Item No. 11
Town of Atherton
CITY COUNCIL STAFF REPORT – REGULAR AGENDA
TO: HONORABLE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL
GEORGE RODERICKS, CITY MANAGER
FROM: ROBERT OVADIA, PUBLIC WORKS DIRECTOR
DATE: SEPTEMBER 17, 2025
SUBJECT: ADOPT RESOLUTIONS AUTHORIZING THE FILING OF GRANT
APPLICATIONS TO THE SAN MATEO COUNTY
TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITY FOR THE EL CAMINO
REAL/SELBY LANE TRAFFIC SAFETY AND MOBILITY
IMPROVEMENTS PROJECT AND FOR THE ALAMEDA DE LAS
PULGAS TRAFFIC AND SAFETY IMPROVEMENTS PROJECT
RECOMMENDATION
Adopt Resolutions No. 25-XX and No. 25-YY authorizing the filing of 2025 Measure A and Measure W Highway Program Grant Applications for funding of the El Camino Real/Selby Lane Traffic Safety and Mobility Improvements Project and the Alameda de las Pulgas Traffic and Safety Improvement Project to the San Mateo County Transportation Authority (SMCTA).
BACKGROUND
On July 11, 2025, the SMCTA released its Call for Projects for the 2025 Measure A and W Highway Program. The Call for Projects is guided by the SMCTA’s Strategic Plan 2025-2029 which integrated the previous Short Range Highway Plan (SRHP) and Capital Improvement Program (CIP). The focus of the program is to reduce traffic congestion and improve throughput and safety on the most critical commute corridors in San Mateo County. This cycle will promote a large availability of funds that can go toward newly approved Measure A Highway Program Supplemental Roadways eligible corridors list. The addition of the Supplemental Roadways corridors allows local jurisdictions to apply for multimodal congestion and safety improvements on local arterials and main streets.
Local jurisdictions and other potential project sponsors can apply for and contend for funding for one project development phase at time. Project applications would be scored by an Evaluation Committee using the adopted criteria in the Strategic Plan 2025-2029 and would then be submitted to the SMCTA Board of Directors for approval and programming.
SMCTA Highway Call for Projects
SEPTEMBER 17, 2025
The Highway program provides funding up to 50% of total project cost for projects of Countywide Significance, and up to 75% of total project cost for local projects.
The grant schedule is as follows:
Call for Projects Issued after TA Board Meeting July 11, 2025 Call for Projects Workshop: Virtual via Zoom July 16, 2025 Notify TA of Intent to Submit August 1, 2025
Mandatory Pre-Submittal Meetings with TA Staff August 4-8, 2025 Project Applications due September 12, 2025
Evaluation Period September/October 2025
Informational item to TA Board on Draft Program of Projects November 6, 2025 TA Board approves proposed Program of Projects December 4, 2025
ANALYSIS
Staff submitted a notice of intent to submit to the SMCTA for two projects consistent with the Town’s Capital Improvement Program and Council directed project priorities: 1) El Camino Real/Selby Lane Intersection Improvements, and 2) Alameda de las Pulgas Traffic and Safety Improvements. A pre-application meeting with TA staff was held on August 6, 2025, to discuss the projects, their scopes and the application process, and confirming that the project would be considered local, requiring a 25% minimum local match commitment.
As noted above, applications were due on September 12, 2025. Though staff submitted an application, a City Council Resolution authorizing submittal of the application, committing required local matching funds, and authorizing submittal of the application is required to support the application. Understanding Council cycles, the TA is accepting the resolutions within a short window following the submittal of the grant application materials.
El Camino Real
El Camino Real is a six-lane north-south arterial that serves as the north-south backbone of in the Countywide transportation system that connects the entire Peninsula. This regional arterial (State Route 82) carries 36,000 average vehicles each day through Atherton. It is also a vital part of the region’s Active Transportation network that serves two Equity Priority Communities, as defined by the Metropolitan Transportation Commission.
The intersection of Selby Lane at El Camino Real is unsignalized and has been the site of a significant number of reported accidents involving vehicles, bicycles, and pedestrians, including one fatality over the past ten years. Selby Lane, one of the Town’s primary east-west collector roads, functions at Level of Service F and C in the morning (eastbound and westbound, respectively) and Level of Service F in both directions in the afternoon. It is also a vital connection from the North Fair Oaks community and the Adelante Selby Spanish Immersion School on Selby Lane. Additionally, this location is subject to seasonal flooding which impacts safety and mobility SMCTA Highway Call for Projects
SEPTEMBER 17, 2025
of all users in the intersection. Addressing drainage issues at the intersection are critical to implementation of any traffic safety and mobility improvements.
The recently adopted El Camino Real Complete Streets study identified this location as an opportunity to improve traffic flow and safety for all travel modes. On April 16, 2025, the City Council directed staff to pursue solutions at this intersection.
