CITY OF SAN MATEO
CITY OF SAN MATEO
Agenda Report
City Hall
330 W. 20th Avenue
San Mateo CA 94403
www.cityofsanmateo.org
Agenda Number: 13 Section Name: {{section.name}} Account Number: 10-4661 File ID: {{item.tracking_number}} TO: City Council
FROM: Alex Khojikian, City Manager
PREPARED BY: Public Works Department
MEETING DATE: May 5, 2025
SUBJECT:
Delaware Street Safe Routes to School Corridor Bike Lane Improvements – Update RECOMMENDATION:
Receive an update and provide feedback on the Delaware Street Safe Routes to School Corridor Bike Lane Improvements project.
BACKGROUND:
In July 2023, City Council adopted a Resolution to accept and appropriate $1,661,559 in 100 percent State-funded California Transportation Commission Active Transportation Program Cycle 5 funds—requiring no City match—for the Delaware Safe Routes to School (SRTS) Corridor Project (Project). The funding supports the environmental, design, right-of- way, and construction phases of the project, which will enhance safety and connectivity for students traveling to and from two public schools accessed via Delaware Street. The Project will also enhance multimodal connectivity to the relocated Hillsdale Caltrain Station, improving access from both the northern and southern ends of the corridor.
PROJECT SCOPE AND DESIGN
The Project corridor extends along South Delaware Street, from just south of 19th Avenue to the point where the roadway transitions into Pacific Avenue south of 31st Avenue/Franklin Parkway. Planned improvements include upgrading the existing bike lanes (Class II) to separated bike lanes (Class IV) between 19th and 28th Avenues and converting the existing Class III bike routes (which include signage only) into a bicycle boulevard (which includes pavement markings, traffic calming devices, and signage) from 28th Avenue to Pacific Avenue.
These enhancements are consistent with the vision outlined in the 2020 Bicycle Master Plan and are designed to address the corridor’s history of high traffic stress and bicycle-related collisions. As part of these upgrades, the Project will also introduce key intersection safety features designed to protect bicyclists from conflicts with right-turning vehicles including dedicated bike signal phases and marked crossings that provide clearer separation between bicycles and vehicle turning movements, particularly at busy intersections.
In addition to the bicycle facility upgrades, the Project includes a variety of pedestrian safety improvements, such as:
•Installation of new ADA-compliant pedestrian curb ramps at all intersections including in front of the San Mateo County Event Center
•High-visibility crosswalk striping at all intersections •Red curb marking approaching crosswalks, in compliance with AB 413 •Improved pedestrian crossings at two locations:
oInstall rectangular rapid flashing beacons (RRFBs) at the crosswalk on Delaware Street, located between Pacific Boulevard and Saratoga Drive.
oConvert the existing crosswalk at the southern end of the Project area on Delaware Street, just before it
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transitions into Pacific Boulevard, into a raised crosswalk to enhance pedestrian visibility and safety. •Implementation of an exclusive pedestrian signal phase (pedestrian scramble) at the intersection of 28 th Avenue and Delaware Street
Distinctive Project features are as follows:
•Separated Bike Lanes (Class IV): The Project will include separated bike lanes, which allow bicyclists to ride in a designated lane separated from vehicular traffic by a buffer with vertical protection (e.g. flexible posts). Separated bike lanes provide a low-stress facility, even on roadways with high vehicle speeds and volumes. The more robust the buffer’s vertical and horizontal separation, the more comfortable the separated bike lane is for bicyclists. For the eastern segment between Saratoga and Bermuda Drives, cyclists will be buffered by parked cars as the bike lane will be positioned between the parking lane and the face of curb, farther from the vehicle travel way. •Lane Reconfiguration: The Project will reduce one southbound vehicle travel lane from Bermuda Drive to Saratoga Drive on South Delaware Street. This width will be redistributed to accommodate space for new bike lanes as well as buffered bike lanes to allow for safer cycling. A traffic operations analysis was performed to verify the design satisfies industry standards of acceptable level of service; the design seeks to balance both the needs of the community (parking, access to homes), vehicle operations in the corridor, and critical safety enhancements for bicyclists and pedestrians. It was determined that despite this reduction in a vehicle travel lane, peak hour travel could be accommodated in the South Delaware Street corridor. •Parking Adjustments: Throughout the Project limits there will be a total of five (5) parking spaces on the east side of Delaware Street from Bermuda Drive to Saratoga Drive that will be lost. Reductions in parking were necessary to provide improved visibility for vehicles exiting the driveways on that stretch of roadway as well as for compliance with Assembly Bill (AB) 413, the new statewide “daylighting” law. •Waste Collection Modifications: The Project will be modifying how solid waste collection will be performed for the multi-family homes on the east side of Delaware Street from Bermuda Drive to Saratoga Drive. Currently, residents push their bins into existing parking spaces in the street for collection. The proposed Project will have dedicated spaces on the right-of-way to stage bins, so no excess parking is occupied during waste collection days. Staff additionally coordinated this change with Recology as a Project stakeholder. •Pavement Improvements: The Project will also resurface Delaware Street from the northern Project limits to 500 feet south of 25th Avenue and a slurry treatment will be applied from where the resurfacing ends to 28th Avenue.
