The Burlingame Voice

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  It's hard to tell since the Metropolitan Transportation Commission report on pavement is two years out of date.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.

Parklets are here to stay, if restaurants can afford them. Safety first.

By now our parklet lifelines to local restaurants have the feel of permanence on the streets of B'game.  Back in August 2020, I noted that parklets are far superior to closing the whole darn street and that has played out as expected.  Now comes the question of permanence and payment.  The Daily Journal is reporting that

While businesses thus far have not been charged for use of the public space, the City Council this week voiced favor for establishing cleaning and rental fees likely to cost upwards of $5,100 yearly.  The charges would likely begin at some point next year for a one-year pilot period, after which the city would reassess and make changes as needed. The bulk of the cost, a $300 per month cleaning fee, could be reduced if the city’s expenses for the service were less than expected.

The remaining rental cost was determined based on Mountain View’s permanent parklet program that charges 9% of going rental rates. Given Burlingame commercial rents and the typical 300-square-foot size of parklets, a $1,500 yearly charge was decided on. Additionally, a $769 new application fee and $205 permit renewal fee would be levied.

If that is the algorithm, and I'm not sure it should be, then B'way parklets should be a little cheaper than on the Avenew.  Burlingame is currently home to 43 parklets occupying 88 parking spaces, according to the city.  So we are talking about $220K per year added to the restaurant bills in town.  I'm not fluent in restaurants' P&L's but I will ask a few owners to find out.  They are probably in "what choice do I have?" mode which might explain this:

Councilmember Mike Brownrigg, part of the economic subcommittee tasked with determining appropriate fees and guidelines, noted input from businesses in the process had been limited, though “not for want of trying.”

And then there is the street parking issue for non-restaurants which may come to a head when "permanence" starts filtering out

Also, in some instances where parklets extend into the frontage of a neighboring storefront, the neighboring business could request the parklet be moved or shrunk. Councilmember Donna Colson suggested the neighboring business could be required to pay for part of the rebuilding, or a timeframe could be established in which parklets would not be required to be moved or rebuilt. 

“You have to have some fairness, you can’t build a $40,000 parklet and then your neighbor says ‘you know what, you have to take it down now,’” she said.

Left unsaid was the hubbub from San Francisco where a 60 page rulebook landed on restaurants' doorsteps causing havoc according to the Comicle.

The notices from multiple city agencies cited rules that she’d never seen: The walls needed to be lowered. The roof needed to be removed. It could occupy only one parking space. And if it wasn’t all fixed in 14 days, she’d be fined $100, then $200, then $500 on the third day onward.

Sidewalks less than 10' wide mean Fire Department access to the building would be impeded by having a roof on the parklet and they need to have 3' of buffer (meaning an opening) on each side also for emergency access.  I'm reminded of the Chicken Chicken! fire in 2005.  And SF wants a 20' clearance from any intersection which seems too small to me.  I also worry about being able to see through the parklets to see on-coming traffic.  When I drive north on Laguna at B'way, the Rocca parklet has a takeout sign on the side of the parklet that blocks the visibility of eastbound traffic.  It's very tricky to get through that intersection in any direction.

Bottom Line:  There are some refinements to be made and money to be collected, but parklets are here to stay at least until some climate warrior outlaws propane heaters.  And there are some really nice ones in town.  Maybe Beautification should start a new category-- Best Parklet.

Lookout. Not one, but two wrong way parkers.

We haven't had a bad parking post in awhile.  There was this one that got the attention of San Mateo city staff and probably earned the driver a demerit.  Some incidents are more blatant than others.  And Lot Y is always good for a shake of the head or two.

A regular reader got a surprise last night when turning south on Capuchino--not one, but two wrong way parkers.  It's contagious.  I'll just guess what happened.  They pulled into the Post Office parking lot, it was full, they went around and saw the open spot to their left--"hey, it's only 30 yards going the wrong way on a one-way street and I gotta get to my dinner reservation."  The second guy sees the maneuver and does same.  It had to be dangerously entertaining leaving the spots.  If BPD wants the plate number, they know where to find me.

A Watchful Eye....Put Down the Phone!

One of the unexpected consequences of the Covid lockdown is that some people have forgotten how to drive properly.  I've had at least four conversations in the last few weeks with people commenting on unsafe lane changes, running red lights, blocking the box and the bane of everyone's safety--- texting or talking without a headset or hands-free speaker.  As a regular pedestrian around downtown and Broadway, I see it all the time.  I don't have the numbers, but the crosswalk in front of Walgreen's on B'way can feel like a game of chicken when the light at California is green.  So this was a welcome sight on California just north of B'way.