The project would follow on the public outreach of the Complete Streets Study to inform the parameters of the infrastructure solutions at this critical intersection (signalization vs. High Intensity Activated Crosswalk [HAWK] signal). The Project would be designed to improve safety for vehicles, bicyclists, and pedestrians on the approaches. This would include the reduction of potential conflicts between modes that could lead to future collisions. A traffic signal would help reduce delay and improve safety for Selby Lanes’s approaches to El Camino Real. Traffic modeling from the El Camino Real Complete Streets study found that Level of Service at Selby Lane at El Camino Real could improve to an overall Level of Service B or C with the installation of a traffic signal.
Alameda de las Pulgas
Alameda de las Pulgas (ADLP) serves as a north-south alternate to El Camino Real that connects Redwood City to Menlo Park and Palo Alto through the Town of Atherton and unincorporated San Mateo County. Pass-through traffic has been measured to be between 60% to 89% of the overall traffic volume. Residential streets are impacted as commuters attempt to find alternative routes around congested roadways during peak hours, particularly around the Atherton Avenue intersection which is four-way stop controlled.
The Alameda de las Pulgas corridor was evaluated in separate studies in 2019. The Alameda de las Pulgas Corridor Traffic Study reviewed existing conditions along Alameda de las Pulgas and recommended several improvements, both within and outside of Town limits. The Local Traffic Flow/Long Range Planning Solutions Study evaluated existing traffic operations and origindesignation patterns and recommended short- and long-term measures for efficient circulation.
Additionally, it has been determined through these studies that the all-way stop intersection of Atherton Ave and ADLP currently operates at a level of service (LOS) F with delays up to 92 seconds during the peak hours and that signalizing this intersection will improve operations to LOS B with projected delays less than 18 seconds. The corridor study also advised that a roundabout at the Atherton Avenue intersection would also significantly reduce vehicle delays.
The Town is nearing completion of the design for improvements along the 0.9-mile segment of Alameda de las Pulgas from Stockbridge Avenue to Mills Avenue, including the restriping of the vehicle and bicycle lanes in each direction and to include two-foot wide buffers, installation of a roundabout at the Atherton Avenue intersection, along with associated green infrastructure improvements, the removal of the mid-block pedestrian activated traffic signal located between Camino al Lago and Mills Avenue and the installation of a new traffic signal at Camino al Lago.
For the Alameda de las Pulgas improvements, the project would include construction funding for traffic and safety improvements from Mills Avenue to Stockbridge Avenue. The project will SMCTA Highway Call for Projects
SEPTEMBER 17, 2025
include installation of a roundabout at the Atherton Avenue intersection, removal of a pedestrian activated mid-block traffic signal (between Camino al Lago and Mills Avenue), installation of a traffic signal at the Camino al Lago intersection, including associated curb ramps and sidewalk repairs. The project includes restriping of the roadway to provide buffered bicycle lanes in each direction and required green infrastructure improvements.
FISCAL IMPACT
For the El Camino Real improvements at Selby Lane, the initial project estimate, for design, construction, permitting and project management, is approximately $4,000,000. Town is seeking funding of up to $3,000,000 through the 2025 Measure A and W Highway Program, with the town providing approximately $1,020,000 in local matching funds. For the Alameda de las Pulgas improvements, the Town seeks $1,000,000 toward the estimated construction costs of $4,280,000 project and will provide $3,280,000 in matching funds, including both local and obligated federal funds.
GOAL ALIGNMENT
This Report and its contents are in alignment with the following Council Policy Goals:
Goal B - Improve Public Safety & Emergency Preparedness Goal D - Be Forward Thinking
Goal E - Maintain and Improve Public Infrastructure
POLICY FOCUS
Policy focus should be on mobility needs and challenges associated with El Camino Real and Alameda de las Pulgas.
PUBLIC NOTICE
Public notification was achieved by posting the agenda, with this agenda item being listed, at least 72 hours prior to the meeting in print and electronically. Information about the project is also disseminated via the Town’s electronic News Flash and Atherton Online. There are approximately 1,200 subscribers to the Town’s electronic News Flash publications. Subscribers include residents as well as stakeholders –to include, but be not limited to, media outlets, school districts, Menlo Park Fire Protection District, service provides (water, power, and sewer), and regional elected officials.
COMMISSION/COMMITTEE FEEDBACK/REFERRAL
This item has not been before a Town Committee or Commission
ATTACHMENTS
SMCTA Highway Call for Projects
SEPTEMBER 17, 2025
1. Resolution 25-XX for the El Camino Real/Selby Lane Traffic Safety and Mobility Improvements Project
2. Resolution 25-YY for the Alameda de las Pulgas Traffic and Safety Improvement Project