It should be noted that the Delaware Street Safe Routes to School Corridor Bike Lane Project is one project that is part of the larger immediate bike network, which includes two future project improvements that will be brought to Council at a later date. This overall effort seeks to improve connectivity for bicyclists and increase safety for all modes. Other future improvements that connect into this Project include:
•28 th Avenue Hillsdale Station Gap Closure Project: This project is aimed to transform the main access to the Hillsdale Caltrain Station at 28th Avenue into a transportation hub where multiple modes of transportation are accommodated for. This project proposes to include a Class II bike facility on 28th Avenue from Edison to El Camino Real, Class IV facility from El Camino Real to W. Kyne and Class II bike facility from W. Kyne to E. Kyne. The project also proposes constructing a bus boarding island on 28th Avenue in front of the Hillsdale Caltrain Station access ramp to improve connectivity to Caltrain and public transit. The project is currently at 30 percent design and is scheduled to reach 100 percent design by Winter 2025.
More information about this project is available here: https://www.cityofsanmateo.org/4697/28th-AveHillsdale- Caltrain-Station-Bicyc
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COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
The design phase of this Project started (December 2023) and is now substantially complete as of May 2025. During the design phase staff executed a robust outreach plan aimed at seeking feedback, educating and informing residents of this Project. The outreach plan included mailers, messaging through posterboards in the community, QR code advertisement, a community survey, multiple pop-up events at strategic locations throughout the community, easy to access online recorded presentations, a focused community meeting and a broader community meeting. More information about the Delaware SRTS project, including a summary of past outreach, and a link to the proposed Project design, is available on the City’s website: https://www.cityofsanmateo.org/4794/Delaware-Street-Safe-Routes-to-School-Co.
Recent community meetings were held in April 2025 and included one meeting focused on the northern portion of the Project where parking and lane configuration changes are being considered, and a second, broader meeting where general Project information and high-level input from the wider community were collected. Information about the Project was also provided to the San Mateo United Homeowners Association on April 17th.
NEXT STEPS
City staff will present details on the proposed Project design, construction timeline (currently scheduled for summer of this year in alignment with grant funding requirements), and public engagement efforts. This includes feedback gathered from the public with an emphasis on recent community meetings.
BUDGET IMPACT:
There is no budget impact for receiving an informational update on the Delaware Safe Routes to School Corridor Bike Lane Improvements project. The Project consists of a variety of funding that include Measure A, the Bike San Mateo, Quick Build Mobility, and Citywide Pavement Rehabilitation projects, and the Sewer Fund, but most importantly is the ATP Cycle 5 grant funds. An additional $1.4M in ATP Cycle 5 funds have been incorporated into the proposed 2025-26 project budget for construction, which staff will request to allocate from the California Transportation Commission by June 26, 2025. If the request is not made by this date, grant funds for the construction phase of the project may be forfeited.
ENVIRONMENTAL DETERMINATION:
This update is not a project subject to CEQA, because it is an organizational or administrative activity that will not result in direct or indirect physical changes in the environment. (CEQA Guidelines Section 15378(b)(5).)
NOTICE PROVIDED
All meeting noticing requirements were met.
ATTACHMENTS
None
STAFF CONTACT
Sang Hee Cho, Associate Engineer
[email protected]
(650) 522-7348