ECR: The Renewal Project Goes off the Rails

This is a tough post for me to write.  That's why it has taken me two weeks to write it since the Caltrans virtual meeting about the El Camino Real Roadway Renewal project on July 14th.  I really want to see some things fixed on ECR as noted here, here here and here.  But sometimes the cure can be worse than the illness and from what I heard, this is one of those times.  The virtual meeting had numerous presenters each with their own piece of the project, but the overarching view was obscured by bureaucracy and over-regulation along with some over-engineering.  We heard about this "once in a generation project" which is an understatement--a generation is 20-30 years--and while the project may take half of that to complete (certainly more than the 2 years stated), we will be living with the results for much longer---if it happens.

Caltrans presented three options:  the No Build alternative, the Roadway rehab without undergrounding the utilities and the Roadway rehab with undergrounding.  At least the horrendous "road diet" option reducing regular users to one lane in each direction with a center turn lane and all sorts of other goodies for people who don't actually drive on ECR is "not viable".  The good news ends there, because once the anti-eucalyptus forces start drooling over the two Roadway rehab options, we are headed for a dramatic changes that will take years to recover.  PG&E and the city council want the utilities underground.  I'm still not sure why when you consider the historic, nationally-registered eucalyptus grove will be a casualty of that move.  The renderings of what a denuded ECR would look like were all "20 years post-build" and even after 20 years still looked like a sad shell of the canopy we have now.  One astute questioner noted that they drive south on ECR every weekday morning and there are several months of the year when the sun is directly in the eyes of drivers.  Only the towering eucs make for a partial sun shield that surely makes for safer driving and pedestrian crossings.  Been there, experienced that.  And it's not just sun blindness--remember this incident?

Given how long it took to take out just one eucalyptus at Howard Ave. a couple years ago (about a week), we could be faced with a year or more of horrific traffic closures as there are 390 of them in the tree rows.  The claim is that only 3% of them are in "good condition".  And yet they go on year after year with minimal incidents.  It seems like selective replacement as we have been doing is better than a wholesale removal and replacement with 7 to 14' trees.

As for the rough sidewalks pushed up by tree roots, one of the Caltrans personnel finally said what I have been thinking for years-- why not just "bridge over slightly raised roots".  It is apparently allowed and would work in the places that are not too bad.  Throw in some serious digging at the 4 or 5 known flooding areas to clear roots and debris and rebuild the drains and you have what I would call a "Light Build alternative".  Public comment can be made at www.ElCaminoRealProject.com until next Monday, August 2nd.  I'm not sure it will do much good at this point, but a light build is all we need.

Traffic Excitement

Road engineers like to talk about "traffic calming" but some of their ideas appear to encourage just the opposite.  Several of my friends in Lyon-Hoag make a regular cocktail hour sport out of watching cars launch off of the little roundabout islands the city has plunked down in intersections.  They vacillate between being entertained and worrying about the consequences when some driver goes a bit too far.  Personally, I don't see the benefit of these launch pads, but I'm no traffic engineer.

Put Down the Phone and Drive

Here is a small but gratifying snippet of news that was in yesterday's Daily Post.  You probably didn't see it because there are only about four newspaper boxes in town that have the Post regularly.  I get it in San Mateo.

Kudos to BPD for making the local streets safer.  I see this violation all the time when I am walking around town, so let's do it again real soon.  Ten instances is a drop in the bucket.

Update:  I got some further insight from BPD on this effort. 

The distracted driving enforcement is part of a grant B'game gets from the State’s Office of Traffic Safety.  The grant funds fifteen 4-hour enforcement details throughout the year (with 2 officers per detail).  They are broken down as follows:

• 2 bicycle/pedestrian safety details
• 6 distracted driving details
• 7 details at high accident areas in town

The grant also funds 2 DUI checkpoints, 4 larger collaborative traffic enforcement details and some officer training.  The grant year runs from October 2020 thru September 2021.  We have completed 6 of the details so far and still have 9 to go.  BPD tries to do them about once a month, so there are more to come.

ECR: The Newest City Dump

I wonder if, like the drain maintenance, Caltrans expects the City to pick up the trash and dumped furniture along El Camino?  In this instance, maybe it's SamTrans responsibility?