February 2026
Central El Camino Real Multimodal Plan
February 10, 2026
Belmont City Council
SamTrans
Cassie Halls, Project Manager
Asiya Patel, Deputy Project Manager
City of Belmont
Carlos de Melo, Community Development Director
Josh Sun, Senior Civil Engineer
Agenda
Background on Grand Boulevard Initiative
Central El Camino Real Multimodal Plan
Next Steps: Belmont
2 What feedback we need from Council
3 Council input is needed on design concepts for El Camino Real in Belmont We will use this feedback to narrow down concept alternatives We will come back to you in August to present the selected alternative concepts that will be advanced to the next phase
The Grand Boulevard Initiative
What is the Grand Boulevard Initiative?
5 Grand Boulevard Initiative
The Grand Boulevard Initiative (GBI) is a partnership between cities, countywide agencies, Caltrans, advocates, and business groups.
GBI is serving as the implementing process for local jurisdictions to advance safety and mobility improvements on El Camino Real (SR 82) and ensure cohesion and continuity along the corridor.
GBI builds upon local corridor studies
Every city in San Mateo County has been working on complete streets studies for El Camino.
In parallel, GBI serves as a forum for collaboration and continuity across these local studies. 6 Every city in San Mateo County has been working on complete streets studies for El Camino Real.
In parallel, GBI serves as a forum for collaboration and continuity across these local studies.
Community Based Organization Meeting at Catholic Charities Listening Session conducted for the Atherton ECR Corridor Study
Central El Camino Real Multimodal Plan
The Central El Camino Real Multimodal Plan: Envisioning a Vibrant Corridor Project Overview and Purpose
The Central El Camino Plan is working to create a shared vision for El Camino Real across the cities of San Mateo, Belmont, San Carlos, and a small portion of Redwood City The goal of this project is to improve El Camino to
better serve people walking, biking, and taking transit Recommendations of the Plan will be implemented as part of the GBI countywide Caltrans project development process, which requires studying multiple alternatives
We Are Here
Central El Camino Plan Timeline
9 Project Overview and Purpose
Needs Assessment
Alternatives Development
Selecting Alternatives to be Advanced
Draft & Final Plan
2025
2026
Community Engagement
Phase 1 (May – Aug)
Phase 2 (Jan – Feb)
Phase 3 (Jul – Aug)
Online Survey
Virtual Listening Sessions
Pop-Ups
Virtual Workshop
CBO Outreach
City Council
Online Mapping Tool
Virtual Listening Sessions
Pop-Ups
Walk Audits
CBO Outreach
City Council
City Council
Stakeholder Engagement
Continuous Collaboration with City Staff and Caltrans
Alignment with GBI/Caltrans Process
10 Project Overview and Purpose
Central
El Camino Plan
Selecting alternatives to be advanced
Detailed analysis (including traffic studies), select preferred alternative Design preferred alternative
Phase 1 Community Engagement
What our outreach looked like
May – Aug 2025
Activities:
Pop-ups
Virtual listening sessions
CBO meetings
Online community survey
Walk audits
Chamber San Mateo presentation
12 Phase 1 Community Engagement
Pop-up event at Belmont Music in the Park
Walk Audit Participants in Belmont Caltrain Station
Key takeaways for whole study area
Key takeaways for Belmont
Congestion along El Camino Real at cross-streets leading to US-101 Need for separated bike facilities
Unsafe pedestrian crossings and narrow sidewalks
Need for bus stop amenities, higher bus frequencies and better infrastructure Phase 1 Community Engagement
What we heard
201 (24%) of survey comments related to Belmont
Primary feedback from Belmont:
Need for separated bike lanes to ensure safety of bicyclists (especially at Ralston Avenue) Need for improved sidewalk infrastructure and crossings Need for better traffic signal synchronization
"To cross to get to Caltrain you have to walk way far down..." "Harbor Blvd doesn't work for cyclists. It's problematic and dangerous" "O'Neill and El Camino [has]…notorious red light running"
Concept Alternatives
Alternatives build on previous studies
Alternatives reflect priorities and include spot improvement recommendations from:
Belmont Comprehensive Pedestrian and Bicycle Plan (2016) Belmont Village Specific Plan (2017)
C/CAG Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan (2021)
SamTrans Bus Speed & Reliability Study (2022)
15 Spot improvements included in all alternatives
Safety
Traffic calming
Traffic signal gap closures
Medians
Lighting
Active Transportation
Crosswalk improvements
More opportunities for crossing
Street trees or urban greening
Transit
Bus stop enhancements
Transit signal priority
Access improvements
16 Belmont
Concept Alternatives
Existing: What El Camino Real looks like today
Bicycle: Continuous separated bike lanes and wider sidewalks Transit: Faster bus service and wider sidewalks
Pedestrian: Wider sidewalks and more trees
Alternatives Evaluation
Evaluation is corridor-wide
Low means: doesn't meet criteria; Medium meets some; High meets all Results will be tallied to determine which alternatives rank highest Addressing community input will be revised based on Phase 2 engagement findings 18 Concept Alternatives
Existing
Transit
Pedestrian
Bicycle
Next Steps: Belmont
Phase 2 Community Engagement
20 Activities Underway
Activity
Date
How we are communicating this
Online survey
January 12 – February 28
City and SamTrans social media, city newsletters, signs at bus stops, printed materials Community-based organization meeting outreach
Mid to late January
Focused engagement with community-based organizations
Pop-up community outreach at Belmont Community and Senior Center January 15
City and SamTrans social media, city newsletters
Virtual listening sessions
February 4, 11, and 12
Focused engagement with target audiences through commissions/chambers City Council presentation
February 10
City and SamTrans social media, city newsletters
Virtual community workshop
February 26
City and SamTrans social media, city newsletters, printed materials We have collected & will continue to collect feedback from Belmont residents at key touchpoints
What feedback we need from Council
21 Project Phase
Proposed Timeline
Feedback needed
Phase 2 Engagement – Central El Camino Plan
Jan – Feb 2026
Concept alternatives
Phase 3 Engagement – Central El Camino Plan
Aug – Sept 2026
Narrowing down alternatives
Project Initiation Document (PID)
2026-2027
Refining alternatives
Project Approvals and Environmental Document (PA&ED)
2027-2028
Selecting a preferred alternative
Project Specifications and Estimates (PS&E)
2028-2029
Feedback on specific design details
22