give up the parklet.  John asked that I also publish the joint email address for the Council in case you want to weigh in even after the vote.  It is council@burlingame.org.

Bay Area Pavement: Who's Minding the Store?

Everyone knows that the road surface and drainage on El Camino Real is abysmal.  The monstrous project Caltrans is proposing to "fix" it is overkill as we noted here in July.  But what about all the other streets in B'game?  OK, I know, B'game doesn't have any streets--so what about our avenues, roads, places, and courts?  It's hard to tell since the Metropolitan Transportation Commission report on pavement is two years out of date.  The MTC provides this definition

The Pavement Conditions Index (PCI) provides a snapshot of the pavement health of a road. It is measured on a scale of 0 to 100 (where 100 means a newly paved road), and many factors affect a city’s or county’s PCI score. These include pavement age, climate and precipitation, traffic loads and available maintenance funding.

A new housing development with new streets may have a high overall PCI, while an older, urbanized area may have a much lower PCI, even though both are practicing pavement preservation.  At 67 out of a possible 100 points, the region’s average PCI score is much closer to the 60-point threshold at which deterioration accelerates rapidly.

And a moving three year average makes sense as both wear and tear and repair are continuous.  "Good" is a PCI in the '70's and that is where we were--two years ago--77.  Since then it appears there has been radio silence from the MTC.  What's up with that?  It's not like monitoring road surfaces is a desk job in some closed-for-Covid office. 

                                           3 yr Moving Average PCI

                                Miles        2017    2018    2019

Burlingame             162.6         75         78         77

They are wallowing in cash and proclaim:

MTC directly distributes more than $1 billion a year to Bay Area transit agencies and other partners, and prioritizes requests from local agencies for millions more in limited state and federal funds.  Each year, the Commission allocates hundreds of millions of dollars for local streets and roads, highways, public transit, freight movement and bicycle/pedestrian facilities.

So how do they do it without the data?  Here is one of hundreds of sections of El Camino that must put it somewhere between Poor and At Risk PCI.  Just like your tires and rims.

More than one way to get an ADU

It looks like Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) are all the rage in town now that the rules have been relaxed.  I'm still of the opinion that most of them will end up as work-from-home offices or the traditional in-law units for family members to get them out of the house proper, but so be it.  You can build one from scratch, buy a manufactured one that needs to be assembled or you can go for the whole, complete enchilada--shrink-wrapped.  If you go with the enchilada and do not have backyard access, then another option is to lift it up and pop it down in the back where you want it.

I missed the money shot of this unit in the air since it took a day or more to position the crane on the street and whatever else was needed, but you can see the strap that held the ADU as it was hoisted over the main house into the backyard.  Quite an operation---coming to a lot near you.

 

Planning for a Rollicking Rollins Rd.

I’m very excited by the impending housing growth in North Burlingame that will end up bringing “thousands of new homes” to the Rollins Rd. industrial section of town.  The amount of planning that went into this decision by state and county officials, the City Council, the Planning Commission and city staff is impressive.  Here are the details:

Water:   I know the decision makers have a grasp on our dire water situation because they said so back in May  calling it “alarming”.  They also know the SFPUC cannot be trusted to keep the Peninsula’s water interests front-of-mind regardless of whatever “contract” we have with them, so the negotiations with the state to gain access to Bayfront land for our new desalinization plant (instead of a park) are to be complemented.  Desalinized drinking water is about ten times as expensive as water agencies buy now due to the energy costs.  Then there is the cost of getting rid of the brine, but the free land access will help the economics.  The new water tank on Rollins will ensure reliable water for the new neighborhood.

Outflow:  In the spirit of “what goes in, must come out”, the city study on sewage treatment capacity at the Bayfront plant will probably find a need for additional capacity, but we can be sure that raising the sewer rates to pay for it will be easy as we just saw this year.  Burlingame is a welcoming community, so higher rates will be fine with the public.

Power:  The decision makers’ extensive negotiations with PG&E to get it to strengthen the Burlingame grid are to be complemented.  Not only will the grid improvements supply the new desalinization plant’s load, but it will also ensure grid stability for the rest of the city.  Generous state and federal funding for new solar panels on the new construction and some existing Rollins Rd. buildings will help; as will a brand new grid-based battery facility.  Whoever got that big grant should get a promotion.  The natural gas pipes should be fine since there won’t be any natural gas allowed.

Schools:  Given the thousands of new homes coming, it was prescient of the city council to snap up a large parcel on Rollins Rd. and sign a long-term, low-cost lease with the Burlingame School District.  This will enable BSD to build a new school serving North Burlingame Eastside students.  The parcel may be large enough to also build a BIS Annex to cut down on car traffic to BIS.  I expect that the next school bond measure to pay for it all will pass easily as Burlingame is a welcoming community.

Traffic:  As we consider the extensive traffic study conducted as part of the General Plan update, it is gratifying to see that the Broadway grade separation project is now fully funded and we are ready to start The Big B'game Dig in 2022.  As today's SF Comicle notes:

The intersection of Caltrain and Broadway in Burlingame has the ignominious distinction of being the street-level train crossing most in need of fixing in the state, based on a calculation that factors in number of accidents, disruptions to local traffic and other overall safety concerns.  The busy crossing serves demand from trains, vehicles, pedestrians and cyclists, a hectic mix that has resulted in 11 car-train collisions in the past five years, a number of near misses and some fatal accidents. It has also caused considerable traffic backups: The crossing gate is currently down about an hour per day, and the city estimates that will rise to nearly three hours per day by 2040.

The project should go fast as most of them do; and be completed in time to help ease the load on Millbrae Ave. and Rollins Rd. for the new North Burlingame residents.  Luckily, the city’s negotiations with Caltrain were also successful in getting the Broadway station to reopen.  That will make a big difference for local traffic through the B'way intersection over the next 10 years.

Of course, Rollins Rd. isn't the only part of town with strong growth so all of these impending improvements will benefit the whole town.  That's why Burlingame is a welcoming community.

I admit I was initially skeptical about a huge new residential section at the north end of town.  It seemed like many of the growing pains would be intractable problems, but with a lot of diligent work everything appears to be on track.  Many people are to be complemented.